DEPRESSION: WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TREAT DEPRESSION IF THE CHEMICAL IMBALANCE THEORY IS, IN FACT, INVALID?
Recent research has shown that there is no actual basis for the “chemical imbalance theory. A paper on this subject was pubished on 11/28/07, “The Media and the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depress...
Recent research has shown that there is no actual basis for the “chemical imbalance theory. A paper on this subject was pubished on 11/28/07, “The Media and the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression”, by Jonathan Leo PHD, Assoc. Professor of Neuroanatomy & Jeffrey R. Lacasse, MSW. They researched the validity of the theory that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. They solicited info from many sources,including psychiatrists, clients, and a major pharmaceutical company but found “The evidence offered was not compelling, and several of the cited sources flatly stated that the proposed theory of serotonin imbalance was known to be incorrect.” They reviewed many articles about serotonin research, “but not a single citation could be considered direct proof of an underlying chemical imbalance as the cause of depression. “ They go on to state: “To our knowledge there is not a single peer-reviewed article that can accurately be cited to directly support claims of serotonin definiciency in any mental disorder. “
The researchers found that “In spite of the enormous amount of money and time that has been spent in the quest to confirm the chemical imbalance theory, direct proof has never materialized. Moreover, during the past several decades, a significant amount of evidence has accumulated which calls the theory’s validity into question.”
As a result of their published paper “numerous scientists and psychiatrists have responded either in interviews, or in published letters to-the-editor about our thesis, and not a single one has disagreed.” “In one interview about our article, the head of the FDA Psychopharmacology Advisory Committee stated that the chemical imbalance theory is a “useful metaphor” but not one that he uses with his own patients.”
I believe (ANGEL SPEAKING) that the public has been manipulated by the pharmaceutical industry, because dispensing psychotropic drugs is BIG BUSINESS. The article confirms this: “Zoloft was the sixth bestselling medication in the US in 2004, with over $3 billion in sales likely due, at least in part, to the widely disseminated advertising campaign” “In July of 2007, a government study found that antidepressants are the most prescribed drugs in the US; during the past 6 years patients spent $123 billion on psychotropic drugs; in 2005, doctors wrote 31 million prescriptions for antidepressants; and in 2004, the pharmaceutical companies spent $1.5 billion promoting antidepressants..”
“There is then a dilemma for the majority of the population who do not read psychiatry journals and who
are much more likely to learn about scientific concepts from the mainstream media, either from magazines, such as Time and Newsweek, or from newspapers, such as the New York Times or LA Times. “
In fact, the researchers found that only a very small percentage actually benefit from the medications -- for every 10 people who take the meds only 1 or 2 actually receive benefit. “What about the eight or nine people getting no benefits from the medication but now put at risk for the medication’s side effects?”
Given the findings of this research, as well as the much published negative side effects of psychotropic medications, what alternatives are there? (more)
The researchers found that “In spite of the enormous amount of money and time that has been spent in the quest to confirm the chemical imbalance theory, direct proof has never materialized. Moreover, during the past several decades, a significant amount of evidence has accumulated which calls the theory’s validity into question.”
As a result of their published paper “numerous scientists and psychiatrists have responded either in interviews, or in published letters to-the-editor about our thesis, and not a single one has disagreed.” “In one interview about our article, the head of the FDA Psychopharmacology Advisory Committee stated that the chemical imbalance theory is a “useful metaphor” but not one that he uses with his own patients.”
I believe (ANGEL SPEAKING) that the public has been manipulated by the pharmaceutical industry, because dispensing psychotropic drugs is BIG BUSINESS. The article confirms this: “Zoloft was the sixth bestselling medication in the US in 2004, with over $3 billion in sales likely due, at least in part, to the widely disseminated advertising campaign” “In July of 2007, a government study found that antidepressants are the most prescribed drugs in the US; during the past 6 years patients spent $123 billion on psychotropic drugs; in 2005, doctors wrote 31 million prescriptions for antidepressants; and in 2004, the pharmaceutical companies spent $1.5 billion promoting antidepressants..”
“There is then a dilemma for the majority of the population who do not read psychiatry journals and who
are much more likely to learn about scientific concepts from the mainstream media, either from magazines, such as Time and Newsweek, or from newspapers, such as the New York Times or LA Times. “
In fact, the researchers found that only a very small percentage actually benefit from the medications -- for every 10 people who take the meds only 1 or 2 actually receive benefit. “What about the eight or nine people getting no benefits from the medication but now put at risk for the medication’s side effects?”
Given the findings of this research, as well as the much published negative side effects of psychotropic medications, what alternatives are there? (more)
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OTHER
all of the above PLUS pharmaceutical help as needed - I know from personal experience that tricyclic anti-depressants can and do work. they saved my life back in the day,. They are not without side effects however. I do believe so-called clinical doses are too high and that's where the manipulation from big Pharma may be coming into things. I responsed well on a sub clinical dosage. However having said that what works for one person may not work for another...
OTHER
Pretty sure that taking anti-depressants actually work for people.1) http://www.tampabay.com/news/...
2) "Comfortably Numb/How Psychiatry is medicating a Nation" by Charles Barber (Pantheon Books,
> 2008).
3) Albuquerque Journal
State Sues Maker of Risperdal
September 12, 2008
By Scott Sandlin
4) http://www.americanchronicle....
THE ANTIDEPRESSANT SCANDAL- WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? By Bill Burniece, Consumer Advocate February 07, 2008
How Pharmaceutical Companies Are Suppressing Data About The Effectiveness And Safety Of Antidepressant Drugs While The FDA Looks The Other Way
Ronald Brown, a Temple University psychology professor who headed an American Psychological Association committee that examined the issue of psychotropic drugs, told The St. Petersburg Times last year. “The bottom line is that the use of psychiatric medications far exceeds the evidence of safety and effectiveness.”
5) There is No Evidence for Biological Basis, so Why Use Biological Intervention?
* "There is no laboratory test, or abnormality in brain tissue that can identify mental illness." in Surgeon General's report on mental health December, 1999.
* “psychiatry... My apologies for not having gotten back to you sooner. I've done a great deal of research on this topic. Here are some (just some) of the studies (I have a lot more that support this premise):
1) http://www.tampabay.com/news/...
2) "Comfortably Numb/How Psychiatry is medicating a Nation" by Charles Barber (Pantheon Books,
> 2008).
3) Albuquerque Journal
State Sues Maker of Risperdal
September 12, 2008
By Scott Sandlin
4) http://www.americanchronicle....
THE ANTIDEPRESSANT SCANDAL- WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? By Bill Burniece, Consumer Advocate February 07, 2008
How Pharmaceutical Companies Are Suppressing Data About The Effectiveness And Safety Of Antidepressant Drugs While The FDA Looks The Other Way
Ronald Brown, a Temple University psychology professor who headed an American Psychological Association committee that examined the issue of psychotropic drugs, told The St. Petersburg Times last year. “The bottom line is that the use of psychiatric medications far exceeds the evidence of safety and effectiveness.”
5) There is No Evidence for Biological Basis, so Why Use Biological Intervention?
* "There is no laboratory test, or abnormality in brain tissue that can identify mental illness." in Surgeon General's report on mental health December, 1999.
* “psychiatry is the only medical specialty that…treats disorders without clearly known causes…including disabling diseases such as schizophrenia.” In American Psychiatric Association. (1998). Textbook of Psychopharmacology.Washinton, DC: American Psychiatric Press, AND American Psychiatric Association. (1999). Textbook of psychiatry. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. (Texts used by Psychiatry Students)
6) Psychotropic Drugs Create, not correct, Chemical Imbalances & Disorders.
* Psychotropic drugs...increase the susceptibility to having the very symptoms or problem they are attempting to reduce. Dr. Peter Breggin, MD, Harvard Graduate, Psychiatrist and Researcher, Breggin, P. & D. Cohen. (2000). Your Drug May Be Your Problem: How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Medication. New York: Perseus Books. Also see Grace Jackson, M.D.(2005) Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A guide
7) Many Psychotropic Drugs Increase Risk of Suicide-Aggression.
* Taking almost all of the SSRI antidepressants increase the patient’s risk of having and acting upon suicidal thoughts & agitation. Dr. David Healy, MD, medico-legal expert witness/researcher, former Director of North Wales Dept. of Psychological Medicine and Secretary of British Association of Psychopharmacology, author of over 120 peer reviewed articles and 12 books.
8) We Don’t Really Know If The Drugs Are Safe or Risks All Known.
* “Our current drug approval system has demonstrated that we don’t always understand the full magnitude of drug risks prior to approval of products.”
Dr. Steve Galson, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research,reported in the N.Y. Times, Nov. 6, 2004, in FDA’s Drug Safety System Will Get Outside Review.
* Since 1997, almost two dozen prescription drugs have been taken off the market due to serious side effects–some causing numerous deaths. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/page...
* Whitaker, R., The case against antipsychotic drugs: a 50-year record of doing more harm than good, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 62, Issue 1 , 2004, Pages 5-13.
9) Drugs simply do not work.
* Approximately 75%-90% of sugar pills were EQUALLY EFFECTIVE as SSRI-Antidepressant drugs, and that when the sugar pill-placebo gave a side effect,there was NO CLINICAL DIFFERNCE BETWEEN THE DRUG AND THE SUGAR PILL. (J. Moncrieff & I. Kirsch, July 16, 2005, British Medical Journal, doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7509.155 2005;331;155-157 BMJ.
* Kirsch, I,. & J. Thomas, at el, The Emperor's New Drugs: An Analysis of Antidepressant Medication Data Submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,, In Prevention & Treatment, Volume 5, Article 23, posted July 15, 2002
10) FOX 11 NEWS, reported that recent studies on effectiveness of the meds actually found that compared with placebo, the antidepressants do not produce clinically significant improvements in depression in patients who initially have moderate or even very severe depression. Basically, psychotropic meds were no better than placebos! (See “Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration”)
11) Big Pharma (PhRMA) Hammered on Boston Legal
September 30, 2008 (more)
OTHER
Even though the pills may not have a physical impact, the 'placebo' effect may take place and make a person feel better anyway.Talking from my own experience, just get a good psychotherapist. It took me years to find one who understood and could help but it's so worth going through 50 bad ones for one who fits you.
THROUGH HEALTH & NUTRITION
Health, nutrition, exercise and most imprtantly effective by keeping the mind/body/spirit in a productive, creative mode.OTHER
Since I refuse to make big pharma richer, I dont take those mothers little helpers, but I was depressed once and couldnt shake it. I tried counseling and realized that was just a rip off scam and no one could make me feel better but me. So what I did was counted my blessings one at a time. for example, I have to legs and feet to walk on, I have healthy kids and grandkids, I have two hands to work with, I have eyesight, I have hearing, florida is gorgeous, I have transportation, I have a home that is mine, and you just continue to count the blessings u do have. Not concentrate on what you dont have or how times could be better. Sometimes its hard to be grateful for the little things that are really the big things in life and FREE. Add up the great things in your life and dont concentrate on the bad. It could be worse and im sure anyone can think of someone who is worse off. You can always be more grateful if you know of someone who is worse off.OTHER
Chemical imbalance is valid and medication may very well be necessary. All of the above could help and I am not a great fan of medication but in this case it may be the best bet.OTHER
There are so many levels of depression. Some occurances are so devastating as to actually affect your ability to function normally. Some things can lead to a depressive state where you can't close your eyes' cause what you see but you have to sleep. Some things can't be talked away, taken away or washed away. But that's life,When you find a new treatment, let me know. Oh yeah-Legalize, it's the only medicine I can take that doesn't rot my kidneys or liver, and I don't drink.
Durf
SEEK SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
Either that, or just pretend that depression doesn't exist.You'll get the same results.
OTHER
I've tried all of the above, and none of it has worked. The only thing that has worked for me is medicine. And I hate that. I feel like a drug addict. I mean, I guess I am, if I have to take this pill every day to function, and the thought of not taking it scares the hell out of me.ALL OF THE ABOVE
Depression is nothing to take lightly. Try anything and everything to see what works for you. If that includes prescription drugs, screw that report and take them!OTHER
I don't have an answer to this question, mainly due to the fact that I have been told for years that I suffer from a hereditary chemical imbalance and have relied on prescription medication for years. Unfortunately, I've never really had any success with MAOIs and anti-depressants and have resorted to self-medication numerous times. I have a horrendously addictive personality and am quite lacking in the spiritual department.ALL OF THE ABOVE
but most importantly,ALL OF THE ABOVE
Antidepressants Are Dangerous!Lots of good info 'why' here....
http://profile.myspace.com/in...
ALL OF THE ABOVE
Personally when I feel like I'm far too sad (almost depressed) I do my best to go out there and exercise, eat healthy, read spiritual books, talk to friends.OTHER
I think through exercise, and just getting out and making yourself do SOMETHING, will help depression. Depression is a natural thing to happen, and when it happens to some they let it devour them.ALL OF THE ABOVE
Well what did we do during mankind's long history before anti-depressants? What does Chinese medicine use? Herbs and acupuncture I believe.These methods have worked for millions of Chinese (and Tibetans) for thousands of years. We should check those non-addictive methods out.OTHER
moderated...http://www.americanchronicle....
THE ANTIDEPRESSANT SCANDAL- WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? By Bill Burniece, Consumer Advocate
February 07, 2008
How Pharmaceutical Companies Are Suppressing Data About The Effectiveness And Safety Of Antidepressant Drugs While The FDA Looks The Other Way
peace
I hope you continue to do well. Peace back to you. Angel
thanks ;)
OTHER
Life-coaching. People need to be taught how to deal with situations like poverty, bad housing, bad relationships, bad jobs or unemployment. They need to be taught how to best change their circumstances. How to apply for new jobs, how to move to a different city, things like that. Once people have the resources, they can escape from the situations that make them depressed.ALL OF THE ABOVE
sadly i must agree. the pharmaceutical industry makes more money in one day than the vast majority of human beings do in ten years. money makes the world go around these days, and it is all most people seem to care about anymore. honor is not dead, but it is rapidly getting there. personally, i think that the best way to be rid of depression, is to just do what makes you happy, and try to avoid the more unpleasant things that get you down, and if you cant avoid them, then you have to find a way to deal with them to the best of your abilities, and know that as long as you dont give up, eventually something good will happen, and you have to always remember that no matter how bad things get, they can always get worse. this is something i know from many many years of unpleasant experiance. i am only 22, about to be 23 in exactly two months, but i have suffered through more shit than most people can possibly imagine. i chose to learn from it though, and take strength from it. there is an old quote i paraphrased from a fantasy novel i read long ago, because it seems so accurate to me. "Life is like a sword in the hands of an expert blacksmith. All of your problems and the suffering you endure are the fires of the forge used to make the blade. The flames can either make the blade bri... sadly i must agree. the pharmaceutical industry makes more money in one day than the vast majority of human beings do in ten years. money makes the world go around these days, and it is all most people seem to care about anymore. honor is not dead, but it is rapidly getting there. personally, i think that the best way to be rid of depression, is to just do what makes you happy, and try to avoid the more unpleasant things that get you down, and if you cant avoid them, then you have to find a way to deal with them to the best of your abilities, and know that as long as you dont give up, eventually something good will happen, and you have to always remember that no matter how bad things get, they can always get worse. this is something i know from many many years of unpleasant experiance. i am only 22, about to be 23 in exactly two months, but i have suffered through more shit than most people can possibly imagine. i chose to learn from it though, and take strength from it. there is an old quote i paraphrased from a fantasy novel i read long ago, because it seems so accurate to me. "Life is like a sword in the hands of an expert blacksmith. All of your problems and the suffering you endure are the fires of the forge used to make the blade. The flames can either make the blade brittle and weak, or they can be used to temper it and make it stronger than before. It all depends on how the blade is handled in the flames". i just chose to take all my suffering, and use it to make me stronger. when life gets me down i just think back on all the hell i have walked through in my life, and just the knowledge that i have survived tends to make me feel better, and the way i see it, to give up now, would be an insult to all i have survived through already. after all, if i have made it this far without giving up, to give up now would be the most atrocious of insults, to myself, and to the few that now stand by me. i have always refused to give up, no matter how bad things have gotten, and though the fates prove time and again how much they seem to enjoy making my life as miserable as possible, even to this day, i spit in their face by refusing to let it take me down, and because i have never given up, i now have two wonderful fiancees (i live a different lifestyle than most, and though many wouldnt understand, it makes me happy, so i dont care what people think about it) and i love them both very much. they are very beautiful, and it makes me very happy to have them both in my life. i also realized long ago that it doesnt matter what people think about me, only what i think about myself. so many people spend their time living for others, trying to be what other people want them to be, that they lose sight of who they really are. they feed into media drama, and are brainwashed by it, and sadly, never even realize what is happening to them. i offer an example.... when the air force ones song by nelly came out, people flocked to shoe stores to buy air force one shoes. as i understand it, though my sources could be mistaken, there were several locations in which riots occured, quite literally riots in the stores, because they ran out of that particular brand of shoe, and people flipped out because, god forbid, they dont get to wear the same kind of shoes as some famous hip hop or rap artist. personally, i pity such people, for not living for themselves, and giving in to such nonsense, instead of just being who they really are. i choose to be myself, and though many think me quite eccentric and odd, it is my eccentricities that make my life so amusing, and i have found that in choosing to be myself, and not what others want me to be, i have obtained a level of confidence that not many people seem to reach. i am me, and no matter what else happens, no one can ever take that from me. many just call me narcissistic, but another quote, of which i am very fond, taken from "The Tale of the Body Thief" by Anne Rice, sums it up quite nicely i think. (i believe i have this quoted verbatim, but i may have a few words off here and there, so bear with me). "dont you see, i have survived all that i have been through because i am who i am. my strength, my will, my refusal to give up, these are the only components of my heart and soul which i can truly identify. this ego, if you wish to call it that, is my strength. i am the vampire lestat, and nothing, not even this mortal body, is going to defeat me". anywho, i digress. i think that more often that not, shrinks create self-fulfilling prophecies with their diagnoses. tell me readers, and give this some thought, adhd, is it real? after all, looking at the symptoms of it, are we not describing virtually every kid under that age of ten? this term, this diagnoses, if you wish to call it that, is just another way to get shrinks to think you or someone you know has a problem, so you will keep coming back, and keep taking their drugs, which only makes them more and more money.it is, for the most part, just a load of crap. though i will say that there are a few decent shrinks out there, the rest are, my and large, full of shit. think about this.... how much does just one appointment with a shrink cost? is it not expensive as all hell? ridiculous. though some shrinks actually do a bit of good here and there, they actually, in the end, cause more problems than they solve. and for those of you who actually read this far, and think i am full of shit, know this: i possess a borderline genius level iq, and i have been dealing with shrinks for the vast majority of my life, and i have made it a point to aquire more than just my personal knowledge and experience, to learn more. i know what i am talking about, and have spent a great many years accumulating this information. believe what you will, about me, and about them, but this is the knowledge i have aquired. i truly hope that those of you who suffer from depression and other such problems find a way to bring yourselves out of it, but in the end, it is all about choice. whether you believe it or not, you CAN make the choice to simply not be depressed. it is a very hard thing to do, but if you keep at it, eventually you will come out of it, a far better, far more content and happy, and far stronger person. good luck to all, and many well wishes. (more)Just don't let it get you down. Your picture is way too serious!
Here's a quote that I love: "Everything will be all right in the end. If it isn't all right -- it isn't the end." The best to you!
ALL OF THE ABOVE
I cannot discount the chemical imbalance theory completely. I do think that many chemical imbalances can be rectified with a healthy diet, a good vitamin regimen, and exercise. So in either case....I'd treat it the same way.