Basically most serious mentall illnesses come with a drastic reduction in cardiorespitory fitness after the first episode as measured by VO2, maximal oxygen uptake. Antipsychotics independently also reduce maximal oxygen uptake. Abstract Basically I’m not saying to stop medication but perhaps to not feel discouraged when exercising as the subjective increased difficulty is real but normal.
This suggests that
the use of antipsychotic medication is associated with lower physical
activity and poorer physical fitness (Vancampfort et al., 2016a). A point
to emphasise in the present study is that physical fitness was evaluated
with a greater range of physical tests (that cover muscular strength,
flexibility, balance and aerobic condition) and in a larger sample than
in the study by Vancampfort et al. (2016b), which gives us more information
about the use of antipsychotics in this population. In addition,
in the present study, it was found that aerobic condition is also
altered by the use of antipsychotic medication, with worse levels of
aerobic condition in the group taking this type of medication.
Drugs like olanzapine with high metabolic effects are generally better at reducing symptoms. Link Again, without trying to destroy the body, maybe exercise and more lean meats could help with symptoms.
Side-effects linked to improvements
We also showed that metabolic side-effects of antipsychotics are linked to improvement in symptoms of schizophrenia. The more weight people put on and the higher cholesterol levels go up, the greater the improvement in symptoms. One explanation for this is that the neurotransmitters that mediate metabolic side-effects might also contribute to an improvement in symptoms.
Personally after doing cardio a couple of times a week and drinking loads of caffeine in the past month I have drastically reduced the amount of self-harm and reacting with anger/destruction when frustrated, or blocked from purposes by family and even voices. I attribute it to the greater ability of my mind to cope with frustration, an ability that I surmise was reactivated with cardio exercise and caffeine. It’s like my nose is becoming more free.