Sometimes my OCD has positive aspects, for example when I was working in blood banks and medical labs I could channel some of that energy into the kind of perfectionism and attention to detail that work requires. I'd be wary of any drugs that might dull that edge. That same OCD energy is useful writing computer code, especially assembly language. But OCD has never been better than 20% positive and 80% horror for me.
OCD combined with depression and psychotic symptoms is potentially deadly. I've told people that I've never considered suicide because being dead would interfere with doing all the useless shit I have to do. (If you tell your doctor that you'll be signed up for twice weekly meetings with a mental health professional as your meds are adjusted.)
I used to run obsessively. I suffered eating disorders. That's probably why my knees and hips are fucked up. In middle age I'm the damned Tin Man. Sometimes I can hardly move. I'd probably still be an obsessive runner if it didn't hurt so bad.
Certain psych drugs are effective for me, I won't name them here because what works for me may not work for others, and drugs that used to work for me no longer do. I've quit drugs when the side effects became intolerable, sometimes with bad consequences. I've been a non-compliant patient. If you want to talk about specific drugs, ask your doctor.
My current prescriptions are not magically effective, they're merely better than the alternative of no drugs.
It's my own sorry experience that whenever I quit my asthma or psych meds I end up in the hospital. I learned not to mess around with the asthma a long time ago, maybe because being unable to breathe is so terrifying and the side effects of modern asthma meds are so mild. But I've been an idiot with psych meds more times than I care to confess, probably because the side effects of many psych meds are unpleasant and the first thing that flies out the window when I quit my meds or they fade in effectiveness is my ability to judge my own mental state.
I worry that articles like this are discouraging to people who are unsuccessful with non-pharmaceutical therapies.
On the other hand there are too many doctors and patients who seem to think every mental health issue can be solved with a prescription, and direct-to-patient pharmaceutical advertising is loathsome.
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