There are lots of drugs of all types that make you feel better. Most of us discovered that in high school or college. It doesn't alter the fact that MI is not caused by a chemical imbalance.
Why is this harmful?
The myth is harmful because it takes the ability to control a MI away from the patient and puts it in the hands of the medical community or worse... Big pharma. As your first doctor recommended there are alternatives to meds. In fact all meds do is help your symptoms. They don't cure anything and they probably harm you. They might even kill you. Saying your MI is caused by a chemical imbalance and then telling you meds effect the chemicals in your brain... How could the newbie NOT interpret that as a cure? It doesn't have to be clearly stated. I believe the brain scan article had a doctor that did brain scans to reduce anxiety about taking meds and encourage compliance. Sorry but that guy is a snake oil salesman.
The Zoloft commercial can be easily found on YouTube. If you watch it again carefully you can see how clever it is. They use phrases like "although not proven" and "may". They never actually state chemical imbalance is a cause. Watch any AD or AP direct to consumer ad and you can pick it apart the same way. They are designed to get you to think "yeah, I think I am depressed" and get you to say "I need Zoloft" to the doctor. Nobody actually hears "not proven" or "may". EXCEPT when it comes to herbal or natural treatments. That's another discussion.
The stigma everyone complains about is reinforced by the idea that we >need< drugs due to an imbalance we can control on our own. You are somehow abnormal and need "fixing". So now we have bills being introduced (by politicians getting money from big pharma) that force people to take meds or be institutionalized instead of getting them into group or community based environments that are cheaper and work. This is perhaps the saddest thing of all.
In reality there are lots of things you can do for major depression and bipolar that don't involve meds. What meds REALLY achieve is getting you to fit in to the environment around you called "normal". But as I have mentioned before disorders are determined by the culture. I wrote an earlier post about an example of depression. Disorders tend to reflect the values of the culture. Depression violates our idea that we should achieve happiness for example. I can provide examples where people use depression to their advantage if you want.
We hardly ever hear of people succeeding without meds. That is because you can't get help from the medical community (barely starting to change). People are forced to drop out as a consequence. They never end up in studies by organizations that can afford it and get it out to the press. The people "returning" do which further reinforces the stigma and pseudoscience.
I have said it in one way or another before: Our brains and bodies (not really separate) act like ecosystems. They can adapt and change throughout our lives and generationally. No jungle develops the same way. Jungles are a complicated mashup of plants and animals and parasites and microorganisms. It is able to adapt effectively on its own to changing environmental conditions. It is humans that actually capable of killing the entire ecosystem of a jungle.
Your brain works the similarly. The whole "are you right brained or left brain?" is bs too. You are both. If one goes the other takes over.
Doctors are not trained to treat ecosystems. They are trained to treat machines. They are trained to look for and treat disabilities. They aren't trained to help you adapt to your world. They do not study Anthropology or sociology or art history which would teach diversity and the ability to adapt naturally. It might be comforting to believe there is a magic bullet but it is NEVER going to cure you. On the other hand people with disorders are adapting their environments, adapting their brains and living satisfying lives without meds all the time. So yeah, if you want to "fit in" believe the myth and take the pills without question. I'm doing it except I am questioning it. I wouldn't apologize for taking the meds or questioning it. The meds help me earn money so I can get out and adapt my life and I don't have to chemically force myself to fit in. This really shouldn't be radical thinking. It is very much easier and less complicated to comply. Luckily I have access to resources that will help me do this. 5 years ago I would not have been able to find any (I looked).
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