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Many psychologists criticise psychiatry for focusing its attention primarily on symptoms and for assuming that relieving symptoms with drugs cures the problem. Unfortunately, in many cases when the drug treatment is ceased the symptoms recur. This suggests that drugs are not addressing the true cause of the problem. [4]
One such cause is chemical imbalances in the brain, which can lead to irrational decisions and emotional pain. [8] For example, when the brain lacks serotonin, a chemical that regulates the brain's functioning, it can lead to depression, appetite changes, aggression, and anxiety. Another cause of mental distress can be exposure to severely ...
The serotonin "chemical imbalance" theory of depression, proposed in the 1960s, [35] is not supported by the available scientific evidence. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] SSRIs alter the balance of serotonin inside and outside of neurons: their clinical antidepressant effect (which is robust in severe depression [ 37 ] ) is likely due to more complex changes in ...
Biological psychiatry or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system.It is interdisciplinary in its approach and draws on sciences such as neuroscience, psychopharmacology, biochemistry, genetics, epigenetics and physiology to investigate the biological bases of behavior and psychopathology.
This perspective emphasizes understanding the underlying cause of disorders, which might include genetic inheritance, related physical disorders, infections, and chemical imbalances. Medical treatments are often pharmacological in nature, although medication is often used in conjunction with some other type of psychotherapy."
For years, a chemical imbalance of serotonin has been widely viewed as the culprit for depression, resulting in the widespread use of antidepressants. The study published this week in the journal…
The Emperor's New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth is a 2009 book by Irving Kirsch, arguing that the chemical imbalance theory of depression is wrong and that antidepressants have little or no direct effect on depression but, because of their common or serious side-effects, they are powerful active placebos.
There are several main groups. Antidepressants are used for the treatment of clinical depression as well as often for anxiety and other disorders. [30] Anxiolytics are used, generally short-term, for anxiety disorders and related problems such as physical symptoms and insomnia. [31]