psychology today

The Myth of the Chemical Imbalance in Your Brain

The Myth of the Chemical Imbalance in Your Brain

Every year or two, one sees in the media somewhere headlines akin to this:

“Scientists on the verge of confirming brain chemical imbalance causing depression!”  

Or some such trite.  Or they will make the wording such that one thinks it is a done deal when, really, there never has been any confirmation or proof.  But by wording these headlines a certain way and making sure it comes from multiple sources, it becomes ‘TRUTH’ (but really nothing but an Urban Legend).

I’ll send you $100.00 if you send me hard evidence that there is scientific evidence of chemical imbalance causing depression.

Even the online magazine “Psychology Today” discounts the theory of Chemical Imbalance.

This quote from an article in the above magazine by Mark L Ruffalo:

Having practiced psychotherapy now for nearly a decade, I continue to be amazed by the number of patients who come in and claim to have a chemical imbalance in their brain. Not only is the chemical imbalance theory of mental disorder unsubstantiated by any empirical research, but it has also been widely and publicly refuted by a number of prominent psychiatrists, like Allen Frances and Ronald Pies above. In fact, I have found that the most militant proponents of the chemical imbalance idea to be nonpsychiatrists—like social workers and clinical psychologists—who cling to the theory as a way of validating their status as "health professionals.”

Psychology Today - Chemical Imbalance

My favourite line this article is this:

“The chemical imbalance theory offers something else, however, and that is the opportunity for the psychiatric patient to limit responsibility for his condition.”

If a person has some ‘condition’ that is ‘not their fault’, then it justifies all sorts of things.  Do drugs with impunity.  “I have a physical ailment that I have to take drugs for.”

Who promotes this sort of thing?  Who benefits from this?  This basic idea of “I’m not responsible.” allows people to be on drugs at the workplace costing a country like the US of A billions of wasted dollars. Between the money that goes into the pockets of Big Pharma and the inefficiency caused by so many people doing drugs, I think if the terrorists were smart, they would let American just destroy itself.  If these terrorists that the American government was so worried about would just finance broader application and use of drugs for depression and help finance marketing of the ‘Chemical Imbalance’  idea, then they(the terrorists) could just sit back and watch the country die.

Big Pharma is way more effective at destroying and terrorizing the USA than the Al Qaeda will ever be.

Posted by greymouser