Toronto Star, 2013: "Mental Illness - Is Chemical Imbalance Theory a Myth?

I just came across this excellent article when looking for a decent piece of writing to send to someone who thinks she might have "a chemical imbalance" and might need pills to correct it. It's well worth reading and sharing.

 

Excerpt:

 

But Shorter says the past several years have seen the chemical imbalance theory fall in status from bedrock scientific principle to mere marketing device in the minds of many researchers.

 

“The view among neuroscientists is that this emphasis on neurotransmitters as the cause of mental illness is more of a (drug sales) concept than a scientific concept,” he says.

 

“It helps drug companies sell drugs.”

 

It does so, Shorter says, by giving physicians an organic medical justification — akin to high cholesterol in cardiovascular diseases or blood sugar levels in diabetes — to prescribe the drugs, while offering patients a comforting rational for taking them.

 

“But in fact nobody knows what the cause of these mental illnesses (are),” Shorter says. “Almost certainly the cause is situated somewhere in the brain, but what the neurochemistry of psychiatric illness is remains a complete black box.”

 

https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/10/18/mental_illness_is_chemical_imbalance_theory_a_myth.html

 

“The brain is turning out to be a moving target,” says Greenberg, who wrote a controversial article on the subject for The New Yorker last month.  “And consequently drug companies, which are profit-motivated, are not seeing it (neurotransmitter imbalances) as a fruitful avenue,” he says.

 

 

 

Decades of frustrating research chipped away at the neurotransmitter theory, until it was left in rubble, Greenberg says.  It’s not uncommon in medicine to look for a drug’s mechanisms after its discovery, he said in an interview with the Star.

 

“What is uncommon is you look and you look and you look for 50 years and you don’t find.”

 

Disagree!!!   IMO, we can look and look and look for a thousand years and won't find.  Especially as he himself just said the brain was a moving target, plus for the following reasons mentioned by Shorter ...

 

 

And if the drugs do work on some people, as they almost certainly do in an estimated 50 per cent of depressed patients, it’s not at all clear they do so because of their serotonin actions.

 

“They (the drugs) may well have some mechanism that is entirely unknown to us,” Shorter says.

 

“It may be part of the larger causal chain in the brain that is responsible for mental illnesses, but we don’t really know where that chain begins or where it ends.”

 

 

 

 

 

“The neurochemistry of the brain is very complicated. We don’t even know how much we don’t know.” 

 

Bingo!   

 

So my question is, why after, what, 40-50 years (?) are we still going on and on and on talking about gaba-schmaba-blabba? 

Of course it was BS the whole time.  It's impossible to measure neurotransmitter levels in synapses, and even if we could, what are the correct levels?  But it sounds nice.  "Oh doctor, thank you, I was afraid I was going crazy.  But now, thanks to you, I know it's just a chemical imbalance.  Now I can call my friends and instead of telling them I'm crazy and suffering that stigma, I can tell them it's a chemical imbalance and it's not my fault.  Thank you, thank you!  I haven't been this relieved since you told me I was only dependent on my benzo's, not addicted to them, thank God!"

Geez, you're hilarious!!!  :laugh:

 

If you can't find a solution, there's a good money to be made in prolonging the problem 

That's the bread and butter after all, isn't it?

My new favorite word

 

So my question is, why after, what, 40-50 years (?) are we still going on and on and on talking about gaba-schmaba-blabba? 

My new favorite word

 

So my question is, why after, what, 40-50 years (?) are we still going on and on and on talking about gaba-schmaba-blabba? 

 

Hah, trademarking it before anyone steals it ... Gaba-Schmaba-Blabba^®      

My new favorite word

 

So my question is, why after, what, 40-50 years (?) are we still going on and on and on talking about gaba-schmaba-blabba? 

 

Hah, trademarking it before anyone steals it ... Gaba-Schmaba-Blabba^®      

 

Hmmm, have to get a fancy high power law firm, etc.  Won't get any arguement from me. 

 

Sweet pea

 

 

Well, before people start on these meds, they're probably near their coping limit, not really knowing what to do/where to go. The brain is probably sending a lot of distress signals and is telling you "hey, do something, I don't like this one bit". I think this gets mistaken for chemical imbalance. It's hard to feel profound grief, disappointment, feelings of failure, setbacks, fear of future, existential angst, health issues, insomnia, panic attacks. Now, the question is, other than going to the doctor, what should a person do in such a situation? Good Diet & Exercise are good for the body, but there's so much more to it. Things like therapy and meditation can bring some deeper issues on the surface, and if these emotions are not felt and processed properly, there is a high risk of medicating the symptoms instead of addressing them.

 

So, I'd propose a "temporarily chemically disgruntled brain theory" rather than "chemical imbalance". When the brain is chemically disgruntled due to a number of stressors and past events, what would be the best non-medication answer? More friends? Improving coping skills? Practicing relaxation skills? Challenging one's beliefs? Following your instincts and intuition?

Well, before people start on these meds, they're probably near their coping limit, not really knowing what to do/where to go. The brain is probably sending a lot of distress signals and is telling you "hey, do something, I don't like this one bit". I think this gets mistaken for chemical imbalance. It's hard to feel profound grief, disappointment, feelings of failure, setbacks, fear of future, existential angst, health issues, insomnia, panic attacks. Now, the question is, other than going to the doctor, what should a person do in such a situation? Good Diet & Exercise are good for the body, but there's so much more to it. Things like therapy and meditation can bring some deeper issues on the surface, and if these emotions are not felt and processed properly, there is a high risk of medicating the symptoms instead of addressing them.

 

So, I'd propose a "temporarily chemically disgruntled brain theory" rather than "chemical imbalance". When the brain is chemically disgruntled due to a number of stressors and past events, what would be the best non-medication answer? More friends? Improving coping skills? Practicing relaxation skills? Challenging one's beliefs? Following your instincts and intuition?

 

I like your theory, but what to do about it?  These are all great suggestions, just not being used unless you have the correct guidance when your "coping limit" is reached, ie. someone gives a damn.  We seriously need to use something other than pharmaceuticals when there is a first sign of trouble. 

 

Sweet pea

Well, before people start on these meds, they're probably near their coping limit, not really knowing what to do/where to go. The brain is probably sending a lot of distress signals and is telling you "hey, do something, I don't like this one bit". I think this gets mistaken for chemical imbalance. It's hard to feel profound grief, disappointment, feelings of failure, setbacks, fear of future, existential angst, health issues, insomnia, panic attacks. Now, the question is, other than going to the doctor, what should a person do in such a situation? Good Diet & Exercise are good for the body, but there's so much more to it. Things like therapy and meditation can bring some deeper issues on the surface, and if these emotions are not felt and processed properly, there is a high risk of medicating the symptoms instead of addressing them.

 

So, I'd propose a "temporarily chemically disgruntled brain theory" rather than "chemical imbalance". When the brain is chemically disgruntled due to a number of stressors and past events, what would be the best non-medication answer? More friends? Improving coping skills? Practicing relaxation skills? Challenging one's beliefs? Following your instincts and intuition?

 

I like your theory, but what to do about it?  These are all great suggestions, just not being used unless you have the correct guidance when your "coping limit" is reached, ie. someone gives a damn.  We seriously need to use something other than pharmaceuticals when there is a first sign of trouble. 

 

Sweet pea

 

Exactly, I recall how lost, confused and disoriented I was when my parents divorced during my teenage years. I took no medications, no substances, nothing, but I felt like I couldn't relate to anyone anymore for a while until a couple of friends reached out and got me out of the depressive hole, Suddenly, I noticed a lot of OCD symptoms I had melted away, and a few months later, I was making new friends and was back to my old self. The power of human connections is amazing. I think finding someone who "gives a damn" when you need them the most is key. It really boils down to:

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly, I recall how lost, confused and disoriented I was when my parents divorced during my teenage years. I took no medications, no substances, nothing, but I felt like I couldn't relate to anyone anymore for a while until a couple of friends reached out and got me out of the depressive hole, Suddenly, I noticed a lot of OCD symptoms I had melted away, and a few months later, I was making new friends and was back to my old self. The power of human connections is amazing. I think finding someone who "gives a damn" when you need them the most is key. It really boils down to:

 

 

 

 

Gives you something to strive for in your human interactions.

 

Sweet pea

I think that when MD's who talk about chemical imbalance being a myth, they also need to emphasize the potential dangers of stopping these medications, and address what is the way to correctly stop them if an individual wants to.

 

The last thing we want is someone on 50mg Zoloft and 3mg klonopin reading about myths of chemical imbalances and saying "Woo Hoo this is great! I am stopping all my meds tonight". I still remember the Barbara Gordon interview:

 

How did Valium make you feel?

 

It was not a high or a down. I felt just sort of all right; I had a sort of serenity and evenness. But it had destroyed and masked my emotions and my senses.

 

What made you decide to quit?

 

It was morning. I had just finished a film about a cancer victim who died before she could screen it, and I was depressed. I was getting ready to take two pills, because I was then taking them even in anticipation of attacks. But instead I called my shrink and said, “No more pills.” It was an impulse toward health. My doctor said, “Then do it right, Barbara. Don’t take one. No matter what happens don’t even have a sip of wine.” I was a docile patient and ended up in a mental hospital.

 

Did Valium cause your breakdown?

 

I didn’t get into trouble from taking it. My problem was in the way I went off it—cold turkey, rather than tapering off

 

My new favorite word

 

So my question is, why after, what, 40-50 years (?) are we still going on and on and on talking about gaba-schmaba-blabba? 

 

Hah, trademarking it before anyone steals it ... Gaba-Schmaba-Blabba^®      

 

Hmmm, have to get a fancy high power law firm, etc.  Won't get any arguement from me. 

 

Sweet pea

Dewey, Cheetham & Howe

Attorneys at Law