Chemical Imbalance Theory Exposed as Pseudoscience

Landmark study disproves that “chemical imbalance causing depression” is a scientifically meaningless theory that has misled consumers, while driving up antidepressant sales to $15 billion a year.

The so-called “chemical imbalance” theory has led to millions of people taking antidepressants for decades.

Bogus theories are nothing new. People were once convinced that Earth was flat. Bloodletting was a recommended medical treatment for thousands of years and used as a “cure” the night the first US President George Washington died.

Similarly, the “chemical imbalance” theory, popularized by the psychiatric-pharmaceutical industry in the 1980s, has just been added to the scrapheap of debunked scientific nonsense. Yet this very theory was used by drug companies to rake in sales of $15 billion a year in antidepressants “designed to resolve any chemical imbalance in the brain that is the underlying cause of depression.” And their TV ads still promote it.

A landmark study by researchers at University College London (published in Molecular Psychiatry) reviewed 17 major studies carried out over several decades. It found no convincing evidence to support the theory.

“The popularity of the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory has coincided with a huge increase in the use of antidepressants,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Joanna Moncrieff.

The “chemical imbalance” scam became a key element of the biggest mental healthcare marketing campaign in history. Despite not having even a shred of scientific validity, this myth was advanced by psychiatrists who prescribed vast quantities of antidepressants, such as Citalopram (Celexa), Escitalopram (Lexapro), Fluoxetine (Prozac), Paroxetine (Paxil), and Sertraline (Zoloft).

“The ‘chemical imbalance’ theory has always been nothing more than a marketing campaign with no basis in science.”

The early success of Prozac paved the way for many other harmful antidepressants. When it launched, Prozac was hailed by psychiatric and medical professionals as the next “revolution in mental health treatment.” Marketed in more than 90 countries, Prozac “treated” more than 100 million people for a nonexistent chemical imbalance in 2016 alone. The US is by far the largest market.

“45 million Americans of all ages take antidepressants, of whom 2.1 million are aged 0–17,” says Jan Eastgate, President of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), a nonprofit that has been exposing the fallacy of the “chemical imbalance” theory for more than 30 years.

The devastating side effects of antidepressants have been known for decades. They include suicide, self-harm and emotional numbness. To make matters worse, these substances are heavily addictive. Individuals trying to discontinue these drugs often suffer serious withdrawal symptoms falsely attributed to a return of the underlying depression. Thus, psychiatrists actively discourage those unfortunate enough to be prescribed these destructive chemicals from discontinuing treatment. This leads to lifelong dependence in many cases, further bolstering the pharmaceutical gravy train.

“CCHR has been exposing the harmful nature of antidepressants like Prozac since 1989,” says Eastgate. “The ‘chemical imbalance’ theory has always been nothing more than a marketing campaign with no basis in science.”

As early as 1991, CCHR helped instigate a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel hearing into the evidence that Prozac could induce violent and suicidal behavior. Despite the presentation of clear evidence, psychiatrists on the panel, with conflicts of interest with antidepressant manufacturers, rejected the conclusion that antidepressants induce violent adverse reactions.

Yet, the widespread use of antidepressants coincides with increased acts of senseless violence in schools and the community. A CCHR exposé titled “Psychiatric Drugs: Create Violence & Suicide” details more than 30 studies and over 60 cases of mass shootings and acts of violence committed by those taking or withdrawing from prescribed psychotropic drugs.

“The chemical imbalance lie has been a significant obstacle. Morally and scientifically, mental health professionals should have stopped diagnosing this and consumers’ lives could have been spared false hopes and potentially dangerous psychotropic drugs,” stressed Eastgate.

As a nonprofit mental health watchdog, CCHR is responsible for helping to enact more than 180 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive practices. CCHR has long fought to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health, including full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis, the risks of psychiatric treatments, the right to all available medical alternatives, and the right to refuse any treatment considered harmful. CCHR was co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Dr. Thomas Szasz.

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