Antipsychotics – Fighting Back

Antipsychotics can save your life.
They can also mess up your body.
That’s the paradox we live in.

For many of us, taking meds isn’t optional—but what happens to our bodies while we’re on them doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. This chapter is about fighting back against those side effects—not by refusing meds, but by staying as strong and mobile as we can while taking them.

💊 What These Meds Do to Your Body

Long-term use of antipsychotics is associated with:

• Significant weight gain

• Increased risk of diabetes and heart disease

• Sedation and physical fatigue

• Restlessness (akathisia)

• Stiffness, tremors, and loss of mobility

• Decreased coordination and balance

• Muscle weakness

Not everyone experiences every symptom. But enough of us do that it’s worth naming out loud.

💪 Fighting Back Means Moving

You don’t have to become an athlete.
You don’t need to go to the gym.

You just need to move your body often and intentionally. Even small movement keeps your joints flexible, your blood pumping, and your brain connected to your muscles.

Low-barrier movement options:

• Walking (even inside your home)

• Light stretching in bed or on the floor

• Dancing to one song

• Yoga for tired people

• Gardening, sweeping, rearranging furniture

• Pet care routines

• Plant watering

🔁 The Goal Is Not Perfection. It’s Pattern.

Moving every day—even for 3 minutes—creates a pattern that tells your body:
I still live here. I’m not giving up.

It helps fight:

• Stiffness from meds

• Fatigue from sedation

• Disconnection from your own body

• The spiral of inactivity → shame → isolation → decline

You don’t need a plan. You need to move.

🛑 You’re Not Lazy. It’s the Meds.

If you feel heavy, slow, numb, or like your limbs don’t belong to you—that’s the medication. It doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you have to compensate with intention.

You are allowed to get mad about it. And you’re allowed to find ways to push back.

✏️ Optional Tracking Tools

If you like structure:

• Create a simple daily movement tracker

• Use a plant or pet routine to build in motion

• Set a reminder for a “body check-in” each afternoon

• Stretch every time you wait for the microwave, kettle, or elevator

These aren’t wellness goals. They’re survival strategies.

🔹 Final Notes

You’re not “fighting your illness”—you’re fighting to stay in your body.
To keep your legs working. To keep your heart beating. To stay mobile for as long as you can.

This isn’t about aesthetics.
This is about staying here—on your own terms.