Depression is NOT a Chemical Imbalance
“Your son has a chemical brain imbalance”.
When my son was going through his depression, this is all I heard, from psychologists, psychiatrists, MD’s and everyone else I knew. We have all been brain washed to believe this theory. In fact, doctors and therapists diagnosed him with a chemical imbalance after seeing him for only 15 minutes or less!
This myth continues to be widespread. You probably heard it from your doctor, your friend, family members, school counselor, clergy and neighbor. Everyone has been led to believe this myth.
I am here to tell you that if you, your teen or another loved one is suffering with depression, it is not a shift in brain chemicals. It is just that. A theory. In fact, a theory that has never been proven with scientific evidence but instead the pharmaceutical companies took this theory and ran with it because it was great support for their reasons to get you to try and use their antidepressant medications.
Why The Chemical Imbalance Theory Spread Like Wildfire
This is how the theory got such a widespread belief. Marketing. Not based in truth and facts and research.
This theory first circulated back in the 1960’s even though it was stated that findings were “inconclusive”. But during this time, psychoanalysis was falling out of favor and viewing depression as a biological disorder was more in fashion during this time period. The theory took off and made way for drug companies who promoted this chemical imbalance theory to support medication use for depression.
How would this affect you-to think that your depression is from a chemical imbalance and not another root cause? You would end up trying one medication after another and never getting the answer to your problem because no one is looking in the right places, no one is running the right tests, and no one is asking the right questions.
Another theory (also not proven) is that the chemical imbalance is caused by low serotonin and these medications can increase your serotonin levels. What the drug companies do not want you to know is that many of the positive results from antidepressants is related to the “placebo effect”. (Yet, medications for depression is an $80 billion plus profit industry).
If you still think you need medications to “fix” your depression, watch this video at https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/06/frightening-story-behind-the-drug-companies-creation-of-medical-lobotomies.aspx
Please note that you need the support of your doctor to taper off your medications. Do not just go off your meds! I want to be clear that I am not telling you to go off them, but I do want to provide you with information to make the most educated and healthiest decisions.
Also, if you are on medications for depression, my philosophy is to support the body first, get it in a good, healthy place of balance, find out what your root causes to depression are, before you work with your health care professional to start the taper process. I have seen people taper off their medications before their health is addressed and supported and the results are that they typically go back on the medications because the withdrawal effects can be awful. (many people mistake these withdrawal effects for thinking “I feel this awful when I go off my meds so I must need them.)
Looking Beyond The Chemical Imbalance Theory
You need to start thinking outside the box as to what is causing the depression. To say that all depression is caused by a chemical imbalance is too simplistic and only benefits the drug makers. In fact, there are many causes for depression. Just as their are many causes for depression, there are many options available for repair.
Is the depression caused by ongoing stress on the adrenals which can lead to hormonal imbalances, is it due to an underlying autoimmune condition, is it because you have digestive and bowel issues and are not absorbing your nutrients, is it due to a GI infection that no one tested for, low cholesterol, a food sensitivity…
Is it because now your teen is driving and eating fast food all day long or had a head injury. Is it because you are so overwhelmed, tired, fatigued and exhausted and don’t even have the energy anymore to stay on top of things-look deeper than this is just because you are depressed.
I will never forget when the psychologist said my son has a chemical imbalance and I said “Why, he was fine just 6 months ago”. In response he just shrugged his shoulders. I recall it so vividly because this was not an acceptable answer from someone with a PhD. A shrug-that’s all you can give met? He didn’t have an explanation. They don’t even know, and I think this is because they are educated by the drug companies.
In fact, St. John’s Wort, saffron and placebos have out performed SSRI’s in randomized controlled studies. Why is this, if medications should help to restore a chemical imbalance? And not mention none of the severe side effects that these drugs can have (including increased suicidal thoughts!)
There was an article in the January 21st NY Times Magazine edition on a depressed elderly woman who’s depression came on suddenly. She saw several psychiatrists and ended up on not only one medication but four medications, one of which was an antipsychotic. When an MD finally took a deeper look, it turns out the women had cancer and the depression was being caused by the release of cytokines. Cytokines triggered by cancer can cause neurological changes that can cause depression. This woman did not need depression medication, she needed someone to look deeper, ask the right questions, run the right tests and get to the root of the problem!
The chemical imbalance theory leads to tunnel vision and a simplistic view of depression and causes us to not think outside this belief system. To understand depression, we need to look at the whole individual and take time to listen and get a history of that person for the person to come back to a place of wellness in body and mind.
Because that doctor could not answer my question as to “why” my son would have a chemical imbalance, I knew something wasn’t right with what he was telling me. It took a lot of research on my part (I was not a nutritionist as this time in my life) and a lot of trial and error for my son unfortunately, because, to be honest, I didn’t know back then what I know now and didn’t have the resources, information and tests that I have access to now.
Stop, take a deep breath and know there is hope beyond medication.
If you need support on this journey, give me a call or text or email. I will help you get better.
Bottom Line
If you don’t get anything else from this article understand this
- Depression is not as simple as a chemical imbalance
- The chemical imbalance theory has no evidence to support it
- There can be many causes for your depression and thus many options available for you
- There is hope and options to heal beyond medication
- An anti-depressant drug does NOT give you more serotonin
Sources
Sanders, L. Diagnosis. The NY Times Magazine. January 21, 2018.
https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/depression-not-caused-chemical-imbalance
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020392&type=printable
https://www.scientificamerican.com/articles/is-depression-just-bad-chemistry/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC552808/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11939866
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