In a new study, researchers have found that the chemical imbalance myth is still a prevalent explanation for depression among laypeople. They hear about it from a variety of sources, most commonly in the classroom. However, the most impactful source—the most likely to lead to belief in the myth—is from healthcare providers.
“Healthcare providers play an important role in the dissemination of the chemical imbalance message, which is an oversimplified, scientifically controversial, and potentially treatment-interfering narrative,” the researchers write.
The study was led by Hans S. Schroder at the University of Michigan Medical School. It was published in Frontiers in Psychology.
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And look how the legacy of this diseased Western psychiatry is flowering in other countries, for example Russia and China, which exploit the psuedo-science and technology of psychiatry and psychopharmacology and use it as another mode of punishment and policing (e.g. see Investigation into China’s use of psychiatric hospitals | BBC News https://youtu.be/V9K9PWkbunE?si=hkWw9QLJlLeAyQWq). Not made in China though – made in the USA (and APA).) Ah how sad you’ll be when you realize that the whole of the Western health services too are also an authoritarian disease that destroys health and human life in order to turn us all into twitching umpa lumpas. Oh how well it has worked.
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The chemical imbalance myth, like previously discarded hypotheses such as an imbalance of the four humors, ultimately derives from the general myth of mental illness. Unless the latter is rejected by society, other pseudo-scientific explanations for states of emotional stress will continue to be concocted, e.g. defective brain circuitry. The financial incentives for this endless blatant chicanery are perfectly obvious.
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Quite so!
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Well said
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So then what is the cause? I see criticism but not an alternative.
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There doesn’t need to be an “alternative” if the current paradigm is wrong. Sometimes we don’t know the right thing to do, but we do know that what IS happening is wrong. Should we continue to systematically do something damaging because we don’t have an “alternative?”
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Hi! Mr. Michael Hamilton and Mr. Steve McCrea.. There are hundreds of alternatives in mental illness treatments. States could use these alternatives if they wanted to, but they don’t. This also benefits psychiatry and pharmaceutical companies. It makes it easier for them to diagnose and prescribe psychiatric medications to everyone. You can take a look here.. Thanks..
“Alternatives.. The Right To Be Informed.. INFORMATION ABOUT NON-DRUG APPROACHES TO MENTAL HEALTH AND/OR SAFELY GETTING OFF PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS..”
https://www.cchr.org/alternatives/right-to-be-informed.html
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Exactly. Abandon the false & see where that leaves us, abd it obviously leaves us with more clarity & capacity to see the truth of the problem so as to respond intelligently and humanly to it.
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I accidentally replied to the wrong comment which I’ll repeat in the right place…
Exactly (Steve). Abandon the false without a fixed idea of an alternative, & see where that leaves us, and it obviously leaves us with more clarity & capacity to see the truth of the problem so as to respond intelligently and humanly to it.
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So what you are saying is the current usual treatment is harmful and you have no clue as to a treatment that is not harmful. And some others are saying people have no problem to start but seek psychological help anyway and are given drugs which cause them to have problems.
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No, I have plenty of ideas of what is helpful in many situations. However, those situations are NOT defined by “diagnoses” nor subjectable to any kind of “double blind studies” as if humans are some kind of machines who all will respond to a certain approach if they have certain “conditions.” Generally, what is helpful is someone who will take the time to listen and be comfortable with another person as that PERSON figures out what if anything is “wrong” and what needs to change for him/herself. The biggest problem (of many) with the current system is that it attempts to take something like “depression,” a common experience to all humans, and come up with some kind of “cure” that works in all cases, as if feeling depressed (sometimes deeply and sometimes for long periods of time) were not a normal part of the human experience, or that all people experiencing “depression” have something mechanically wrong with their brains or minds that needs to be “fixed” by a doctor.
I’ve found many ways to be helpful to hundreds of people over the years. But every one of them is unique and required me to go into the situation completely open to hearing whatever is being communicated and working to respond appropriately to that particular person. Trying to treat everyone the same and expecting the same result is never going to work. Milton Erickson said that “Therapy has to be re-invented for every client.” I think he was pretty much correct.
I will add that there are plenty of things that are helpful to some but not all which fall outside the realm of “therapy” per se. Buddhism or other spiritual practices are a good example. Also such simple things as walking in the woods, breathing properly, getting good exercise, simply talking to another caring layperson (shown to be generally as effective as “therapy”), and most crucially, having a sense of purpose or intent for one’s life can make all the difference. In addition, altering one’s environment to avoid abusive people or situations is sometimes essential, but no “treatment” will enable someone to do that. It requires a genuine connection with another person or set of ideas that help a person realize they deserve better, and sometimes some very practical help like an affordable attorney or a place to live they can afford or the ability to get away from a negative “treatment” being forced on them.
So no, that’s not at all what I’m saying. I’m saying that medical “treatment” for mental/emotional issues and difficulties is generally harmful, but it takes an individual approach to each person’s situation to find what is helpful, which may or may not look ANYTHING like “treatment” as you imagine it.
Does that clarify my position?
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“I’ve found many ways to be helpful to hundreds of people over the years. But every one of them is unique and required me to go into the situation completely open to hearing whatever is being communicated and working to respond appropriately to that particular person” – beautiful. What you describe is true support of an intelligent and capacious friend, only without the personal complications. If we could build true care and impersonal affection into such sensitive and intelligently responsive assistance, I think it would be great if you could be even more creatively empowered and well resourced to go much further in exploring ways of helping people to feel worthile, to give them energy and enthusiasm for life again – the latter would seem so easy for so many people. If I took a chronically isolated old lady out with me on a wheelchair in Brighton, and took her for cream teas and sherries and to meet the babies and a prearranged appointment to a toddler and baby group and had a meal at the ‘Junk Food Project’ where they turn left over supermarket food into excellent restaurant quality dishes and took her to watch an old fashioned film at Duke of Yorks cinema this could be the best time of her whole life, as is obvious to those who know such isolated people. And I truly believe that memory and kindness could solve her depression or sadness right until the grave. Obviously you’d be crazy to take my word for it and I’d be crazy to expect you too, but I’ve really made an extremely chronically angry (to a funny degree) and even sometimes violent old homeless ladies day just by buying her a sandwich and a bottle of brandy when she was feeling low, which made her cry and soften like a kitten, and repeatedly take my hand to thank me. These small human creative acts I think could help so many in mental and other forms of distress, such as living in hostels, or being homeless or an isolated addict, or being isolated by illness accompanied by family estrangement and such things. If I were you Steve I’d go wild with your experimentation and see what happened, because in that line of work the more the success the more you will simply be learning how to be a great, fun and creative human being, which is an excellently attractive job compared to all the miserable forms mental health treatment we know today.
I wouldn’t call this ‘therapy’ though but the thing that is even more essential – support, which boosts spiritual, psychological and emotional energy and improves even physical health and strength. But therapy is inferior to the truth which is grasped by some but which is difficult to formulate into language effective enough to demonstrate it’s radical power. That is for a mass awakening to the fundamental truth that simply passively and impersonally observing and understanding the difficult phenomena of one’s emotional, psychological and spiritual life is enough. The understanding gleaned from such observation acts on levels more subtle, deep and decisive then our crude thought based mind. It works to remodel the neurology and physiology but also the even more complex energetic, emotional, spiritual and mental processes and systems which I can’t say very much about because then it becomes mere theory. Unfortunately saying too little also makes it sound like theory but trust me – I’m talking about subtle aspects of everyone’s reality that most people cannot directly perceive, but which are material and real exaclty like matter. I would call most such phenomena very much like matter, but the finer aspects become much less dense and more like still air or the feel of a cloud. Eventually the thing has no feel and no materiality at all, and that aspect is the thing reading these words right now – awareness, which contains your whole world, so obviously isn’t simply a mere nothing, although it is no thing and in that sense nothing. But it is an incredibly amazing, magical and miraculous nothing the more it predominates your life, and before you know it the ego becomes more alien and weird then the silent love and wisdom of this seeing.
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Thanks for your comment. I see a lot of time, effort and attempts to understand the individual human’s possible mental problems. Do most “patients” have the time and patience to undergo such an evaluation and what are the results? And what happens to the patients life in the meantime before this individualized therapy takes effect? Is this therapy covered by insurance? What percent of patients are permanently helped by it?
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I think you are missing the point. The first mistake is seeing individual humans as “patients” who need “treatment” simply because they are experiencing intense emotions. You seem to be having difficulty accepting that framing of the issue is 90% of the problem. “Medical treatment” is not the answer we are looking for.
As for time and patience, again, we don’t choose our cancer or heart treatments based on whether people find them difficult to implement. We choose them based on whether they work. Taking drugs is easy and quick but it doesn’t work in most cases. In fact, it generally makes things worse and prevents people from choosing the more effective path for them, even if it is harder. I could give you an example or two if it would help you.
We are all responsible for finding our own pathway. All we can do to “help” is to help the person decide. Encouraging them to do the wrong thing because it is easier is foolish in the extreme!
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The “cause” of the most “serious” DSM disorders, is likely iatrogenesis. As Whittaker pointed out in his 2010 book, ‘Anatomy of an Epidemic,’ “bipolar” is “caused” by the iatrogenic “illnesses,” created by the psychological and psychiatric industries’ antidepressants and ADHD drugs.
And the “antipsychotics” can also create both the negative and positive “symptoms” of “schizophrenia,” via both anticholinergic toxidrome, and neuroleptic induced deficit syndrome.
So it’s highly likely that the most common “cause” of all the DSM disorders, is iatrogenesis, not “genetics.”
But I do know from personal family experience, that things like sleep deprivation and alcohol encephalitis, can also cause “psychosis.” Yet they are not “genetic causes,” thus are not listed in the DSM, as possible causes of “psychosis,” in the “invalid” DSM.
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Dear Someone Else,
I have read you for years, and you have been an effective champion for “anticholinergic toxidrome”. Good job! I looked it up.
I suspect, that for each of us, where healthcare has gone terribly wrong – it has gone wrong – perhaps each, for a different reason.
“ The “cause” of the most “serious” DSM disorders, is likely iatrogenesis. As Whittaker pointed out in his 2010 book, ‘Anatomy of an Epidemic,’ “bipolar” is “caused” by the iatrogenic “illnesses,” “
I just scored a win. I have found me a conventional primary. I told my story – absent the trauma. Just factual medical history.
My Bipolar diagnosis is from 20 years ago. I have been drug free and symptom free for the past seven years (in hiding, because we have no other choice – due to force). I saved my own life. The story began with being tried on half a dozen anti epileptic drugs for the prevention of chronic severe headaches. None worked – all gave me trouble. Klonopin was prescribed for 15 years – taken as directed, not abused. Stopping Klonopin (the last pharmaceutical I was taking) – cured me. Clearly – the pharmaceutical was causing “the crazy”. My particular body has stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease and Bradycardia (low resting heart rate) and these things are normal and stable in me. My newly found primary stated “Your body is not filtering pharmaceuticals as expected”.
FWIW – I now wear a medic alert pendant with these 2 conditions stated. They do not test pharmaceuticals on bodies like mine. If I am down on the street … I want the first responders to know these things about my body.
Now that I actually got someone in healthcare to listen … and it was only in response to anti epileptic drugs (Klonopin included) … I find myself horrified at the polypharmacy and ever increasing dosages of multiple psyche drugs – I survived! Yes, I did. I survived!
They don’t know, and they don’t know they don’t know. For sure – science has done a lot of forward progress in the past 20 years. Don’t throw me away, as a just another nuisance in your waiting room.
Best of luck to all, finding your way. It obviously took me decades. And thank you Someone Else for being such a consistent champion of iatrogenic harm.
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Thank you, Hope. And I’m glad you, too, survived.
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Because Micheal Hamilton, in these comments, seems to assume the diagnosis is correct … I am going to add this comment here.
I indeed did have a “chemical imbalance”, but the cause was not “mental illness” – the cause was compromised kidney function.
How does this misconception play out in real life?
I couldn’t sleep, at all. I know that lack of sleep for all humans impairs brain function. I sought medical help.
Concurrently, I was attempting to obtain the 911 call records for a suicidal hoax called in by my ex husband, which resulted in my home being swatted. I had talked to the DA about prosecution.
With an erroneous Bipolar diagnosis, mentioning having spoken to the DA, and total absence of sleep – I was medicated with anti psychotics.
I knew for positive I wasn’t psychotic!
Where was the chemical imbalance?
My primary had switched my Thyroid supplement from 60mg Armor Thyroid to 150mg Levothyronine. My TSH reading was zero. Because my kidneys were not clearing this “unrelated to psyche” pharmaceutical, it built up in my system to the point I was bug eyed Hyperthyroid.
Locked in a psych ward, held against my will – being treated with an antipsychotic for a physician caused chemical imbalance (an over abundance of Thyroid hormone) … and worse – I knew I wasn’t psychotic. A bit like the innocent held on death row forever.
This was 10 years ago. My Thyroid function has remained low. I didn’t want them messing with it. My current primary is attempting to raise my low thyroid, but not changing the type of supplement. So far, so good. But I will say this.
No one knows! Kidney function does not remain static, but wobbles, at best. What is okay, today – may not be okay tomorrow. Will I contact the medical industry if I am bug eyed awake? Absolutely not! They don’t know, and they don’t know they don’t know – while having been trained that a psychiatric diagnosis has to be treated with psychoactive pharmaceuticals, even against an individual’s will. Even if the cause has nothing to do with the DSM.
Be careful out there.
Because Lithium is known to harm both kidneys and thyroid – my situation is probably not as uncommon on this website, as one might think.
Without trust, the health care industry has nothing.
What is the solution Micheal Hamilton asks? For one, a little humility. Listen to the human before you. They are for sure, speaking their own truth. Also – shelve your privilege for just a few minutes or so. Not everyone lives in a sane orderly world – even, due to no fault of their own. Many of us are surviving.
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What an awful story!!! Sounds like they were trying to kill you!
You are correct IMHO – Humility is the basic building block of being a helpful person. Without it, practitioners (medical, too) are lost.
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It is shameful, since the primary actual function of today’s scientifically “invalid” psychological and psychiatric industries is, covering up child abuse and rape for the mainstream religions … but also covering up easily recognized iatrogenesis, for the mainstream doctors … all of which is illegal.
Shame on psychology and psychiatry today, for your “invalid” DSM industries’ systemic neurotoxic poisoning crimes.
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I’m actually more concerned with the crooked way in which the medical model/chemical imbalance theory is implemented, than I am about the validity of it. Likely collusion between the drug companies, the news media and Hollywood is what’s responsible for the resultant hatred of mental patients. I’d give anything to be able to find out if there’s any legal action being contemplated to stop this. However, I’m unable to do so.
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“I’d give anything to be able to find out if there’s any legal action being contemplated to stop this. However, I’m unable to do so,” as are the rest of us. Since the lawyers will not take cases, even by those of us who have dealt with now FBI convicted criminal doctors, if the innocent person has been defamed with an “invalid” DSM disorder.
Psychiatry and psychology’s “invalid” DSM deluded system prevents the US from being a country of law and order … which means the scientifically “invalid” psychologic and psychiatric industries are the opposite of what they claim to be.
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Almost all of the disorders in the DSM are related to each other. Namely… If each DSM disorder is treated with psychiatric medications, other disorders will occur. This means that other (new) disorders will emerge that will be associated with the DSM. So.. Psychiatric medications are prescribed for every DSM disorder, to reveal other (new) disorders.. (Not to treat. ) These new disorders are added to the DSM criteria as a ‘new disorder’. This is the ‘revolving door capital’ of the DSM, Psychiatry and psychiatric drug manufacturers. So these 3 sectors, in this way, increase the number of mental illnesses and the number of drugs associated with it. And they make a lot of financial gain from it. This is how the DSM, Psychiatry and the ‘revolving door capital’ of psychiatric drug manufacturers work. However, most psychiatrists around the world do not know this game of DSM. Only world-renowned psychiatrists know this truth. And international organizations.. For example, CCHR has a very wide network of information on such topics. I recommend that you continue your research by reading CCHR publications. CCHR’s research and publications on psychiatric drugs as well as DSM, Psychiatry and psychiatric drug manufacturers are available.
“The myth of chemical imbalance… DSM is a term coined by psychiatry and pharmaceutical companies to develop and maintain their ‘revolving door capital’.” Best regards. 🙂
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The whole mess points to how easy it is to get even the most “educated” people to believe whatever story you are selling just by using medical jargon in slick publications designed to impress.
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This has been mentioned years ago but for those new to this area and for any who have forgotten in Beautiful Mind film and it’s use of psychotropics or whatever label one uses – so many! Major and minor tranquilizers 1950’s and 1960’s, or neurotoxins sometimes here and there anyway this did not happen in real life with Dr Nash. He choose to discontinue.
There are many parallels in medicine with the unethical approach for profit. The opioid epidemic and how massive tragedies were created because of the profit mode in all the systems of healthcare.
And because we have forgotten how to handle and cope with trauma globally the inability to prevent them heal trauma of ever so many types and forms not there yet.
One of the symptoms of trauma is flashbacks but if one is in the midst your physical systems and thought process all of them are compromised so one continues to a different space , place, sounds and hearing , without ability to vocalize this vortex. sense of time fluctuating because you are back in that last traumatic moment. How to communicate and reach and assuage is still hard. And if one just is an observer no reference point otherthan that person looks irrational.But the narrative context is missing. Yeats asked this question in one of his poems- How does one know the dancer from the dance?
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I’ve recently dealt with the chemical imbalance lie from a provider. Sad thing? The power imbalance is so intense that I felt obligated to nod and act as if the provider had just said something helpful or at least factual. And…
As I reflected on the incident I could only conclude that the whole industry really is the science of lies, just Szasz writes. I’ve always been inclined to take a softer approach with the talking professionals but really it’s just one huge money making crazy making life destroying guild, at least from my experience in the USA.
One says “abolish psychiatry!,” and it undoubtedly comes across as harsh and radical. Isn’t the abolition of psychiatry far more gentle humane and rational than any alternative?
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I think it’s a step in the right direction.
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As depression among Americans increases, more people are questioning the context and culture around us and how neo con and corporate values are creating a morally stressful society as well as overwhelming environmental disaster. This is not what a corporation like Pfizer wants us to think about.
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