Quote From: tammyo1973What is a Chemical Imbalance?
Over the course of the last three decades much research into the origins of emotional distress and disturbances have led researchers to embrace “chemical imbalance” as the leading cause. Though the exact mechanisms linking chemical imbalances and common disorders like anxiety, depression and ADHD are not completely understood, clinical studies and medical observations have been able to identify a number of chemical inconsistencies that occur in individuals who report experiencing symptoms related to these disorders.
Common chemical imbalances related to anxiety and depression related disorders that have been observed in clinical practice include:
- Reduced availability of neurotransmitters like Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, GABA and acetylcholine.
- Increased levels of toxic neurochemicals such as Homocysteine
- Lower levels of serum Magnesium, Zinc or Potassium
- Unhealthy, or deficient levels of essential vitamins like B6, B9, B12 and Vitamin-C
- Undersupply of key cofactors like amino acids that are used to help transport neurotransmitter precursors into the blood-brain barrier.
- Increased cortisol stress hormone levels
I just finished reading Talking Back to Prozac by Peter Breggin. One thing he emphasized was that some research shows that low levels of SEROTONIN METABOLISM were associated with depression. But Prozac (and other SSRIs) actually prevent the serotonin from being metabolized by interfering with the synapses that allow it to leave the brain and body. That means that the brain's ability to metabolize serotonin is being impaired and lowered. So it follows logically that it is not a higher level of serotonin in the brain that is needed, but a normal level, and properly functioning metabolism of the drug. I think the name of the chemical used to test this is 5-HIAA or something like that, I will have to check, but that this spinal fluid substance can be tested and it is proven that Prozac lowers levels of 5-HIAA rather than increasing them. I will have to get the quotation later.
Prozac and other psychiatric drugs interfere with the ability to metabolize the differing neurotransmitters that they target. In no way do they correct a chemical imbalance. They certainly have an effect on the mind and body, but it is one that is similar to many street drugs like cocaine, meth, ecstasy, etc. So some people become drug addicts of legal drugs and end up either institutionalized or in jail for their crimes while others appreciate the mind-numbing or "mood-elevating" that takes place for them and go unnoticed and un"harmed." Same with street drugs, many people take them all the time and roam free, others commit crimes when they use them, or go crazy and become institutionalized, while we have such a hatred and distaste for street drugs, we buy into the notion that prescription drugs are somehow safer than the street drugs they mimic.
Bottom line: some people feel better on drugs, some feel much worse. But to assume that the psychiatric drugs are correcting a deficiency in your brain is just wrong. They are affecting you, whether you are a person who likes drugs or can't "handle them," they really have no place in ethical medicine. Brain damage is just not ok with me.
