PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATION

In our experience, it is often very difficult to find clear and simple information on the medication we take. Health professionals often don't have the time to properly explain their short and long term effects. To be able to make a free and informed decision on taking, reducing or coming off medication, we believe that it is essential to be well informed on the subject. Also, having a better understanding of the language associated with medication can facilitate interactions with our doctors or pharmacists.

Each drug family page has information about their effects (including their side effects and specific withdrawal effects), indications and contraindications. This information was taken from the Other Side of the Pill training, developed by the AGIDD-SMQ (Association of Mental Health Rights Groups in Québec), together with pharmacists. The subpages in this section were automatically translated by Google.

" For me, discovering information about my medications brought up a lot of reactions and emotions, especially anger and sadness. It was unsettling to realize the potential effects and possible consequences of what I had been taking for years. Also, I realized that I did not have all the information necessary to exercise my right to free and informed consent. "

Linda, member of the Vécu GAM committee