that 'chemical imbalance' myth

Yes SQ... and of course the narratives we tell ourselves about our lives affect how we react to and recover from things as well!

So I think I'm saying that individuals with their own backgrounds and stuff might prefer one explanation over the other for themselves and that is a strong reason to prefer one explanation over another.

Whereas in fact it is probably either / or / or a mix and it would be better to look at things from that perspective.

Agree with that mooncup!
_

Am pleased to read the comments about causes including feeling powerless, groups at risk include parents of young children.

You see for me - having not had any MH problems before -that is very reassuring. And, of course, that when life changes - as it will - things might well get better. That for me is more reassuring than the chemical imbalances reason - the former explanation I can understand and hope for improvement - the second is a bit of a no mans land (can I say that in fem section? ) of well what's that and how did it happen and if/when will it go and a bit less hope in a sort of a way.

IYSWIM

Interesting to hear people say that one of the uses of the chemical imbalance theory is that it allows depression to be seen as a 'proper' illness.

As a society we don't seem to have developed a very sophisticated model of mental illness; often feels like a binary between 'mental illness is just the same as a physical problem like a broken leg' and 'pull yourself together, it's all in your head'. I'm not sure either is very helpful, though the former is certainly better than the latter!

SQ, you're right that it's not known how antidepressants work. What you might have missed (sorry if not, am half-reading) is the neurotransmitter chain reactions that cause adrenaline, to take a common example, to shut down other processes. Although logical in an emergency, over an extended period it causes malfunctions which the brain reads as an emergency - so produces more stress hormones, which perpetuate the cycle. This is a chemical (hormonal) imbalance; some folks might be more prone to it and even born with it but, at present, all we know is that it happens and SSRIs / SNRIs /SDRIs can help.

Depression is known to be a symptom of feeling powerless. Dogs and rats show it, for example, when they're placed in a reward/punishment environment where the effects are random, no matter what they do. It pretty much sums up my childhood and the events that triggered my breakdown. There have been many persuasive studies that show depression increases the more a person's decision-making capacity at work is eroded. Women caring at home for young children or old people probably feel powerless to control their lives. So do people doing heavily controlled, repetitive jobs - and the unemployed in a depression.

Getting myself in a pickle here!

What I mean is that I am sure some MH probs are organic / genetic / chemical imbalance and so forth.

However this explanation for all of it, is not satisfactory, as it means that underlying causes and trends are not looked at - see earlier post re. girls and young women with "behavioural problems" and their history being overlooked.

Drugs are great if they work.
AFAIK the docs and scientists take is they work so great rather than knowing that they are actually tackling an underlying imbalance. They don't really know what's going on either. Like ECT "works" but no-one knows why really. But if someone is at that stage and you have something that might well make them feel better then you use it.

Obviously depression and anxiety can be very severe - I'm not meaning otherwise - but something like bipolar is a different kettle of fish somehow.

I think that people are mainly talking about anxiety / depression - of the type that means that apparently 1/4 of the UK population are on SSRIs.

Rather than more severe conditions - I am anyway.

That is an interesting article leonie. I remember all the stuff about contraceptive hormones in the water potentially causing probs years ago.

I wonder if this stuff is filtered out in the UK or not though. I have no idea.

Hmm. I see what people are saying. But I have bipolar and find some security in the idea that it is in some way biological, the way I was born. Otherwise is it my fault, my inability to cope?

I take lithium (not at moment as I am pregnant) and it keeps me well. I will take it for the rest of my life if necessary. I have had therapies as well, but it doesn't work as well as meds.

I see my bipolar like any other medical condition, eg diabetes that requires medication to treat.

Trouble is they often aren't a temporary assistance. People end up taking them for years and years, largely because they can be such a nightmare to come off.

minipie I don't understand why you think anyone is discounting them as a treatment?

I'm certainly not - I'm on them and they have helped a lot.

pubegardens yes I was wondering about men self medicating more with alcohol etc

but I wouldn't like to say TBH both sexes drinking an awful lot these days

Sardine I have no doubt they are a very blunt instrument. But if they do help - even if it is in a very inaccurate and incomplete way - that means they shouldn't be completely discounted as a treatment method. Albeit one of a range of treatment methods rather than a complete solution.

Saying it's an imbalance and giving me happy pills is an easy way of treating it until life changes (children get bigger / I get a job etc) and hopefully I feel better of my own accord. Well yes. But if you have no immediate way of getting out of that situation, and the happy pills have an effect, isn't that temporary assistance from the happy pills better than nothing?

SQ, yes the same site says women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety. It's complicated though, men are much more likely to have drug or alcohol problems so it could be that they are self medicating more for the same issues, rather than seeing a Dr.

Sorry, haven't read the whole thread: got to Wickety's post, and just wanted to comment. My dad had Bipolar, too- and always used to attribute it to a chemical imbalance. I assume this is what he had been told by someone professional, and he found it easier to deal with than anything more 'personal', if you know what I mean. I had never associated it with a uniquely 'female' sort of depression or anything, and have never had anyone attribute my own depression to it either...

The thing I find interesting on the MH boards on here is the sheer number of women suffering with anxiety.

My main problem was anxiety, depression was a secondary issue.

Is anxiety something that women suffer more? Is it something that new mothers suffer more? What about new fathers? Those sorts of questions - are they being answered, are they being looked at in a serious way?

Also depression is about as common in men as women

This is incorrect.

Depression is more common in women than men. 1 in 4 women will require treatment for depression at some time, compared to 1 in 10 men. The reasons for this are unclear, but are thought to be due to both social and biological factors. It has also been suggested that depression in men may have been under diagnosed because they present to their GP with different symptoms. (National Institute For Clinical Excellence, 2003)

(from here)

Oh this "Otherwise, antidepressants would have no effect, surely. "

Minipie they have the same effect as if you took a low dose of Ecstacy, all the time! ie more seratonin in the brain. It's not surprising people feel better!

I look on antidepressants as being like the cast/crutches to a broken leg. If 1/4 of the population had broken legs we would need to fix the problems in society that cause people to break their legs

Yes, this. Depictions of the "chemical imbalance" as a myth strike horror into my heart. I've had severe clinical depression for 12 years. It was triggered by life events, but exists in its own right - like a broken leg.

I have no doubt at all that I owe my life to contemporary antidepressants. I'm still taking them. They are not a sop.

For me as well the idea that it was a hormonal imbalance caused by pregnancy which then became embedded and caused longer term problems was comforting - mainly for DH and my friends and people like that.

The real reason (IMO anyway) - that I am temperamentally unsuited to looking after babies & small children and that having that as my full time job effectively plus lack of sleep is what caused the problems - is not comfortable for anyone to acknowledge really. It is not how women are supposed to be, and there is no reasonable way of changing the situation. Saying it's an imbalance and giving me happy pills is an easy way of treating it until life changes (children get bigger / I get a job etc) and hopefully I feel better of my own accord