A recent Psychiatric Times review examines medications used to reduce suicide risk. It also calls for closer monitoring around medication changes. But it does not discuss akathisia or medication-induced suicidality.

That omission matters. Akathisia is a medication-induced neuropsychiatric disorder that is often mistaken for anxiety or another DSM-labeled disorder.

MISSD’s message is not that medications never help. It is that a sudden crisis calls for a careful look at what changed—including medications. If someone develops severe restlessness, agitation, or suicidal thoughts after starting, stopping, or changing a medication or dose, akathisia must be considered and should be assessed.

Prescribers and consumers need to ask the question that could change the response: Could this be akathisia?