Thanks very much to you both for sharing your experience with us.

The insulin analogy is ridiculous, of course. In the case of diabetes we can measure insulin deficiency quite easily, and the role of insulin in regulating glucose metabolism and producing diabetic symptoms is well understood.

In contrast, there is no test to establish a so-called “chemical imbalance” in depressed people, and nor do we know how psychotherapeutic drugs produce their effects.

The Merck CEO quote came from a book called “Selling Sickness”, by Alan Castells. I recommend it.

Thank you for writing this. My pill-popping family is convinced I should be on drugs for life. My mom makes great use of that analogy between diabetics taking insulin and depressed/bipolar patients taking psychiatric drugs. I disagree, at least as far as my own use, and now I can point to something substantial. Besides, insulin -helps- diabetics whereas the variety of drugs I’ve tried have only sent me down a spiral of dependency and side-effects that are more debilitating than the condition I supposedly have.

My psychiatrist recently agreed with me that I had been misdiagnosed as bipolar 5 yrs ago. The ridiculous thing is, I had one all-out manic episode AS A RESULT OF an antidepressant I later found out is a known trigger. (This information was not on my hospital discharge papers; a nurse happened to mention this to me privately after seeing traces of the drug in my blood.) I had also been on Paxil for two years before that for unipolar depression, though I had stopped a year before my episode — I now regard Paxil as the beginning of my descent into this medical nightmare. It made me too punchy at work too.

I have not had another manic episode since then and I did not go on drugs right away. I was doing fine, actually. However, I was scared into it by a lecture from a new GP who has a bipolar brother. She told me that it is normal for newly diagnosed bipolar patients to discount their diagnosis (ie. pathological denial), and that if I didn’t go on the drugs I would -inevitably- have another episode, only worse, and once I had a second I would be even -more- likely to have a third, and so on, with episodes becoming increasingly frequent. I was horrified at the idea of turning manic at work so I fell in line.

I am happy to learn this new word “iatrogenic” as I think my remaining problems (sleeping patterns increasingly erratic than before treatment, increased irritability, dark thoughts, not being able to hold down a job because of side-effects — NOT because of behavioural issues as one might expect from someone labelled bipolar) are caused by my so-called treatment on a variety of drugs these past 4 years. Okay, honestly, the Lamotrigine I’m currently on may help with depression/anxiety but it’s hard to separate true benefits from avoidance of the unique sickness and mood swings that happen with decreased dosages of anticonvulsants — in essence, the effects of detox rather than proof of the original pathology. Going back on full dosage as I’ve had to do recently (due to lack of support/stability in other areas of my life) seems akin to a heroin addict using again to avoid withdrawal rages.

I may still have a “mood disorder” (ha, don’t most people?!) but I’m starting to recognize the clearly observable link between my state of mind with external stressors, diet and sleep. I’m also on a waiting list for CBT therapy through an agency that offers free programs — but because it’s free it also takes a long time to get in. I was told I could expect to wait up to 10 months. As you say, the medical support system (even here in Canada, as idealized as it may be by Michael Moore, et al) is set up to profit by drug treatment, not support potentially more effective cognitive therapy, or dietitians, or alternative practitioners or the like.

Do you happen to have a full quote or reference to the Merck CEO’s dream? That reminds me of having read that Ron L. Hubbard once told someone he was planning to create a religion since his other get-rich-quick schemes hadn’t panned out — but, I cannot substantiate that quote. Wish I could.

Warm thanks,
Froscha

I can only speak for myself but I understand what depression is and how it is cured.

My depression manifested at age 7 with a crayola crayon drawing of me lying dead with a knife in my heart and blood everywhere.

My parents fighting with each other and their constant toxic psycho emotional histrionics made me depressed.Growing up thinking some Commie was going to nuke me in the 80s made me depressed.

Child abuse for years made me depressed. Bullying at school made me depressed. Religious guilt made me depressed. The crappy weather of New England made me depressed. The smoky, rundown, unlit home I grew up in made me depressed.

Being abandoned and turned over to the State made me depressed.

Later the psychiatric hospitals, the juvenile group homes, the psych meds all made me even more depressed.

Failing everything I tried to do as a young adult furthered my depression.

By the time I was 20 life to me was only depression of varying degrees of intensity. I wanted nothing more than to be free of my life.

By the time I was 32, I had been suicide attempt and depression free for a decade.

Following my last suicide attempt at age 20 I had a near death experience that changed my life and my approach to living.

I began each day by communing with the sun and ended each day by watching the sun set.

Later I substituted my coffee and cigarettes with yoga and tai chi as I continued my rituals.

In time I learned to meditate properly.

Year after year I healed everything in my life that had happened to me.

I forgave myself for not having any power of the events of my life. I forgave those that had trespassed against me and harmed me. The years of practicing tai chi and yoga 6 hours a day kept me feeling young and relaxed. The meditation allowed me to defuse all my triggers. I moved to a bright and sunny place with no winter and escaped SAD forever more.

I did everything in my power to micromanage and cope with everything that had ever made me depressed.

In my family my mother, sisters, brothers. They all continue to suffer from recurring depressions but not me

I alone escaped. I did the one thing no one in my family has ever done. I slowed down my life, took total responsibility for my past, present and future and I learned to unconditionally love myself and care for myself.

I have been depression free ever since.

I know what causes depression. I had physical,emotional,psychological and spiritual reasons for it. I fixed them all. As a result I know how to fix depression without therapy or drugs. In so doing, proved, at least to myself, that depression was no life long genetic chemical imbalance.

It pains me to read the comments left by teenagers on videos on youtube about depression, bipolar, etc, etc. These 13-19 year olds swear their problems are biological brain diseases or genetic chemical imbalances and they are growing up uncritically believing in and spreading the chemical imbalance pharmaganda to their peers. They encourage each other to use different psych meds. It works for ma and pa right?

Thanks for this article. You are doing good work Chris.

I couldn’t agree more, Toby. The so-called biological diagnosis of depression is analogous to the diagnosis of so-called diseases like “high cholesterol”, “seasonal affective disorder” and “pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder” which are indistinguishable from normal physiology. It’s all an attempt to push drugs to healthy people.

30 years ago the CEO of Merck upon retirement stated that his dream was always to “covert healthy people into customers”. Looks like his dream came true.

Only 10% of psychiatrists practice psychotherapy now. People are often prescribed drugs on their first visit and told they’ll have to take them for life.

This is criminal IMO.

You are absolutely correct in stating that there is no such thing as a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. Sure, there may be vitamin or mineral deficiencies, and these can be found with simple blood tests or hair analyses.

What outrages me the most is that psychiatrists will tell you that you have a “chemical imbalance in the brain” to convinced you to take psychotropics, knowing full well that a) they haven’t given you a test to determine if you have one, and b) knowing full well that no such test exists, and c) that no imbalance even exists!

If any other doctor gave such a serious diagnosis involving a lifetime of care (i.e., drugs), without even so much as a simple blood test, they would most probably be brought up on malpractice charges and their license pulled.

Welcome to The Healthy Skeptic and thanks for your participation.

I’m glad to know the article will be useful to you in the future. I also hope that many doctors, patients and parents will read this before deciding on antidepressants.

Warmly,
Chris

More people need to read this, and I’m so happy to have found it because now there is a way for me to explain to people why I believe it’s not the way to go.

Thank you for the wonderful article!

I have defined “chemical imbalance” in this particular article as the idea that depression is caused by a deficiency of serotonin or norepinephrine in the brain.

I certainly don’t dispute that there is likely some biochemical involvement in depression. If that is what you mean by “chemical imbalance”, then we have had a very big miscommunication!

I am glad that Radiant Recovery has helped you to heal, and I was not suggesting that you don’t pursue it. If it works, it works! I was only curious (genuinely) to know what evidence you were basing your belief in “chemical imbalance” on.

Best wishes,
Chris