Mental health medications & the body

Psychiatric medications — antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics — work through the brain but affect the whole body: metabolism, weight, cardiac rhythm, sexual function, sleep architecture, bone density, and endocrine function. These effects are not reasons to avoid needed medications, but they are reasons to understand what you are taking, to monitor regularly, and to discuss side effects honestly rather than simply stopping. The body's response to psychiatric medication is highly individual, and finding the right treatment often requires time, honesty, and a genuinely collaborative relationship with a prescriber.