If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, you probably know how difficult it can be to find a treatment that truly works—and one that doesn't cause frustrating or even painful side effects. It’s a constant balancing act. For many, it feels like being stuck between a rock and a hard place: medications might reduce symptoms like paranoia or hallucinations, but they can also leave people feeling emotionally flat, physically tired, or disconnected from life.

What’s even more frustrating? For nearly 70 years, the medications used to treat schizophrenia have worked in basically the same way. Since the 1950s, medications for schizophrenia have focused on blocking dopamine, a brain chemical involved in movement, pleasure, and motivation. While this approach can help reduce psychosis, it’s not very precise. These medications often affect parts of the brain we don’t want to disturb—leading to side effects like weight gain, hormonal imbalances, sexual dysfunction, sedation, and movement disorders such as tremors or........

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