I was prescribed it as an antidepressant and antipsychotic. I have depressive psychosis and it absolutely helps get rid of low level hallucinations, but I can’t say if it stops actual full blown psychotic episodes since I never remember them.

Short answer:

It’s mostly for schizophrenia, but out of the antipsychotics it’s one of the most useful for other disorders too.

Understanding Antipsychotic Medications and Abilify (Aripiprazole)

What are antipsychotics?

Antipsychotics are medicines used to help people with certain brain conditions, like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and sometimes autism or OCD when there’s irritability or self-harming behavior. They help calm the brain when it is overactive in some areas.

Positive vs. Negative Symptoms

In schizophrenia, doctors talk about positive and negative symptoms.

• Positive symptoms are “extra” things your brain is doing that it shouldn’t. These include:

  • Hearing or seeing things that aren’t real (hallucinations)
  • Strong false beliefs (delusions)
  • Excess paranoia / irrational fear of the people around you

  The word “positive” here doesn’t mean good—it just means something extra has been added, like testing positive for a virus.

• Negative symptoms are things that are missing from normal brain function, like:

  • Feeling flat or not enjoying things
  • Trouble starting or finishing tasks
  • Speaking less or having less emotion

First vs. Second Generation Antipsychotics

• First-generation (older) antipsychotics:

  • Mainly help with positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions)
  • Don’t help much with negative symptoms
  • Can cause movement side effects like tremors, stiffness, or restlessness
  • Examples: haloperidol, chlorpromazine

• Second-generation (newer) antipsychotics:

  • Help with both positive and negative symptoms
  • Usually cause fewer movement problems
  • Because they help with negative symptoms, they can also help with problems like low motivation or mood, which makes them useful in other conditions such as depression and symptoms like irritability or self-injury in autism or OCD.
  • Examples: risperidone, quetiapine, olanzapine, aripiprazole (Abilify)
  • Most of them still cause sleepiness and weight gain, except:

Why Aripiprazole is special

Aripiprazole is one of the newest second-generation antipsychotics. It is sometimes called a “third-generation” because it is usually easier to tolerate, with fewer side effects like sleepiness, weight gain, or movement problems. This makes it easier for people to take long-term.

Key Takeaways

• Positive symptoms = extra, unwanted experiences (hallucinations, delusions)
• Negative symptoms = missing normal functions (motivation, emotion)
• First-gen drugs = mainly help positive symptoms, more movement side effects
• Second-gen drugs = help positive and negative symptoms, often fewer movement problems, also helpful for depression and symptoms like irritability or self-injury in autism or OCD
• Aripiprazole = newer second-gen, balances symptoms with fewer side effects, easier for long-term use