"Close to one-in-six American adults is currently prescribed an antidepressant. A serotonin, or "chemical," imbalance hypothesis remains one of the key justifications for antidepressant use. But many are now rejecting the term chemical imbalance and embracing the the identity of having a mental health condition. They're also asking whether antidepressants resolve a chemical imbalance or risk creating one. I recently spoke to Joanna Moncrieff, author of Chemically Imbalanced, about avoiding neuro-reductionism and thinking about mental states in ways that aren't disempowering."
"I would credit the massive marketing campaigns of the 1990s and 2000s, undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry, and aided and abetted by the psychiatric profession. The chemical imbalance message is particularly useful because it suggests that people with depression need a chemical intervention. So it helped overcome people's natural caution about using drugs to manage emotional problems. The message also had intrinsic appeal because it seems to provide a simple explanation and solution for complex and varied problems."
Close to one-in-six American adults is currently prescribed an antidepressant. Surveys find 85–90 percent of the American public believes low serotonin or a chemical imbalance causes depression and similar mental states. Antidepressant prescribing in the United States rose 34.8 percent over six years, reaching 83.4 million prescriptions in 2021–22. Many people are rejecting the phrase "chemical imbalance" while embracing a mental health identity and questioning whether antidepressants correct or create imbalances. The chemical imbalance message gained traction through intensive pharmaceutical marketing and support from parts of the psychiatric profession, presenting a simple justification for drug treatment.
Read at Psychology Today
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