According to the original article referenced below, it is a long held and widespread belief that depression is the result of a chemical imbalance that occurs in the brain. This theory has been popularized and spread by pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrists despite a lack of evidence to support it. Research studies prove that antidepressant medications are not any more helpful than placebos for depression that ranges from mild to moderate. In reality, depression is likely caused by both biological and environmental factors in one’s life.

Key Takeaways:

• • Many people have come to believe that depression is due to chemical imbalances in the brain. This chemical imbalance theory has been discredited.

• • The theory was propounded in the 1960s at a time when scientists thought that physical or biological mechanisms were at issue in brain activities and malfunctions.

• Today, the rate at which physicians and psychiatrists accepted that theory is alarming. This is because it aligned with their beliefs about other bodily functions.

“The release of the antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine) in the late 1980s was a game changer for depression treatment in that the drug’s maker, Eli Lilly, heavily promoted the chemical balance theory as a marketing gimmick to sell the drug.”

Read more: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/01/18/chemical-imbalance-theory-for-depression.aspx