[milkshakes]

have you taken lithium?

i have, for years, and i currently take "antipsychotic medication", which is actually a yet another term that, thanks to marketing, has lost all meaning. the comments about lithium making you "docile", and "soulless robots" are spot on. and there are "antipsychotics" that act as mood stabilizers that are a lot less soul-sucking than lithium is.

respectfully, it is you who are misinformed.

[andreasvc]

You are projecting your experience with therapeutic doses on the current discussion about doses that would be orders of magnitude lower, similar to naturally occurring levels in some water supplies. Even at therapeutic doses I think you are generalizing too much, as many people do not experience such side effects.

[milkshakes]

> Where do you get this idea of lithium making people "docile"? It does not; you may be confusing it with antipsychotic medication.

that is the statement i was responding to.

> Even at therapeutic doses I think you are generalizing too much, as many people do not experience such side effects.

that's cool and all, but that's just, like, your opinion, man. if you're going to accuse me of generalizing, you could at least do so with something other than a sweeping, unqualified generalization. i find it amusing that this thread is full of people who don't actually take this medication telling people who actually have what its effects are. in fact, lithium has been documented both anecdotally and in research[2] to have measurable effects on cognition, and a dulling effect on mood.

[2]: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=lithium+cognitive+effect...

[andreasvc]

> > Where do you get this idea of lithium making people "docile"? It does not;

Granted, I was overstating my case there. But I maintain, not everyone has those side effects. The more pertinent point was that the article is advocating trace amounts.