The chemical imbalance theory of depression is at best an outdated and over simplistic model that has been widely discredited. At worst it's been used cynically and deliberately to market antidepressants (especially SSRIs and SNRIs) that are barely better than placebo and that come with a wide range of down sides and possible side effects. Plenty of people here can attest to having been harmed by these drugs, sometimes permanently.
Studies have found a reduction in symptoms of 40% for antidepressants and 30% for placebo. As few as 43% of studies found any benefit for antidepressants at all:
Studies that show a stronger effect for antidepressants often have questionable selection criteria, like excluding patients with "treatment resistant" depression. In other words when the drugs don't work those patients get removed from the research.
Wikipedia states the following for the serotonin theory of depression:
And links to the following articles supporting this claim:
theconversation.com
The causes of depression are complex and still not well understood. The causes of suicidal thoughts and actions even more so. Research struggles to account for the many factors that can drive a person to consider ending their own life and as others have said in this thread often ignores situational factors that offer a better explanation than pseudoscientific hand-waving about "chemical imbalance".
Studies have found a reduction in symptoms of 40% for antidepressants and 30% for placebo. As few as 43% of studies found any benefit for antidepressants at all:
Studies that show a stronger effect for antidepressants often have questionable selection criteria, like excluding patients with "treatment resistant" depression. In other words when the drugs don't work those patients get removed from the research.
Wikipedia states the following for the serotonin theory of depression:
And links to the following articles supporting this claim:
Depression is probably not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain – new study
A new shows there’s no clear evidence that depression is caused by abnormally low levels of serotonin in the brain.
theconversation.com
The causes of depression are complex and still not well understood. The causes of suicidal thoughts and actions even more so. Research struggles to account for the many factors that can drive a person to consider ending their own life and as others have said in this thread often ignores situational factors that offer a better explanation than pseudoscientific hand-waving about "chemical imbalance".
