Of course, mental health care treatment options are vast and diverse. Alternatives to prescription medication can work. Plenty of people still find solace in acupuncture (hell, I get it done for chronic pain following an injury), in essential oils, and in physical exercise. But determining that any and all pharmaceutical interventions are “shit” is misguided and dangerous.

If I could treat my mental illness—bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety, ADD—by taking a hike in the woods, I would. It would save me money, time (not that I don’t love having my blood drawn every other month), and the general inconvenience that comes with being tethered to a handful of capsules for, ostensibly, the rest of my life.

But I tried all those other suggestions—like exercise and sleeping more—for years. I tried not taking medicine (because I couldn’t afford it). I did yoga and I ate a good diet. I even used essential oils and lit about one million candles.

And it didn’t chase away my demons. In fact, it almost killed me. My mental illness is quite literally terminal, and my medications are helping to prolong my life.

This is, I think, the most dangerous part of the stereotypes about drug therapy for mental health—they ignore the fact that mental illnesses are deadly. Discouraging people from taking advantage of potentially beneficial courses of treatment could kill them.

Imagine knowing that a disease was potentially fatal—that close to 20 percent of sufferers will die, and as many as 75 percent or more may nearly die. Imagine knowing there are a range of medications that could help. They may have side effects, including some that are serious, and they may be difficult to calibrate. But given the right combination and dosage, they could save lives. Would you tell people with that disease to go outside instead?

My mental illness is quite literally terminal, and my medications are helping to prolong my life.

For people with mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, suicide is a major risk factor. Research over the last decade has found the life expectancy can be reduced by as much as 20 years, particularly if they are not seeking treatment. As many as 85 percent of people living with bipolar II see their symptoms, including suicidal ideations, controlled or stabilized through treatment, and close to six million Americans live with bipolar II.

Pharmaceutical interventions are not right for everyone, and they aren’t the sole element to helping alleviate the symptoms of mental illness. Psychotropic drugs are far from perfect. The stereotypes about drugs are born from a real place, but they have, for too long, dominated the narrative. We hear a lot about what a nightmare it all is. We rarely hear, though, about the people who found the right drug and take it quietly every day.

Getting medicated is not easy. Finding the right amount, the right kind, and the right combination can be extremely challenging and frightening—in no small part because of biases presented during the research phase of new drugs. Plenty of people—myself included—have been put on a drug that didn’t work well for them, and it was terrible. The pill that works for one person might be disastrous for someone else. It takes a lot of attempts and patience and, quite frankly, it can suck. Fantasizing about walking in front of a bus every morning on your way to work, though, sucks more.

In addition to the stereotypes and bias around medication for mental illness, there has been a concerned effort by numerous organizations, including the Church of Scientology, to discredit the science and research behind it. There’s also been a lot of misinformation spread by those who think they’re doing the right thing—including medical professionals—but may not have personal experience or the necessary background to make those kinds of judgments. And then there are people for whom a worldview is more powerful than the words and experiences of people they know and love.

If I’m being honest, I’m not hurt by the ignorance of others anymore. There’s no point to it. They can draw arbitrary lines between brain illnesses and bodily illnesses. I don’t mind because I’m caring for myself the best way I’ve found.

What is painful, though, is knowing there is so little information out there and the information that is available is often incorrect, incomplete, or actively damaging. There are potentially thousands of people, right now, who could feel better but have been taught they should be able to grit through it, meditate more, or go outside. The people who see those memes and think, “Yeah, those drugs are shit,” without realizing that those are the exact drugs that could save their life.