Body: | Mental Illness and the Myth of "Chemical imbalances" of the brain.
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Psychiatry: Chemical imbalances are mythical
"Chemical imbalances" are to psychiatry what "the missing link" is to evolution.
There is no scientific proof that chemical imbalances even exist, must less that they cause mental illness. Drugs don't fix chemical imbalances in the brain, they create them.
Introduction:
Click to View See also: History of Psychiatry homepage
Most people are in for some "shock therapy" when they learn that the
popular idea that mental illnesses are caused by a Chemical imbalance in
the brain is a myth! It is so widely accepted, it appears "nuts" to
question it as fact. Get ready for your shock! You have been lied too by
mental health officials and physiatrists!
Common Lies promoted by psychiatrists, drug companies and the media:
"Depression is a serious medical condition", "Drugs are the most effective
treatment for your serious illness", "This drug corrects biochemical
imbalances in your brain", "Never fail to take this medication; it's just
like insulin for diabetes."
Ask your doctor exactly what chemical is out of balance in the brain
of mentally ill people. If he is brave enough to offer a specific chemical,
ask him why this chemical does not fix the mental illness once this
chemical is added to the body like Insulin fixed Diabetes!
"Chemical imbalances" are to psychiatry what "the missing link" is
to evolution: NON-EXISTANT!
"What about psychiatric research? We seem to be no closer [in
1991AD] to finding the real, presumed biological, causes of the major
psychiatric illnesses. ... There remains much room for improvement in the
management of institutions for the treatment of the mentally ill and the
need for "more extensive and more correct knowledge" is unchanged. Lack of
progress in the latter should not unduly hinder the former." (British
Psychiatry at 150, J. Birley, Lancet, 1991 AD)
"As one of our colleagues recently said, "Biochemical imbalances are
the only diseases spread by word of mouth."" (Your Drug May Be Your
Problem, Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 24)
Neuroleptic and anti-psychotic drugs do not fix this imagined
"chemical imbalance" but merely tranquilize and stupefy.
The truth is, the vast majority of mentally ill people have
perfectly healthy and normal bodies. It is their spirit that is sick, not
their body.
Amazingly, Psychiatrists, medical doctors and neuroscientists (and
informed Christians), know there is no scientific proof that mental illness
is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. However mental health
organizations that provide "information pamphlets" to the general public do
the dirty work of lying and propagating this myth.
The truth is, that Chemical imbalances are a "theoretical" cause of
mental illness based upon the "fact" of evolution. Problem is, there is no
scientific proof of evolution either! Christians need their eyes opened to
both satanic lies!
200 years ago, some doctors believed insanity was caused by some
brain disease. Pinel was smart enough to reject this and cure many people
with his moral treatments that are no longer used today: "Derangement of
the understanding is generally considered as an effect of an organic lesion
of the brain, consequently as incurable; a supposition that is, in a great
number of instances, contrary to anatomical fact. Public asylums for
maniacs have been regarded as places of confinement for such of its members
as are become dangerous to the peace of society. The managers of those
institutions, who are frequently men of little knowledge and less humanity,
have been permitted to exercise towards their innocent prisoners a most
arbitrary system of cruelty and violence; while experience affords ample
and daily proofs of the happier effects of a mild, conciliating treatment,
rendered effective by steady and dispassionate firmness." (A Treatise on
Insanity, Philippe Pinel, 1806 AD)
Pinel correctly understood that insanity was a spiritual problem,
not a physical disease: "It is to be hoped, that the science of medicine
will one day proscribe [condemn] the very vague and inaccurate expressions
of "images traced in the brain, the unequal determination of blood into
different parts of this viscus, the irregular movements of the animal
spirits," &c. expressions which are to be met with in the best writings
that have appeared on the human understanding, but which do not accord with
the origin, the causes, and the history of insanity. The nervous
excitement, which characterises the greatest number of cases, affects not
the system physically by increasing muscular power and action only, but
likewise the mind, by exciting a consciousness of supreme importance and
irresistible strength. Entertaining a high Opinion of his capacity of
resistance, a maniac often indulges in the most extravagant flights of
fancy and caprice; and, upon attempts being made to repress or coerce him,
aims furious blows at his keeper, and wages war against as many of the
servants or attendants as he supposes he can well master. If met however,
by a force evidently and convincingly superior, he submits without
opposition or violence. This is a great and invaluable secret in the
management of well regulated hospitals. I have known it prevent many fatal
accidents, and contribute greatly towards the cure of insanity. I have,
however, seen the nervous excitement in question, in some few instances,
become extremely obstinate and incoercible. (A Treatise on Insanity,
Philippe Pinel, 1806 AD)
"This plethora of drugs reflects the psychiatric view, now widely
held, that the vexations of life are due to mental diseases caused by
chemical imbalances in the brain, and that these can be effectively treated
by a rebalancing of the chemicals. Two hundred years ago psychiatrists
claimed that mental diseases were due to humoral imbalances in the body,
including the brain, which could be rebalanced with appropriate physical
treatments. No one has ever demonstrated the existence of diseases
affecting the "mind," much less of humoral and chemical imbalances that
were causing them. Unlike the history of medicine, the history of
psychiatry consists largely of critiques of its own prevailing practices.
The critiques are of two very different kinds. One type, the large
majority, is reformist: its targets are defined by and change with
psychiatry's prevailing practices-from commitment laws to shock
therapies, to the DSM, to psychopharmacology. The other type is radical:
its targets are constant and focus on psychiatry's core defects-the
nonexistence of mental diseases and the wrongfulness of depriving innocent
persons of liberty." (Coercion as Cure, Thomas Szasz, 2007 AD, p 58)
Also see our section on the history of psychiatric myths:
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A. Chemical imbalances are a myth:
The myth of the "biological cause"
Psychiatrists "claim hyperactivity in children is a 'biochemical
imbalance' ...researchers cannot identify which chemicals...or find
abnormal levels" in children. "The chemical imbalance theory has not been
established by scientific evidence." (Thomas J. Moore, Senior Fellow in
Health Policy at George Washington University Medical Center, Prescription
for Disaster, 1998, p.22)
"biological psychiatry does not come close to meeting scientific
standards ... psychiatry has not acquired even a tiny fraction of the
scientific foundation of internal medicine" " (Pseudoscience in Biological
Psychiatry, Colin A. Ross, M.D., & Alvin Pam, Ph.D., 1995, p. 69, 88).
"Biological psychiatry has not made a single discovery of clinical
relevance in the past 10 years, despite hundreds of millions of dollars of
research funding" (Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry, Colin A. Ross,
M.D., & Alvin Pam, Ph.D., 1995, p. 116)
"The fact that not a single textbook of pathology recognizes
depression and schizophrenia as diseases has not in the least dampened
popular and political enthusiasm for their diagnosis and treatment." (The
Medicalization Of Everyday Life, Thomas Szasz, 2007 AD, p 24)
"Our emotional and spiritual problems are not only seen as
psychiatric disorders, they are declared to be biological and genetic in
origin. The propaganda for this remarkable perspective is financed by drug
companies and spread by the media, by organized psychiatry and individual
doctors, by "consumer" lobbies, and even by government agencies such as the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). As a result, many educated
Americans take for granted that "science" and "research" have shown that
emotional upsets or "behavior problems" have biological and genetic causes
and require psychiatric drugs. Indeed, they believe they are "informed"
about scientific research. Few if any people realize that they are being
subjected to one of the most successful public relations campaigns in
history." (Your Drug May Be Your Problem, Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007
AD, p 22)
"The more progress scientific medicine actually makes, the more
undeniable it becomes that "chemical imbalances" and "hard wiring" are
fashionable clichés, not evidence that problems in living are medical
diseases justifiably "treated" without patient consent. ... Better to
continue calling unwanted behaviors "diseases" and disturbing persons
"sick," and compel them to submit to psychiatric "care."" (Coercion as
Cure, Thomas Szasz, 2007 AD, p viii)
"Claims that "mental illness" is caused by "biochemical imbalances"
is the major public relations thrust of current drug promotion. In magazine
advertisements and during consultations with doctors in their offices,
potential patients are repeatedly told that psychiatric drugs "work" by
correcting known "biochemical imbalances" in the brains.4 Media reports
treat these claims as the gospel truth, and the American Psychiatric
Association reports that 75 percent of Americans believe in them.'" (Your
Drug May Be Your Problem, Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 50)
"Unfortunately what I also see these days are the casualties of this
new biologic psychiatry, as patients often come to me with many years of
past treatment. Patients having been diagnosed with "chemical imbalances"
despite the fact that no test exists to support such a claim, and that
there is no real conception of what a correct chemical balance would look
like. Patients with years of medication trials which have done nothing
except reify in them an identity as a chronic patient with a bad brain.
This identification as a biologically-impaired patient is one of the most
destructive effects of biologic psychiatry." (Against Biologic Psychiatry,
Dr. David Kaiser, Psychologist, Psychiatric Times, December, Dec. 1996,
Vol. XIII, Issue 12)
"Except for a few objectively identifiable brain diseases, such as
Alzheimer's disease, there are neither biological or chemical tests nor
biopsy or necropsy findings for verifying or falsifying DSM diagnoses. It
is noteworthy that in 1952, when the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
published the first edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM), it did not include hysteria in its roster of mental
diseases, even though it was the most common psychiatric diagnosis-disease
until that time. The term's historical and semantic allusions to women and
uteruses were too embarrassing. However, the APA did not declare hysteria
to be a nondisease; instead, it renamed it "conversion reaction" and
"somatization disorder." Similarly, in 1973, when the APA removed deviant
sex from its roster of mental illnesses, it first replaced it with
ego-dystonic deviant sex; when that term, too, became an embarrassment, it
too was abolished. However, psychiatric researchers lost no time
"discovering" a host of new mental maladies, ranging from attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder to caffeinism and pathological gambling."
(Psychiatry: The Science of Lies, Thomas Szasz, 2008 AD, p 2)
"The process of diagnosis is very different in psychiatry. Since
there are no clear indications of a specific biological abnormality that
causes any of the psychiatric disorders, no laboratory tests have been
developed to confirm or refute any psychiatric diagnosis". (Richard Keefe,
Philip Harvey, Understanding Schizophrenia, 1994 p 19)
"As noted, the decision to take or to stop taking psychiatric drugs
should be a personal one. It should not be trivialized by glib acceptance
of pseudo-medical arguments from your doctor or others such as "This drug
is the most effective treatment for your serious illness" or "This drug
corrects biochemical imbalances in your brain" or "Never fail to take this
medication; it's just like insulin for diabetes." In the field of mental
health, not a single physical explanation has been confirmed for any of the
hundreds of psychiatric "disorders" listed in the DSM-IV. A recent
editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry states the case plainly:
"[A]s yet, we have no identified etiological agents for psychiatric
disorders."' Even in this age of biological quick fixes, an increasing
number of researchers are documenting the observation that nondrug
approaches produce equivalent or better results than drugs. This is true
even for problems considered extremely serious, such as "schizophrenia."2
Your doctor's claims to the contrary have little or no scientific basis."
(Your Drug May Be Your Problem, Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 138)
"The disanalogy between bodily disease and mental disease generates
countless confusions, illustrated by the popular analogy between
antibiotics and antipsychotics. It is reasonable to ask whether an
antibiotic drug, say penicillin, cures gonorrhea, because there are
objective criteria to determine whether a person has or does not have
gonorrhea. But it is not reasonable to ask whether an antipsychotic drug,
say Zyprexa, cures schizophrenia, because there are no objective criteria
to determine whether a person has or does not have this alleged disorder.
Hence, it is futile to debate whether psychotropic drugs "work." (Coercion
as Cure, Thomas Szasz, 2007 AD, p" 177)
"Yet conclusions such as "depression is a chemical imbalance" are
created out of nothing more than semantics and the wishful thinking of
scientist/psychiatrists and a public who will believe anything now that has
the stamp of approval of medical science." (Against Biologic Psychiatry,
Dr. David Kaiser, Psychologist, Psychiatric Times, December, Dec. 1996,
Vol. XIII, Issue 12)
The only evidence that makes mental illness a disease "are the
symptoms used by professionals to label someone mentally ill. But the
symptoms used to diagnose someone as mentally ill (despair, hopelessness,
sadness, anger, shame, guilt ...) are not biological markers. There is no
evidence that these expressions are physical in nature. They all point to a
hurting soul." (Ty C. Colbert, Rape of the Soul, Hour the Chemical
Imbalance Model of Modern Psychiatry has Faded Its Patients, 2001, p.
237-238)
"Biological psychiatry has not made a single discovery of clinical
relevance in the past 10 years, despite hundreds of millions of dollars of
research funding" (Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry, Colin A. Ross,
M.D., & Alvin Pam, Ph.D., 1995, p. 116)
"Psychiatric drugs do not work by correcting anything wrong in the
brain. We can be sure of this because such drugs affect animals and humans,
as well as healthy people and diagnosed patients, in exactly the same way
There are no known biochemical imbalances and no tests for them. That's why
psychiatrists do not draw blood or perform spinal taps to determine the
presence of a biochemical imbalance in patients. They merely observe the
patients and announce the existence of the imbalances. The purpose is to
encourage patients to take drugs. Ironically, psychiatric drugs cause
rather than cure biochemical imbalances in the brain. In fact, the only
known biochemical imbalances in the brains of patients routinely seen by
mental health professionals are brought about through the prescription of
mind-altering drugs. Psychiatric drugs "work" precisely by causing
imbalances in the brain-by producing enough brain malfunction to dull the
emotions and judgment or to produce an artificial high. Some people may
choose this alternative because they do not know that other options exist
or because they have lost faith in themselves and in the ability of other
people to help them, or because they have been taught to believe that their
brain is defective and that a drug will temporarily fix the problem." (Your
Drug May Be Your Problem, Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 60)
"Biologic psychiatrists often use the standards of empiricism to
answer their critics, in effect saying that their claims are scientifically
"proven" and thus unassailable, clearly a tautological argument. I would
further add that in my view many of the claims of biologic psychiatry do
not even hold up to their own standards of empirical science, for example
their claims about the biologic and genetic basis of many mental
illnesses." (Against Biologic Psychiatry, Dr. David Kaiser, Psychologist,
Psychiatric Times, December, Dec. 1996, Vol. XIII, Issue 12)
"In fact, it is heresy: a violation of the taboo against rejecting
the analogy between bodily illness and mental illness. By definition, there
are no mental illnesses the presence of which can be detected by objective
methods such as those used in the detection of microbial diseases. If there
were such methods, the conditions would not be called or considered mental
illnesses and could not be treated against the patient's will." (Coercion
as Cure, Thomas Szasz, 2007 AD, p 16)
The Psychology Industry relies on the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association, for many of the
names and labels it uses . The original 1954 version served to crystallize
the nineteenth-century belief that mental illnesses were biologically based
and similar to physical diseases. But unlike medical diagnoses that convey
a probable cause, appropriate treatment and likely prognosis, the disorders
listed in the DSM-IV are terms arrived at through peer consensus, designed
to be used in communicating information, conducting research, providing
treatment and doing billing. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001,
p 86)
"I am constantly amazed by how many patients who come to see me
believe or want to believe that their difficulties are biologic and can be
relieved by a pill. This is despite the fact that modern psychiatry has yet
to convincingly prove the genetic/biologic cause of any single mental
illness. However, this does not stop psychiatry from making essentially
unproven claims that depression, bipolar illness, anxiety disorders,
alcoholism and a host of other disorders are in fact primarily biologic and
probably genetic in origin, and that it is only a matter of time until all
this is proven. This kind of faith in science and progress is staggering,
not to mention naive and perhaps delusional. (Against Biologic Psychiatry,
Dr. David Kaiser, Psychologist, Psychiatric Times, December, Dec. 1996,
Vol. XIII, Issue 12)
"Spurred on by the aggressive advocacy of NAMI families, the federal
government has finally taken action to place the brain back into the body.
Congress in June [1992] approved legislation to return the National
Institute of Mental Health under the umbrella of the National Institutes of
Health.... Moving NIMH to NIH sends an important signal that mental illness
is a disease, like heart and lung and kidney diseases." (The Brain is Back
in the Body, Laurie Flynn, NAMI Advocate, 13:16, July, 1992 AD)
"The dream of biological psychiatrists is that an 'objective'
laboratory test for one of the major mental illnesses will be discovered.
... This dream is logically unsound and can never be realized. Although
biological psychiatrists speak of external validation of psychiatric
diagnoses by laboratory findings and specific markers, this can never
happen. Why? ... According to this logic, it would be possible to be
diagnosed and treated successfully for schizophrenia without ever having
had any psychiatric symptoms" (Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry,
Colin A. Ross, M.D., & Alvin Pam, Ph.D., 1995, p. 101-102).
Psychologists in White Coats: The re-emergence of a medical image
for psychological treatment, evident in two current activities, has
constituted part of the efforts to repair psychology's image. First was the
"scramble for protection under the powerful umbrella of medicine."
psychology hoped that if it could associate itself with the strong and
established profession of medicine, it could, by alliance or by default,
gain the credibility it could not attain through research. This movement
has been most evident in the re-acquisition of medical concepts and
terminology and in the attempt to redefine physical illnesses in, emotional
and psychological language. In contrast to its earlier anti-medical stance,
in the late 1970s the Psychology industry began to remodel itself along the
lines of traditional medicine. Problems became "psychopathology" or
diseases (e.g. the "epidemic of depression"), difficulties became
"disorders" or "syndromes," individuals again became "patients,"
assessments became "diagnoses" and outcomes were now "prognoses." A
significant contribution to this movement was the official introduction in
1980 of the DSM-III, which the American Journal of Psychiatry described as
having served to augment the "general trend toward the remedicalizations of
the phenomena of psychiatry." In an editorial in the issue discussing the
DSM-IV and psychotherapy, Chodoff concluded that "the other purposes
[beyond diagnosis) the diagnostic manual serves [are] to provide labels for
hospital, third party, and other records, and to supply data for research
into the prevalence and outcome of psychiatric conditions no matter how
they are treated." However, studies in the mid-1970s had shown the overall
unreliability of these psychiatric labels, a conclusion that was supported
by Chodoff when he noted that "treatment tends to give rise to a
diagnosis." Thus, if the DSM is unreliable and diagnostically imprecise, it
can only be concluded that the major effect of DSM-III and its successors,
the DSM IV and IVR, was its provision of billing codes and the consequent
absorption of mental-health problems into the medical health care (and
insurance) system. Not only did psychology adopt medical terminology, it
also tried to co-opt medical patients and their business, with political
statements such as "60% or more of the physician visits are made by
patients who demonstrate an emotional, rather than an organic, etiology for
their physical symptoms. But rather than share their turf, psychiatrists
and psychologists began fighting for the same turf. Significant in this
struggle is the current trend to approach psychological problems from a
biological perspective, with regard to both diagnosis and treatment. For
instance, neurobiological evidence and explanations are being sought for
such problems as trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder." And
pharmaceuticals are being tested and dispensed for the treatment not only
of depressive symptoms, but also of attention deficit hyperactive disorder
(e.g. Ritalin), impotence (e.g. Viagra) and alcoholism (e.g. Naltrexone).
This shift towards a biological orientation has spurred licensed
psychologists to lobby for the right to prescribe psychoactive drugs. ...
And all of this is being carried out by a profession that historically
fought psychiatry, hospitalization and the use of drugs, arguing that
psychotherapy was "just as effective."" (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana
Dineen, 2001, p 256)
"Many people recognize that psychiatrists deal with human problems,
not diseases of the brain, which fall in the domain of neurologists and
neurosurgeons. However, it is one thing privately to recognize a "forbidden
fact," another to accept its moral and social implications, and still
another to proclaim publicly that the psychiatrist-emperor is not merely
naked but a liar and an abuser of his fellow man, unworthy of being
considered a member of a healing profession. Despite seemingly radical
changes in psychiatric principles and practices during the past half
century, I contend that the truth about this mala fide medical specialty
remains so terrible that it invites disbelief." (Coercion as Cure, Thomas
Szasz, 2007 AD, p 12)
"I actually have no objections to real science in the field, if, for
example, it can help me make better medication decisions or develop newer
and better medications. But in general biologic psychiatry has not
delivered on its grandiose and utopian claims, as today's collection of
medications are woefully inadequate to address the complicated clinical
issues that come before me every day." (Against Biologic Psychiatry, Dr.
David Kaiser, Psychologist, Psychiatric Times, December, Dec. 1996, Vol.
XIII, Issue 12)
"The history of biological psychiatry can be depicted as a tale of
'promising' leads, closure on slender evidence, hyperbole as initial
reception to new work, and ultimately unproductive results. ... following
about a century of effort, a harsh assessment would be that no substantive
results have been tendered for the pathogenesis of any major psychiatric
disorder" (Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry, Colin A. Ross, M.D., &
Alvin Pam, Ph.D., 1995, p. 42).
B. Psychiatric drugs create chemical imbalances:
Psychiatric drugs create chemical imbalances instead of fixing them.
See major discussion here.
"This research in no way bolsters the idea that psychiatric drugs
correct imbalances. Rather, it shows that psychiatric drugs create
imbalances. In modern psychiatric treatment, we take the single most
complicated known creation in the universe-the human brain-and pour
drugs into it in the hope of "improving" its function when in reality we
are disrupting its function. The notion that Prozac corrects biochemical
imbalances is sheer speculation-propaganda from the biological
psychiatric industry. But disruption of biochemical reactions in the brain,
causing severe biochemical imbalances and abnormal rates of firing among
brain cells, is a proven fact about Prozac that cannot honestly be disputed
by anyone who knows the research." (Your Drug May Be Your Problem, Peter
Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 25)
"Prozac, Ritalin, and Xanax, like most psychiatric drugs,
overstimulate particular neurotransmitter systems either by increasing the
output of a neurotransmitter or by preventing its removal from the synapses
between nerve cells. Prozac, for example, overstimulates a chemical
messenger called serotonin by blocking its removal from the synapse. The
brain reacts initially by shutting down the release of serotonin and then
by reducing the number of receptors that can respond to the serotonin.'"
(Your Drug May Be Your Problem, Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 26)
C. The circular reasoning of modern Psychiatry:
What they don't tell you:
Your "fluid levels" of Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Dopamine, GABA are normal based upon blood tests. Mentally ill people have normal functioning bodies. Drugs address symptoms only. The problem is in the spirit.
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"Since we believe in evolution and that man is nothing but
chemicals, we assume there must be some chemical imbalance in your brain.
Since we know God doesn't exist, the problem cannot be in your spirit. So
take these drugs." (your shrink)
Based on the neurotransmitter theory of psychiatric illness, we can
plot clinical conditions and see how mental health professionals determine
medication treatment by recognizing which neurotransmitters are involved.
Remember, when your psychiatrist tells you that you have "Low
Serotonin", this is not based upon a blood test, but an assumption.
Further, the psychiatrist knows that if he did give you the standard blood
test for Serotonin, that your results would come back normal. The theory is
that the brain is unable to use the Serotonin in the brain.
In a spectacular exercise of circular reasoning, they can tell you
are depressed or anxious, for example, then assume you have a chemical
imbalance.
Most people think there is some science behind their statement that
you have "Elevated Norepinephrine". It sounds scientific... and the
psychiatrist does have a white coat...
True medical science would take a blood test first, then tell you
the problem, then offer you a chemical fix. This is exactly the case in
diabetes and insulin!
D. How psychiatry differs from medical science:
Psychiatry: Depression
Medical science: Diabetes
Observation and testimony of the patient: "I am depressed." (if blood tests done, all is normal)
blood test
Diagnosis: depression
Diagnosis: Blood sugar levels high
Cause: Assumed chemical imbalance: Low Serotonin levels in the brain.
Cause: Chemical imbalance: Low insulin levels
Drugs prescribed: SSRI's
Drugs: Insulin
Result: tranquilizes, sedates and removes symptoms without ever addressing the cause: a spiritual problem. If they actually took blood tests for Serotonin levels, all would be normal. The SSRI actually creates a chemical imbalance that hinders the brains ability to reuse Serotonin. This causes the body to respond by producing more Serotonin to correct the chemical imbalance created by the SSRI.
Result: instant cure the moment the insulin is injected into the blood stream.
E. Emotions are controlled by the spirit:
View major outline that proves mood, choice and memory have their
origin in the spirit, not the brain.
We have all experienced the rush the body produces after a near miss
accident. You slam on the brakes, you come to a complete save stop, the
accident is avoided but then about 5 seconds later, you feel the delayed
reaction of the "adrenaline rush".
The "adrenaline rush" is an example of how the spirit controls body
chemistry, not the other way around.
More on the truth that the spirit controls the body and that
mentally ill people have a spirit problem.
Notice that this rush of adrenaline influences our feelings, but
does not cause us to make choices, commit crimes or make us kill ourselves.
Man always retains full self-control and accountability.
F. Chemical imbalances and anti-psychotic drugs:
Mental illness is a spiritual problem, not a biological problem.
Giving drugs to fix the brain of mentally ill people is like overhauling
the engine of a car because the driver keeps hitting telephone poles.
Chemical imbalances do cause health problems. For example, diabetes
is caused by a chemical imbalance of Insulin in the body. The problem is
instantly fixed when the chemical (Insulin) is added to the body by
injection. This is a true chemical imbalance.
The "theoretical" chemical imbalance of mental illness is not in the
level of Serotonin in the body, for example, but the brains ability to
utilize the normal level present.
Anti-psychotic drugs do not fix chemical imbalances, they create
them and are dangerous! For example, when someone is diagnosed with a low
level of Serotonin, SSRI drugs are theorized to artificially suppress the
level of Serotonin in the body. The theory is that the body will adjust by
increasing the production rate of Serotonin. When patients seem to get
better (and the placebo effect is almost 50%) it is assumed that the theory
is validated. The problem is, that a wide range of tranquilizers have the
same end effect of making the patient better.
"By the 1990s, psychiatrists were skilled at treating depression
with powerful antidepressants. In fact these pills were hailed as the
ultimate weapon. Conventional wisdom discouraged wasting time on the
mythical construct of the distressed mind." (The Spiritual Brain, Mario
Beauregard Ph.D., Neuroscientist, 2007, p140)
G. The "chemical imbalances" in the brain theory has been in collapse since
1980.
"During the 1960s, scientists at the NIMH and elsewhere figured out
how iproniazid and imipramine worked. The transmission of signals from the
"presynaptic" neuron to the "postsynaptic" neuron needs to be
lightning fast and sharp, and in order for the signal to be terminated, the
chemical messenger must be removed from the synapse. This is done in one of
two ways. Either the chemical is metabolized by an enzyme and shuttled off
as waste, or else it flows back into the presynaptic neuron. Researchers
discovered that iproniazid thwarts the first process. It blocks an enzyme,
known as monoamine oxidase, that metabolizes norepinephrine and serotonin.
As a result, the two chemical messengers remain in the synapse longer than
normal. Imipramine inhibits the second process. It blocks the
"reuptake" of norepinephrine and serotonin by the presynaptic neuron,
and thus, once again, the two chemicals remain in the synapse longer than
normal. Both drugs produce a similar end result, although they do so by
different means." (Anatomy of an Epidemic, Robert Whitaker, 2010 AD, p62)
"All of this physiology-the 100 billion neurons, the 150 trillion
synapses, the various neurotransmitter pathways-tell of a brain that is
almost infinitely complex. Yet the chemical imbalance theory of mental
disorders boiled this complexity down to a simple disease mechanism, one
easy to grasp. In depression, the problem was that the serotonergic neurons
released too little serotonin into the synaptic gap, and thus the
serotonergic pathways in the brain were "underactive." Antidepressants
brought serotonin levels in the synaptic gap up to normal, and that allowed
these pathways to transmit messages at a proper pace. Meanwhile, the
hallucinations and voices that characterized schizophrenia resulted from
overactive dopaminergic pathways. Either the presynaptic neurons pumped out
too much dopamine into the synapse or the target neurons had an abnormally
high density of dopamine receptors. Antipsychotics put a brake on this
system, and this allowed the dopaminergic pathways to function in a more
normal manner. That was the chemical imbalance theory put forth by
Schildkraut and Jacques Van Rossum, and the very research that had led
Schildkraut to his hypothesis also provided investigators with a method for
testing it. The studies of iproniazid and imipramine had shown that
neurotransmitters were removed from the synapse in one of two ways. Either
the chemical was taken back up into the presynaptic neuron and restored for
later use, or it was metabolized by an enzyme and carted off as waste.
Serotonin is metabolized into 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA);
dopamine is turned into homovanillic acid (HVA). Researchers could comb the
cerebrospinal fluid for these metabolites, and the amounts found would
serve as an indirect gauge of the synaptic levels of the neurotransmitters.
Since low serotonin was theorized to cause depression, anyone in that
emotional state should have lower-than-normal levels of 5-HIAA in his or
her cerebrospinal fluid. Similarly, since an overactive dopamine system was
theorized to cause schizophrenia, people who heard voices or were paranoid
should have abnormally high cerebrospinal levels of HVA. ... In 1969,
Malcolm Bowers at Yale University became the first to report on whether
depressed patients had low levels of serotonin metabolites in their
cerebrospinal fluid. In a study of eight depressed patients (all of whom
had been previously exposed to antidepressants), he announced that their
5-HIAA levels were lower than normal, but not "significantly" so. Two years
later, investigators at McGill University said that they, too, had failed
to find a "statistically significant" difference in the 5-HIAA levels of
depressed patients and normal controls, and that they also had failed to
find any correlation between 5-HIAA levels and the severity of depressive
symptoms. In 1974, Bowers was back with a more finely tuned follow-up
study: Depressed patients who had not been exposed to antidepressants had
perfectly normal 5-HIAA levels. The serotonin theory of depression did not
seem to be panning out." (Anatomy of an Epidemic, Robert Whitaker, 2010 AD,
p 70)
Notice that this entire article sounds convincing, but the Ph.D.
level Clinical Psychologist admits he cannot prove chemical imbalances
exist. He says: "Unfortunately, the body doesn't have a built-in dipstick
for neurotransmitters". He admits there is no way of testing. This is the
kind of article that the public read, not realizing that there is no actual
proof, only assumptions, guesses, associations and theory. He also misleads
the public by using the analogy of fluid levels in a car and
neurotransmitters like Serotonin in the brain. It is well known that
mentally ill people have perfectly normal levels of neurotransmitters like
Serotonin in their bodies.
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"The brain consists of billions of neurons or cells that must communicate
with each other. The communication between neurons maintains all body
functions, informs us when a fly lands on our hand, or when we have pain.
The communication between neurons is controlled by the brain's type and
level of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that
control and create signals in the brain both between and within neurons.
Without neurotransmitters, there would be no communication between neurons.
The heart wouldn't get a signal to beat, arms and legs wouldn't know to
move, etc. As we discovered more about neurotransmitters, we began to
identify which neurotransmitters controlled certain bodily functions or
which were related to certain emotional/psychiatric difficulties.
Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, was found to be related to body temperature
and the onset of sleep. Research also identified Serotonin as related to
depression and later to a variety of mental health conditions such as
anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. As research in
neurotransmitters continued, studies between neurotransmitters and mental
conditions revealed a strong connection between amounts of certain
neurotransmitters in the brain and the presence of specific psychiatric
conditions. Using an everyday example, our automobile operates by using a
variety of fluids such as engine oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and
coolant (anti-freeze). Every automobile has a way to measure the levels or
amounts of each of these needed liquids such as the dipstick for oil and
transmission fluid and marked indicators for anti-freeze and brake-fluid
levels. Using our dipstick to measure engine oil, for an example, we can
find our engine to be found one, two, or even three quarts low. After a
recent oil change, the dipstick may also tell us that we have excessive oil
in the engine. To work properly, all fluid levels must be in the "normal
range" as indicated by the dipstick. When we receive a blood test, values
of certain blood components are given with the "normal range" also
provided, indicating if a blood chemical is below or above the average
range. Neurological research has identified over fifty (50)
neurotransmitters in the brain. Research also tells us that several
neurotransmitters are related to mental health problems - Dopamine,
Serotonin, Norepinephrine, and GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid). Too much or
too little of these neurotransmitters are now felt to produce psychiatric
conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, bi-polar disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, and ADHD. Unfortunately, the body doesn't
have a built-in dipstick for neurotransmitters, at least one that's
inexpensive enough for community mental health practice. There are advanced
imaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scans) that
are being utilized in research and in the development of medications that
directly influence changes in specific neurotransmitters. Lacking a PET
Scanner, most professionals evaluate neurotransmitter levels by looking for
indicators in thought, behavior, mood, perception, and/or speech that are
considered related to levels of certain neurotransmitters. ... The
technical aspects of neurotransmitter levels, the psychiatric symptoms they
produce, and how medications have been developed to raise or lower the
brain levels of these neurotransmitters can be very complicated. ... For
many years, mental health professionals have used the term "chemical
imbalance" to explain the need for medications that are used to treat
mental health conditions. This simple and commonly used explanation
recognizes that the condition is a medical problem and that it can be
treated with medication. The "chemical imbalance" explanation also reflects
the overall theme of treatment - identifying what neurotransmitters are
involved in the clinical symptom picture and with medication, attempting to
return that neurotransmitter level back to the "normal range". ... We are
all at-risk for changes in our brain's chemistry. Mostly commonly, we will
experience depression, anxiety, or stress reactions. As our
neurotransmitters change, they bring with them additional symptoms,
behaviors, and sensations that add to our on-going difficulties.
Recognizing these changes is an important part of treatment and returning
your life to normal and reducing our stress." (The Chemical Imbalance in
Mental Health Problems, Joseph M. Carver, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist)
"The discoveries of the earlier effective antidepressants,
antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers were frequently based on serendipitous
observations. The repeated demonstration of efficacy of these agents then
served as an impetus for considerable research into the neurobiological
bases of their therapeutic effects and of emotion and cognition themselves,
as well as the biological basis of the major psychiatric disorders."
(Textbook of Psychopharmacology, Schatzberg, Nemeroff, 2002 AD, xxi)
"Here, we focus on the principles of neurotransmission and
second-messenger generation that we believe are critical for an
understanding of the biological bases of major psychiatric disorders, as
well as the mechanisms by which effective treatments may exert their
beneficial effects." (Textbook of Psychopharmacology, Schatzberg, Nemeroff,
2002 AD, p 3)
"Psychiatry, like much of the rest of medicine, has entered a new
and exciting age demarcated by the rapid advances and the promise of
molecular and cellular biology and neuroimaging. It is our firm belief that
although individual neurotransmitters are involved in mediating the
manifestations of major psychiatric diseases, these diseases can be best
envisioned as arising out of abnormalities of integrated synapses and
circuits." (Textbook of Psychopharmacology, Schatzberg, Nemeroff, 2002 AD,
p 47)
"During the 1990s, the "Decade of the Brain," the drive in
psychiatry was to develop a comprehensive understanding of brain function
at levels that range from mind to molecule and to determine how aberrations
in these normal functions lead to the development of symptoms of mental
illness" (Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, Hales, Yudofsky, 2003 AD, p 427)
"Rapid advances in the identification of the human genome and in the
methodology for genetic manipulation have combined to open a window into
the brain. We are accumulating knowledge of human gene mutations and their
connection to neurological and psychiatric disease at a rapid pace. As
genes are being identified, the proteins for which they code are also
becoming known. With this knowledge, the pathogenic mechanism of some
diseases is becoming apparent. Understanding these maladies at the
molecular level is likely to lead to new methods of diagnosis and novel
approaches to therapy." (Textbook of Psychopharmacology, Schatzberg,
Nemeroff, 2002 AD, p 65)
"This chapter reviews the basic framework of the anatomical
distribution of the major neurochemical systems in the primate brain. These
organizational schemas provide important constraints on the actions of
neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. In addition, the consequences of the
cellular actions and pharmacological manipulations of their synthesis,
release, reuptake, and receptor binding depend on the rich and diverse
interplay across these neuro-chemical systems. Clearly, a major challenge
for the future involves the elucidation of these interactions and the
characterization of how these interactions are disturbed in psychiatric
disorders." (Textbook of Psychopharmacology, Schatzberg, Nemeroff, 2002 AD,
p 84)
"Psychoneuroendocrine studies continue to play a prominent role in
neuropsychiatric research, particularly in the area of depression. For this
review, we highlighted the most recent significant results, as well as
newer observations. Despite some intriguing findings, none of the
aforementioned results, including HPA dysregulation in depression (Kasckow
et al. 2001; Steckler et al. 1999; Tsigos and Chrousos 2002), are observed
consistently in any given patient population. Reasons for the variability
and heterogeneity in hormone levels or response are unclear. Some
differences likely are attributable to demographic and clinical
characteristics of the patients, as well as to diagnostic issues.
Methodological differences, such as sampling frequency and sample size
issues, also invariably have contributed to the disparity in findings. In
addition, since any given hormone can exert organizational and activational
influences on the regulation of multiple endocrine axes, the adaptive
neuroendocrine sequelae to stressors are likely to be quite variable across
individuals. Consequently, regardless of the reasons, none of the
neuroendocrine measures as yet show sufficient sensitivity, specificity,
and diagnostic confidence to be useful for the differential diagnosis or
prediction of treatment response. With the use of neuroimaging techniques
to unravel the neurotransmitter circuitry underlying psychopathology,
combined with molecular methodologies to profile individual
characteristics, the meaning and mechanisms of the observed
psychoneuroendocrine abnormalities should be forthcoming." (Textbook of
Psychopharmacology, Schatzberg, Nemeroff, 2002 AD, p 123)
"These self-destructive processes in the brain are relatively easy
to research. They were demonstrated in the private laboratories of Eli
Lilly- the manufacturer of Prozac-even before the drug was approved for
marketing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Long before the
marketing of Prozac, the drug was known to routinely cause drastic
biochemical imbalances rather than to correct them." (Your Drug May Be Your
Problem, Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 26)
Conclusion:
There is no scientific proof that chemical imbalances in the brain
even exist, must less that they cause mental illness. This is a myth.
"This research in no way bolsters the idea that psychiatric drugs
correct imbalances. Rather, it shows that psychiatric drugs create
imbalances. In modern psychiatric treatment, we take the single most
complicated known creation in the universe-the human brain-and pour
drugs into it in the hope of "improving" its function when in reality we
are disrupting its function. The notion that Prozac corrects biochemical
imbalances is sheer speculation-propaganda from the biological
psychiatric industry. But disruption of biochemical reactions in the brain,
causing severe biochemical imbalances and abnormal rates of firing among
brain cells, is a proven fact about Prozac that cannot honestly be disputed
by anyone who knows the research." (Your Drug May Be Your Problem, Peter
Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD, p 25)
There is no scientific proof that mental illnesses are caused by a
chemical imbalance.
"The serotonin theory of depression is comparable to the
Masturbatory Theory of Insanity." (Ads for SSRI antidepressants are
misleading, David Healy, PloS Medicine news release, November 2005)
Anti-psychotic drugs do not fix chemical imbalances, THEY CREATE
THEM and are dangerous.
Psychiatrists today are almost all atheists who believe that man was
created, without a God, by random chance processes through the theory of
evolution.
Psychiatrists today believe man is nothing more than a pile of
chemicals and dismiss the idea that man has a spirit, distinct from his
brain.
Psychiatry openly mocks and ridicules God and Christians, calling
Christian theology "foolish, misleading and obsolete". The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is called the "Bible of Psychiatry".
The DSM-IV is the central and most important book for classifying and
diagnosing mental illnesses in North America. The most recent edition (2004
AD) has this to say about the Christian view that man has a spirit that is
distinct from his body: this "dichotomy foolish and obsolete" ...
"misleading derivative dichotomies" "Ryle's exorcism of the "ghost in the
machine" (DSM-IV-TR Guidebook, 2004 AD, p 85, p14)
These chemical imbalances are a myth, with no science to prove they
exist, only theory!
Neuroleptic and anti-psychotic drugs do not fix this imagined
"chemical imbalance" but merely tranquilize and stupefy.
Mental illness is a spiritual problem, not a biological problem.
Giving drugs to fix the brain of mentally ill people is like overhauling
the engine of a car because the driver keeps hitting telephone poles.
Also see our section on the history of psychiatric myths:
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Recommended Reading
Buy
Your Drug May Be Your Problem
Peter Breggin, David Cohen, 2007 AD
Click to View
Buy
Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
Peter Breggin, 2013 AD
Buy
Anatomy of an Epidemic
Robert Whitaker, 2010 AD
By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
Send us your story about your experience with modern Psychiatry
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