Antidepressants and bigpharma

On the Chemical Imbalance Theory of the Brain

I have always been skeptical of the claim that people need to stay on antidepressants for life and that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. As it turns out, whenever big pharma jumps onto a “scientific issue”, you can bet good money that nuance is lost and that overmedication is going to be the consequence.

Peter Hitchens is the journalist that I credit for introducing me to the idea that the chemical imbalance theory has never been adequately tested and therefore the basis for prescribing these medications is flimsy at best. Hitchens cited the work of Dr. Irving Kirch showing that if the depression pills do work, then it is most likely a placebo effect.

The serotonin theory is as close as any theory in the history of science to having been proved wrong. Instead of curing depression, popular antidepressants may induce a biological vulnerability making people more likely to become depressed in the future.

The following video, Dr. Mark Horozitch debunks the entire issue.

I know of many people who are on antidepressants and I wouldn’t advice them to take medical advice based on only a blog post, but rather to take the information to their doctors and ask what to do.

Stopping the drugs cold turkey can also have severe consequences.