All medications have side effects - they will deal with a thing you want fixed, but affect things that you might not want to mess around with.
Today, a good psychiatrist can minimize complications due to the wide variety of medications available. When I was hospitalized in 2000, options were fewer. The medications I took had harsh side effects - two of which were extreme drowsiness and reduced short term memory.
At that time I was living in the suburbs. One of the things I enjoyed was taking the West Coast Express (a fancy commuter train) into Vancouver. It allowed me time to buy a latte from the coffee car and enjoy the scenery of Burrard Inlet. Compared to the chaos at home, it was pure bliss.
Because of my medication, I started dozing off on the train in the morning. Since my stop was at the end of the line and I couldn't miss it, I didn't worry too much about it.
This particular morning we pulled up to the last stop. I lurched awake, grabbed my latte, and ran off the train to catch my bus.
Some scary guy started chasing me, yelling and screaming.
I ran faster.
He was swearing and yelling at people to stop me.
That's when it hit me.
Today I hadn't bought a latte.
I stopped and apologized profusely. The next day I brought my own coffee from home.
Mental note: When experiencing short-term memory loss, label things with post-its.
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