Abilify IV: Akathisia
an intense sensation of unease or an inner restlessness that results in a compulsion to move
The Frontier Psychiatrists is a daily health-themed newsletter. For the past few days, I’ve been writing a series about the drug Abilify. That is the first article! The others are…
Abilify III: Bipolar Depression
Today, I’m writing about a common adverse effect of Abilify (aripipiprazole), and other antipsychotics, that is awful to experience. It’s called akathisia, and it’s a neurological syndrome that is a side effect of antipsychotic medications.
The experience is hard to explain, to people who haven't been through it. To people who have experienced it, even if they don’t know what it was, it is unforgettable. Imagine going to the most dreadful movie you’ve ever experienced—if Michael Bay re-made an Inconvenient Truth—and being forced, with a gun to your head, to not move an inch. Imagine being forced to listen to some tech bro mansplain Bitcoin, and having to smile, motionless, the whole time…if you were secretly Satoshi Nakamoto. Now take those feelings, and…