A report on Lithium (medication) and Psychiatric medication

A mood stabilizer is a psychiatric medication used to treat mood disorders characterized by intense and sustained mood shifts, such as bipolar disorder and the bipolar type of schizoaffective disorder.

Lithium – Lithium is the "classic" mood stabilizer, the first to be approved by the US FDA, and still popular in treatment. Therapeutic drug monitoring is required to ensure lithium levels remain in the therapeutic range: 0.6 or 0.8-1.2 mEq/L (or millimolar). Signs and symptoms of toxicity include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and ataxia. The most common side effects are lethargy and weight gain. The less common side effects of using lithium are blurred vision, a slight tremble in the hands, and a feeling of being mildly ill. In general, these side effects occur in the first few weeks after commencing lithium treatment. These symptoms can often be improved by lowering the dose.

Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of other psychotic disorders.

Antipsychotics are routinely used, often in conjunction with mood stabilisers such as lithium/valproate, as a first-line treatment for manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar disorder.

It is listed on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines because it can be used as a treatment for mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.

Lithium carbonate is used as a psychiatric medication to treat mania, the elevated phase of bipolar disorder.

Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are two major treatment options.

Other kinds of psychiatric medication gradually came into use, such as "psychic energizers" (later antidepressants) and lithium.