The serotonin theory of depression is WRONG!? Depression is (still) not a chemical imbalance.

[@shawnaford5540]

That message has been damaging to me as I was told that the medication would make all the difference as it is a chemical imbalance. So years of AD’s not working added to my depression as another sign of failure. Eventually I had a review and I am Diagnosed with ASD, explains so much before and is changing my therapy. Edit: I did get some relief with an MAOI, yet the best result was with modafinal at least to get my day smoother. Thanks for getting the word out.

[@2cleverbyhalf]

I was diagnosed with PTSD when I was younger. The fact that I startle easily, get panic when I am somewhere with too much stimulation, can't drive because it is overwhelming all added up to PTSD. I have recently begun to suspect I have ASD. Cognitive behavioral therapy was not good for me at all. I am glad I didn't take medication that was offered.

[@2cleverbyhalf]

I just wanted to say that we expect people to always be happy and functioning. If we aren't functioning we medicalize this and call it a disorder. It often isn't us that is disordered, it is the world we live in that is broken. People who are depressed are having a normal reaction to a terrible world. Life is loss. Coping with that loss is hard. And when we try to medicate that away we aren't coping. We are deferring dealing with our sadness and grief. And that usually makes us more depressed. I am not saying people shouldn't get medicated. People who are bipolar in particular need help. What I am saying is that medicalizing the human experience of depression isn't always a good idea. We can't always control the things that are causing unhappiness in our lives. If our family doesn't accept us we can't change that. If we hate our job it is not always easy to get another. If we are lonely we do not always have the life skills of finding friends and lovers. And if we care about our world and others in it we will forever be impacted by the plight of other people's suffering. Nothing about our response to negative life events is disordered. It is normal to be depressed if we are under chronic stress and unsupported by other people. And I think this idea of chemical imbalance has been a panacea when talking about treating depression. I had a sister that was on Zoloft for a year before discontinuing it, she never received CBT along with it. Her doctor just wrote a script for it. And I was offered the same panacea when I was going through hormonal problems. And I didn't even complain I was depressed. I was just feeling really crappy physically, so they wanted to pump me with antidepressants. I really think pumping people with drugs because they are sad shouldn't be the first line of defense. And from my personal experience, knowing family and friends that have either been put on this class of drugs, or offered them, it just seems that this is the first thing offered to people. Instead of saying "well of course you're depressed, your mom died." we treat that depression as a pathology. Let people be sad. Sometimes we need to be sad to grow and become better people.

[@jonaskoelker]

> Depression is caused by a lack of serotonin > Pain is caused by a lack of paracetamol The chemical imbalance theory of pain. Checks out.

[@AllegraHayward]

I'm so glad that you mentioned ECT!! I had 16 treatments in 2016, and they saved my life tbh 🙏

[@Kat-ut5rq]

Speaking of those opioid blockers, a video about Narcan done by yall would be pretty cool! :D

[@nuni6158]

This is a really useful video for me. Thank you.

[@Ghosttownbunnyxo]

Dude oh my god excuse me “are opiods the answer for treatment resistant depression” is the scariest headline in the world to someone who has been depressed all my life and is 2 weeks clean from opiods

[@Ghosttownbunnyxo]

Like maybe I was right 🤣🤣🤣