Depression, Pills and Trying Something New

   "If one medicine doesn't work, why take another?"  She asks rather simply.  Maybe it isn't the pill that's the problem but treating the illness WITH pills.
   I am NOT a physician.  Still, every time I hear the latest commercial for the antidepressant medicine Abilify - I get sort of freaked out.  The side effects are intense and listening to them makes me well... depressed!  Uncontrollable movements, high blood sugar, coma, death....
   I cannot  (and do not) suggest that anyone taking a medicine stop doing so.   But I would consider whether a different strategy - LIKE EXERCISE - is worth trying, or adding.
   Instead of asking your doctor or psychiatrist if "abilify is right for you" maybe ask if you could do something BESIDES take more pills.  It could well be that "exercise is right for you."
   It's just a thought... well, it is more than a thought because there is scientific evidence that exercise reduces depression in some people.  There is no money in it - you don't have to go to the doctor to get an order for it, or pay the pharmacist to pick it up - but you sure have to own it. It doesn't work if you don't do it.  And like the medicine you take - its generally needed at LEAST once a day.