Dear Jennie,
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How are mood stabilizers anti-psychotics? Isn't psychosis being out of touch with reality? That isn't a mood issue.
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To be honest, I don't know how these meds work or what would distinguish an anti-psychotic from a mood stabilizer. However, I think that your response contains the answer to your question. If you are profoundly out-of-touch with reality, as in paranoid schizophrenia, the drug with which you are treated would be considered an anti-psychotic. Conversely, if you are less out-of-touch, as in bipolar disorder, you might be treated with the same drug, but it would be considered a "mood stabilizer". RISPERDAL (risperidone) is such a med.
It would seem that the description, "mood stabilizer", was coined to assuage those who are frightened of the word, "psychotic". However, when healthcare professionals want to refer to all the drugs in this family, from Thorazine to Abilify, they call them, "anti-psychotics".