Research shows SSRIs reduce brain’s capacity to produce serotonin
Chris Wodskou of CBC news reports, “What if mental illnesses like depression aren’t really caused by chemical imbalances, and that millions of the people who are prescribed those drugs derive no benefit from them? And what if those drugs could actually make their mental illness worse and more intractable over the long term?”
In fact, in an October 2013 The Nature of Things documentary called, “Brain Magic: The Power of the Placebo,” research proves that antidepressants are no better than sugar pills. This revealing and fascinating documentary also indicates that the “placebo effect” (A simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient. Sometimes patients given a placebo treatment will have a perceived or actual improvement in a medical condition, a phenomenon commonly called the placebo effect.) is not the power of positive thinking, but hints at something much greater.
“What if mental illnesses like depression aren’t really caused by chemical imbalances, and that millions of the people who are prescribed those drugs derive no benefit from them?
Wodskou says that investigative journalist Robert Whitaker (author of Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, 2010) argued that psychiatric drugs are a largely ineffective way of treating mental illness, and that, “Whitaker maintains that the foundation of modern psychiatry, the chemical imbalance model, is scientifically unproven.”
In stunning reporting, Wodskou continues, “According to Whitaker, research suggests that while people suffering from depression may not have low serotonin levels to begin with, the use of SSRIs reduces the brain’s capacity to produce serotonin on its own, leading to a worsening of symptoms when patients stop taking the drugs.” He further quotes Whitaker, “One of the worries,” said Whitaker, “is that if you’re on these medications long enough, when you come off, will your brain re-normalize? And that’s an open question now.” (Serotonin is a “happiness neurochemical, and SSRIs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.)
In contrast, it has been proven that, “self-induced changes in mood can influence serotonin synthesis” (National Center for Biotechnology Information article.) This is what happens when you shift your state using the powerful practice of Alchemy. Get three chapters free. Learn to do it free, get the cheat sheet here.
The CBC article is excellent, read it in full here.