Chemical Imbalance?
As my five year old daughter goes off to Kindergarten this next week, I am excited to tell you about the new cookbook I ordered, Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer McCann. She is the creator of the Vegan Lunch Box blog. I also ordered a Laptop Lunchbox for the whole effect. The recipes in the book are so fun and easy and make being a vegan not so difficult at school.
I have been reading a lot lately and can’t wait to share with you what I’ve been learning. Probably the most mind-blowing is from Our Daily Meds by Melody Petersen –
The idea of a ‘chemical imbalance’ — that mental suffering was caused by nothing more than a lack of certain brain chemicals — …was an alluring theory that anyone coping with severe stress or unhappiness could be tempted to believe. It freed the person from blame for anything that might have caused the unhappiness. It also made any kind of mental anguish something that could be easily and swiftly remedied by taking a pill…The problem with the notion that mental illness is caused by a chemical imbalance is that it is little more than that. It’s a theory — oversimplified by marketers — that scientists have not been able to prove despite decades of work.
‘I spent the first several years of my career doing full-time research on brain serotonin metabolism, but I never saw any convincing evidence that any psychiatric disorder, including depression, results from a deficiency of brain serotonin,’ said Dr. David Burns, an adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, when he was asked about the serotonin imbalance theory in 2003. ‘In fact, we cannot measure brain serotonin levels in living human beings so there is no way to test this theory. Some neuroscientists would question whether the theory is even viable, since the brain does not function in this way, as a hydraulic system.’
This really resonates with me because, when I was 11 years old, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I was prescribed a host of meds, one of which was Prozac (nearly killed me) and had to live with the stigma of being “different” and even “broken.” After years on this regimen, I started to question why the meds didn’t seem to be fixing me. My psychiatrist told me I would need to undergo a complete neurological evaluation to determine the problem. I consulted with my dad, a pastor whose wisdom has always been indispensable to me, and he said something I will never forget: “One would question what came first; the chemical imbalance or the depression itself — in other words, maybe you are just sad and that doesn’t require drugs.” I “broke up” with my doctor and have been drug-free, and no longer depressed, ever since. I guess knowing that there was nothing wrong with me, that I was just going through a difficult time, empowered me and made me overcome the depression. This is by no means a judgment on those who choose medication, but I would caution you to question any doctor that hastily medicates without asking you about what’s going on in your life and suggesting other alternatives.