Doctors being “paid to deprescribe” antidepressants isn’t the shocking new development RFK Jr. makes it sound like. Deprescribing has always been part of medical care. What’s new is the political spin — and the stigma it creates around antidepressants, doctors, and the people who rely on mental health medication.

Robert Kennedy Jr. is now coming after antidepressants as part of his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) nonsense.¹ He's claiming that antidepressants are overprescribed and dangerous. He wants them deprescribed. And while it would be great if people didn't need to take antidepressants — or any other medication for that matter — antidepressants are life-saving and health-creating medications for many. So, let's take a look at the facts behind antidepressants and violence, danger, and overprescription.

I hate hope. I really do. Every time I feel it, I try to squelch it. And there's a good reason for this. Hope leads to disappointment, and disappointment leads to depression and suffering. You may think I'm being negative here, but I'm not. I'm being realistic and speaking from experience. If you have treatment-resistant bipolar disorder (or anything else), you know what I mean. I feel like hope is a mirage that ends up clobbering me about the ear, nose, and throat. I hate hope, and hope is dangerous. But there it is, again and again. So, I've tried to find ways to manage my hope such that its benefits can persist without its negatives killing me.

World Bipolar Day raises awareness, but has it improved life for people with bipolar disorder? This piece explores the limits of awareness campaigns and why real change may require action, not just attention.

People with bipolar disorder are not here to be turned into feel-good stories for other people. This article explores what inspiration porn is, how it shows up around bipolar disorder, and why reducing suffering to something “inspiring” is harmful.