[Misfit Toy]

There are studies now stating that long term use of drugs that effect the brain can contribute to dementia. This scares the crap out of me. I am on Abilify, one of the drugs that has been listed. I have not self harmed in months since taking it, but I still have depression, thoughts of self harm, and emotional swings. I don't know if it is worth risking my health later on to take this drug now. I don't have children, and worry about who will care for me when I am old. It is hard to live happily now when I can't feel secure about something like that.

Hope that makes some sense. Thanks for the support here. I have gotten a lot from this forum.

[Skeezyks]

I don't know anything about this myself. (I'm already old. As far as I know I don't have any dementia.) I no longer take any psych med's or any other medications either for that matter. My impression is that there are potential long-term risks with almost every drug both psych & otherwise.

I think the best one can do is to weigh the long-term risks along with the short-term benefits & make as educated a judgement as possible. Clearly, it seems to me, one is better off not taking any drugs if possible. But if you need them, you need them. That's not really much help I know. But it's what occurs to me with regard to your post.