The Chemical Imbalance Theory is a LIE: Here's Why

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Is Depression Really a "Chemical Imbalance"? A Psychiatrist Breaks Down the Myth

For decades we were told that depression comes from a chemical imbalance in the brain, too little serotonin, and that antidepressants simply correct it. But what does the evidence actually say?

In this video, I (a board-certified psychiatrist) walk through why the "chemical imbalance" explanation doesn't hold up, where the idea really came from, and what psychiatric medications are actually doing when you take them. This isn't about telling anyone to stop their medication. It's about understanding it clearly so you can make better decisions about your own care.

What we cover:

→ The serotonin story. A major systematic review found no consistent evidence that depression is caused by low serotonin or other serotonin abnormalities.

→ Where the myth came from. How pharmaceutical marketing in the 2000s, including ads for drugs like Zoloft, popularized the "imbalance" narrative.

→ What actually drives depression. Life events, trauma, physical health, and relationships often matter far more than any single brain defect.

→ How these drugs really work. Why medications create characteristic effects on the brain (sometimes emotional blunting) rather than "curing" anything, and why they may mask symptoms without touching the root cause.

→ The long-term problem. Tolerance, escalating doses, and research suggesting the brain can adapt in ways that work against the medication's acute effects.

→ Three ways this myth causes harm: fostering dependency while real problems go unaddressed, crowding out holistic care, and leading patients to misread medication side effects as their illness getting worse.

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DISCLAIMER: All the information on this channel is for educational and/or entertainment purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos, or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, these videos can maybe help you prepare for your discussion with him. We do our best to spread awareness with these videos, but for legal reasons we can’t answer health questions in the comments. If you leave questions, we’ll make videos about common questions in the future! If we catch incorrect health information, hate speech, illegal solicitation of drugs in the comments, we will remove them.