Chemical Imbalance and Depression
Chemical Imbalance and Depression
The Media and the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression
by Jonathan Leo Jeffrey R Lacasse
Society, 02/2008, Volume 45, Issue 1
The cause of mental disorders such as depression remains unknown. However, the idea that neurotransmitter imbalances cause depression is…2.
The Media and the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression
by Leo, Jonathan Lacasse, Jeffrey R
Society, 02/2008, Volume 45, Issue 1
The cause of mental disorders such as depression remains unknown. However, the idea that neurotransmitter imbalances cause depression is v…
Before reading the article my view about depression was that it is a disorder that is not even a real illness. I still related the depression to the normal sadness on a person. I knew that it affects one in every ten people picked up at random and could be solved by throwing oneself into work. keeping oneself busy would actually help to ease up the mind on stress. I also viewed depression as self-pity and the people in it as lazy and it is basically because they are feeling sorry for themselves for the things they have done or not been able to achieve yet. Another perception on the depression was that it was majorly evidenced in us women. This could have been probably because men mostly seem strong on the same. They seem least disturbed by this problem that is common to the females.
However, after reading the article the causes of the depression, I realized, were different from what I thought. Some of the findings were that depression is caused by the chemical imbalances in the mind. That is inadequate levels of serotonin in the synapses of the brain. It was among the major causes of the depression. I also learned that, from the pharmaceuticals companies, depression is believed to be as a result of the imbalances of the neurotransmitter. Moreover, I realized from the article that according to scientists, depression could also be as a result of the administration of pharmacological agents which go ahead to act on the brain system of the amine. With the agents, they act on the moods that are the victim. They could either raise or lower the mood level on the person. And the best example of this finding is the drug that used to be administered called reserpine. It is believed to cause depression in people who use it.
Among the reinforcing comments from the authors, depression could be as a result of physiological stress. The authors have gone ahead to give an example of the correlation and the causation that was looked at in a recent study on their difference. In the example, it is made clearer on the two causes of the depression. In correlation is in such a condition where the victims face direct head injuries. That means not all might undergo depression but there is a relationship with the numbers that undergo the same from the possibility of the injuries on their heads. It has been outlined that causation would be the other cause. The authors give an example of the year 2000 where SSRI medication was introduced. It did not relate with the correlation data but focused on the remedy of the imbalance and this, in turn, led to an increase in depression cases. This reinforced the depression belief because it showed the two major ways that could be the causation or through the correlation relationship between the actions that would lead to the same (Lacasse & Leo, 7)
Marketing of the antidepressants on the reduction of the symptoms of the depression matters. Before talking of the chemical imbalances that are caused by the drugs the companies advertise them as drugs to ease ups and downs in everyday life. Since this is known to be the biggest challenge to many people, they end up selling largely. That means that if the company advertises the products to solve the imbalance would not attract many numbers. This gives the public the perception that their depression is not an imbalance and could be work related. This ends up confusing the public of the real condition of the chemical imbalance in the brain. Another effect from the ads is on the appropriate treatment. For example, the early adverts talked of soothing tonics for the short supply of serotonin could lead to depression. The misinformation shows the kind of influence it causes on the buyers or the victims of depression.
Work Cited
Leo, J., & Lacasse, J. R. The Media and the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression. Jeffrey R Society, (2005), Volume 45, Issue 1: 6-11