Depression 'is NOT caused by low serotonin levels': Study casts doubt over widespread use of potent drugs designed to treat chemical imbalance in brain

Daily Mail ^

[algore]

Low serotonin levels do not cause depression, according to a major review.

Today's landmark findings call into question society's ever-growing reliance on antidepressants like Prozac.

Millions of patients take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

We believe this situation has been driven partly by the false belief that depression is due to a chemical imbalance.

'It is high time to inform the public that this belief is not grounded in science.'

One in six British adults and roughly 13 per cent of Americans take antidepressants, figures suggest.

NHS data shows there has been a surge in prescriptions doled out in England, with 8.3million patients taking them in 2021/22, 6 per cent more than the previous year.

The most common are SSRIs such as fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Cipramil) and sertraline (Lustral).

Serotonin helps carry signals in the brain and is thought to have a positive influence on mood, emotion and sleep.

They are preferred to other types of antidepressants because they cause fewer side effects. Yet they can still lead patients taking them to experience anxiety, diarrhoea, dizziness and blurred vision.

Depressed patients can also be hit by crippling withdrawal symptoms when they try to come off the pills.

At the same time, a raft of studies have suggested they don't work any better than a placebo.

The UCL study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, analysed 17 previous reviews dating back to 2010 and consisting of dozens of individual trials.

It does not prove SSRIs don't work. However, it does suggest the drugs don't treat depression by fixing abnormally low serotonin levels.

[neverevergiveup]

Cognitive behavioral therapy is OK, at best. Psychiatry is currently way off track, IMHO. People are individuals, with individual issues. Psychiatry doesn’t treat individuals anymore. As a field, it is now focused on universal solutions - which is usually a drug.

[eyedigress]

This is a real touchy subject for many.

If somebody claims it does not help, they might want to say what does.

I know people on this medication and discipline is not their strong suit.

[Persevero]

I find reading scripture aloud to be a helpful practice. The psalms particularly.

[NewJerseyJoe]

P4L

[know.your.why]

Most mental illness is result of childhood trauma. They dont call it the formative years for nothing. Another big factor is the natural deportment of the child...introvert or extrovert...will determine how they interpret whether a threat exists or not. Soooo many adults carry around a damaged inner child...and look to outside things for anxiety/depression relief. Unfortunately Dr’s are happy to prescribe potent mind altering drugs anytime. No wonder suicides and other insane behaviors are at record highs.

[Jemian]

Thank you. Yes. I whole-heartedly agree. It is because God is with me, ESPECIALLY through the reading of His Word, that I am not overcome by despair. He HAS heard my despairing cry and HAS and WILL CONTINUALLY kept me.

You have encouraged me, Brother. Thank you. I hope my sharing this helps others, too. God hasn’t, for whatever reason, taken away my depression. But, I am confident He will hold me close all the way through it.

[Jemian]

I appreciate you sharing your struggle. I am glad to know I am not alone.

[Jemian]

He Will Hold Me Fast

[drSteve78]

Yep, everybody on SSRIs are fat, lazy, and stay indoors. /s

Heyyyy, watch it. C’mon, man!

[steve86]

“...cognitive behavioral therapy. That will include lifestyle interventions such as improving diet, exercise, coaching on problem solving skills, social skills, etc.”

Try dumping all that on a patient with a Hamilton-D score of 30 or greater. Ain’t gonna happen.

[drSteve78]

Prayers for all of us.

[steve86]

“Most mental illness is result of childhood trauma. “

Except it isn’t.

[fr_freak]

Exercise is not a cure all

Of course it isn't, but I can attest that, for me, it has a measurable effect, so much so that whenever I am in a funk, especially if some significant misfortune has just occurred, getting serious exercise is my go-to treatment. The exercise has to be sufficiently strenuous, however, at least 45-minutes to an hour of something that makes me sweat profusely (hiking uphill, running, or, in the old days, sparring). The endorphins alone have a dramatic effect on mood.

Also, if you take vitamin D, my understanding is that you need to take K2 also to help the body process it. Or you could just eat leafy green vegetables and get out into the sun.

[dalight]

It’s a shame that these people don’t have a clue. Distorted thinking causes depression as well as distressing events.

Anti-depressants force the brain to process information when it is attempting to not process upsetting things.

Bore

[Persevero]

We are all in this together. Thank you for your kind words.

[minnesota_bound]

I saw a cartoon that showed a person holding a bottle of pills for depression and the other person standing there said how about going outside and meeting people.

[Norski]

Suggestions for research for depression mitigation for Christians. May the Holy Spirit guide your search.

HOW DEMONS CAN CAUSE DEPRESSION | DEREK PRINCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0554CQJPvsM 15 minutes, audio

593: Deliverance is the Great Commission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjhBKRyT54A 55 min, video

https://www.straitwaytruth.com/straitwaytruth-resources/Seducing-Spirits-Win-Worley.pdf

This one is a current ministry in Dallas/FW Texas area.
https://www.keyministries.org/ - Youtube Channel is “Deliverance Talk”, Pastor Micah Bell

[wafflehouse]

"We do not understand what antidepressants are doing to the brain exactly".

[ChuckR163]

This might be the study from 2019:

Antidepressants may reduce anxiety more than depressive symptoms. Study on Lancet Psychiatry: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(19)30366-9/fulltext DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30366-9

The PANDA study was a pragmatic, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial of patients from 179 primary care surgeries in four UK cities (Bristol, Liverpool, London, and York). We included patients aged 18 to 74 years who had depressive symptoms of any severity or duration in the past 2 years.

[know.your.why]

“Most mental illness is result of childhood trauma. “ Except it isn’t.

Yeah you're right. Ah what do i know. I'm not a doctor...I can only speak from my own personal experience. Put everyone on ssri's. screw it.