TD, Parkinsonism, and the Silence of Psychiatry

They Rarely Warn People of the Horrible Side Effects of Prolonged Antipsychotic Use.

You go in for help. You’re struggling—maybe with anxiety, maybe you’ve had a "psychotic break", maybe you’re just scared a

nd overwhelmed. A doctor in a white coat gives you a diagnosis and a prescription for an “antipsychotic.” They say it’ll help stabilize you, calm you down, maybe even “rebalance your brain chemicals.”

What they don’t tell you is this:

These drugs can cause permanent, disfiguring, and disabling conditions like Tardive Dyskinesia (TD) and drug-induced Parkinsonism. And once the damage is done, there’s often no going back.

I have worked in the mental health field for over 20 years and NEVER ONCE heard these side effects discussed in treatment meetings. Some clients I talk to don't even realize that they are taking medications like Levodopa/carbidopa for the SOLE purpose of reducing Parkinson's symptoms brought on by their mental health medications.

Tardive Dyskinesia: The Twitch You Can’t Stop

TD is a neurological disorder caused by long-term use of dopamine-blocking drugs like antipsychotics. It causes involuntary, repetitive movements—such as blinking, grimacing, tongue thrusting, finger tapping, and jerking limbs. Sometimes it’s subtle at first. Sometimes it starts after you stop the drug.

It’s not rare. Estimates suggest 20–30% of people on antipsychotics will develop TD. That number goes even higher the longer you're on them. And there’s no cure.

Worse? No one tells you this upfront.

They might mention “some possible side effects” in passing. But they don’t say, “Hey, this could permanently damage your brain and body. It might make your tongue spasm out of your mouth uncontrollably. You might not be able to walk right again.”

They don’t say that because they know you probably wouldn’t take it.

Drug-Induced Parkinsonism: Frozen in Place

Antipsychotics don’t just block some behaviors — they block dopamine, the same brain chemical that’s depleted in people with Parkinson’s disease. So what happens when you block it too much?

You get Parkinson’s symptoms: slowed movement, tremors, rigidity, stooped posture, and a shuffling walk.

This isn’t a rare reaction either. Up to 40% of people on antipsychotics show Parkinsonian signs—especially older adults, women, and people on higher doses. And here’s the kicker: even when you stop the meds, the symptoms sometimes don’t go away.

Psychiatry’s Dirty Secret

The truth is, these drugs were never designed to heal. They were designed to sedate, suppress, and control. First introduced in the 1950s as chemical restraints in state hospitals, antipsychotics have always had movement disorders as a tradeoff. But over time, the industry just got better at hiding that cost behind soft marketing and rebranded drugs.

Today they call them “second-generation antipsychotics” or “atypicals”—as if they’re somehow safer. But guess what? They still cause TD and Parkinsonism. The difference is, now you’re less likely to be warned.

Informed Consent Should Mean Something

You deserve to know what you’re signing up for. No one should be prescribed a powerful dopamine-blocking drug without being told that it could:

• Cause irreversible movement disorders

• Disfigure your face and body

• Trap you in a Parkinsonian shell

• Leave you with lifelong neurological damage

This isn’t anti-medication hysteria. This is basic truth-telling—the kind your doctor should be doing, but often isn’t.

If It’s Happening to You

If you’re noticing tremors, jaw movements, tongue twitching, restlessness, or muscle stiffness—don’t ignore it. Talk to someone who takes this seriously (which might not be the doctor who prescribed it). There are ways to reduce or stop the medication safely, and in some cases, symptoms can improve. But the longer you wait, the harder that road becomes.

We need a system where “help” doesn’t leave you neurologically damaged.

We need to stop calling it “treatment” when the side effects are worse than the original pain.

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References

• Carbon, M., & Correll, C. U. (2014). Tardive dyskinesia risk with first- and second-generation antipsychotics in comparative randomized controlled trials: A meta-analysis. World Psychiatry, 13(3), 227–235.

• Waln, O., & Jankovic, J. (2013). An update on tardive dyskinesia: From phenomenology to treatment. Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements, 3.

• Frouni, I., et al. (2021). Drug-induced parkinsonism: A review of epidemiology, diagnosis, and management. Frontiers in Neurology, 12, 668.