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Originally Posted by Rose76
This explanation, as you've written it, is what a lot of people, including many professionals, believe. It is not universally accepted. A pdoc once told a group I was in that there is no proof that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. I read a book that says that it is possible that the "chemical imbalance" is the result (not the cause) of the depression. (Apparently, reduced levels of Serotonin do correspond with lowered depression, though it's not clear which comes first . . . the egg, or the chicken, so to speak.)
I think this is still a very argued point.
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I don't think the "chemical imbalance" theory is argued anymore. Actually it never really was. I think it was Eli Lilly that came up with the idea just before Prozac was released. The problem is their sample included people that have previously taken antidepressants. The people that were depressed but hadn't taken an ad did not have that "chemical imbalance". So it isn't the depression that causes it. It is the AD. I think of the AD as a faucet with a couple settings that responding to dosage. You can't turn off the faucet unless you stop taking the pill. You can't reduce the flow unless you reduce the dosage. Your brain handles this much better. It only produces the seratonin it needs. However it does sometimes need help. I just think the AD is like turning on a firehose. Sometimes it is necessary to jump start but a lot of people could be effective with other things. It was necessary to jump start me last year.
They actually don't know why ads work but they definitely don't work for everyone. For at least 5 or 10 years, probably more, they have not been studying this at all. It has shifted to neurology. Note that they keep coming out with new pills though
When I was coming off an ad a few years ago I was having some trouble. I had to go back up a dose then decrease in smaller increments with longer intervals. So then I go do this two week aruyvedic style cleanse. It cleanses out your gut which is where 99% of seratonin is stored. After the cleanse I was able to drop the ad completely with no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. I also stopped drinking coffee for something like 7 months. That was kind of a bummer actually... I like everything about coffee
Anyway, I believe the medicine creates extra seratonin and it gets stored in the gut like fat cells. Clearly this is a mix of anecdotal and science but I'm sticking with it, darn it.
There is also proof ad alters your brain. People on ad for a long time will probably never reverse that. Hence I don't think the goal should be to think ad is the "fix" if not "cure". I think it is a tool but to really get better you need something else. Varies from person to person.
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