SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)

Is the “serotonin hypothesis” of depression really dead? Have we spent nearly 40 years heading down one path only to find ourselves no closer to answering the question how and why we become depressed - Siddhartha Mukherjeeapril

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)
SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)

image by: The Health-Care Survivor

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30 years after Prozac arrived, we still buy the lie that chemical imbalances cause depression

Some 2,000 years ago, the Ancient Greek scholar Hippocrates argued that all ailments, including mental illnesses such as melancholia, could be explained by imbalances in the four bodily fluids, or “humors.” Today, most of us like to think we know better: Depression—our term for melancholia—is caused by an imbalance, sure, but a chemical imbalance, in the brain.

This explanation, widely cited as empirical truth, is false. It was once a tentatively-posed hypothesis in the sciences, but no evidence for it has been found, and so it has been discarded by physicians and researchers. Yet the idea of chemical imbalances has remained stubbornly embedded in the public understanding of depression.

Prozac,…

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Resources

  30 years after Prozac arrived, we still buy the lie that chemical imbalances cause depression

Some 2,000 years ago, the Ancient Greek scholar Hippocrates argued that all ailments, including mental illnesses such as melancholia, could be explained by imbalances in the four bodily fluids, or “humors.” Today, most of us like to think we know better: Depression—our term for melancholia—is caused by an imbalance, sure, but a chemical imbalance, in the brain. This explanation, widely cited as empirical truth, is false.

SSRI Stories

SSRI Stories is a collection of over 6,000 stories that have appeared in the media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) in which prescription drugs were mentioned and in which the drugs may be linked to a variety of adverse outcomes including violence.

MayoClinic

SSRIs, a popular antidepressant type, can help you overcome depression. Discover how SSRIs boost mood and what side effects they may cause.

Patient

It has long been postulated that a deficiency in CNS serotonergic activity is the cause of, or a predisposing factor for, depression However, the evidence for this association is largely circumstantial and it certainly does not represent an adequate and full model for depression, probably due to there being multiple aetiological factors. Some pharmacological trial data also cast doubt on the efficacy of SSRIs compared with placebo. Despite this, manipulation of the serotonin axis by SSRIs seems to be beneficial in treating patients with moderate-to-severe depression.

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