Side Effects

I want to start this post by saying 'I renounce side effects!'. Side effects are often lumped together with mental health experiences and used as an indication of someone's mental well-being. This is wrong! Side effects are something that mimic closely a mental health difficulty and can be misunderstood as a false indication of someone's mental state. I've experienced lowness, anxiety, restlessness, sleep disturbances, crushing headaches, and even a flavor of suicidal ideation all because I am experiencing side effects from medication that I have to take. This is a little-explored element of stigmatization that I would like to bring into the light. I will not take responsibility for side effects which are beyond my control. I will not buy into the lie that I am more mentally unwell than I really am because I am experiencing side effects. I will not let mental health professionals perpetuate this lie in my notes or in conversation. I will draw attention to this at all times, making mental health professionals and others aware of this predicament and help them understand that side effects are different from a mental health experience and should be treated as such clearly and with sensitivity to people's understanding of their mental health experience. Why should I or you feel more mentally incapacitated by this misunderstanding? Why should I be encouraged to think that side effects are actually my mental state? This is unfair and stigmatizing and should end. Side effects should be documented as such, and medication should be improved to reduce side effects!