that 'chemical imbalance' myth

Just catching Up

I'm on SSRIs, they are great
I didn't get from the OP at all that people shouldn't take them or anything

In my case though I think it's "mother's little helper" in the way that in past generations valium, booze, opium and so on have been used.
I do wonder whether there are really more people with MH issues, or whetehr in the past people just self medicated / struggled on more.

Something else that springs to mind, talking about a chemical imbalance has been an attempt to make people understand that depression is a real illness. This is an improvement on the whole idea of 'pulling yourself together' which has benefitted men as well as women.

All antidepressants have been tested against placebo and found to be effective. So that has been looked at.

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, physiotherapy to aid recovery and for those individuals who had a chronic problem with broken legs, we should offer additional treatment/advice to help them avoid it in the future.

Treating MH problems likewise, antidepressants allow someone the breathing room to make changes to their life, get through bad situations etc. They are not in themselves the problem. We still need to look at why people get depression, how best to help longterm and how to change society to avoid depression, but not offering people antidepressants whilst they are struggling won't help.

Also depression is about as common in men as women, so its not exactly the patriarchy suppressing women, more the top of society attacking the rest of us.

It's a bit cyclical. It may be circumstance / low mood that causes the imbalance, or imbalance causing the depression. It is almost irrelevant. But, ignoring the circumstantial triggers and just medicating will work only temporarily.

I think drugs should never be prescribed without proper follow up by a mh professional.

There is a big difference between depression and what used to be called manic depression and is now more usually called bipolar. Manic depression usually lasts a lifetime is incurable. Those with it usually take a mood stabiliser drug for the rest of their life. And for many, it is the manic phases which are much more of a problem than the depressive stages.

Just thought its not helpful to talk about depression and manic depression as if it is the same thing.

Grr - be-all and end-all.

I should have said that I'm not saying antidepressants are the only answer nor that they should be the be-all amd emd-all of treatment.

In my case, antidepressants got me out of the dark pit and back on an even keel - but I was still low amd not functioning at all well, so my dr also sent me to our local specialist depression service, who referred me to group therapy, where I have spent 2.5 years delving into the roots of my depression.

I have to say, though, that the comment about not being able to discuss this issue without someone saying 'how DARE you, it saved my life', did make me feel my views were not welcome, and that Alameda doesn't take what I said seriously.

I did read a couple of Dorothy Rowe books years ago. Is she the one who wrote self help for your nerves. I don't suffer from depression as such but sometimes have periods when my mood is very low for no good reason.

I believe that a chemical imbalance can cause some instances of depression.

Otherwise, antidepressants would have no effect, surely.

The key is not to assume that is the cause - or the solution - to all instances of depression.

In other words, it's not a myth - but it is a dangerous over-generalisation.

This is really interesting. I'm taking ads for PND and think that the societal pressures on a certain type of motherhood plus the isolation of the nuclear family are a huge part of it. But I need to be well an they are working.

I refused the drugs from my gp and am seeing a great female psych and cbt counselor too, both wonderful women - so I am being well cared for now

Yes, I have read some Dorothy Rowe. She's really anti the chemical imbalance explanation, isn't she? She's written some interesting stuff about depression sufferers feeling unable to live up to their own high standards and finding in depression a way of insulating themselves from the world, if I recall correctly (which I may not, it's been a while).

Interesting study here

44% of women have been prescribed antidepressant drugs by the time they are 54. That is shockingly high. Most never get as far as seeing a MH professional, they are prescribed ADs by GPs who tell them they have a chemical imbalance. It's the quick, cheap option and does absolutely nothing about root causes.

Of course we need to be careful. In some cases, ADs are literally lifesavers. I have a looong history of depression and have been on them a couple of times, but I think we are short-changing people, especially women, if this is all that is offered.

I'm coming up to 20 years of recurring depression.

I always bought the chemical inbalance explanation, in a way it comforted me to think that this is not my fault.

Has anyone read Dorothy Rowe? This thread has inspired me to get Depression: The way out of your prison off the bookshelf. Sorry on phone can't do links, it's a thought-provoking read.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that your view is not welcome, SDTG. But you are a sample of one and your experiences are not the be all and end all of this whole (very complex) topic.

If you have access to research about the role of seratonin and the benefits of psychiatric medicine then do post it, that would be fascinating.

So my view is not welcome, despite my relevant experience, because I don't buy unquestioningly into the idea that mental health professionals can't be bothered to cure their patients, preferring to just medicate them.

If the reason that so many young women are self-harming / have eating disorders etc correlate with sexual abuse then that is worth knowing.

At the moment these issues seem to be buried as they are too tricky in terms of palatability and financial cost to face up to as a society. yes - OP - "pathologising what it is to be female in a patriarchal society" - this

I thought that the OP was saying the the underlying reasons that so many people have MH problems should be looked at. Rather than just treating the symptoms.

At a societal level if for eg it turns out that a large proportion of first time mothers end up with MH problems in the mid/long term - then this is useful information isn't it. And the causes could be looked at and solutions sought.

I didn't take it that she was saying they didn't work / don't take them.

Alameda :(

There seems to be rather an unattractive right-wing agenda that favours attributing mental health problems to individual brain chemistry and pushing pills (with the concomitant profits for pharma companies), rather than looking at peoples' lives and the role of wider society.

Having said that I do know various people who feel they have really benefited from anti-depressants.