This is a topic of concern for many women. Some are afraid of taking medication for life, some are afraid of dependence or side effects. In fact, once diagnosed by a doctor with psychosis, especially schizophrenia or moderate to severe mania or depression, most of them need to take medication, and a few early mild anxiety and depression can be improved by psychotherapy or physical therapy. The new atypical antipsychotics and new antidepressants available have fairly low side effects and are a great improvement over traditional antipsychotics, with almost none of the serious side effects we fear. There are also no side effects of dependence.