Image credit:Tom Varco
Taking a pill to treat depression is widely believed to work by reversing a chemical imbalance. Medication is a mainstay of mental health therapy, But in this week’s
BBC Scrubbing Up health column, Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, of the department of mental health sciences at University College London, says taking pills for mental health problems is no solution, they simply put people into “drug-induced states”.
Although ideas like the serotonin theory of depression have been widely publicised, scientific research has not detected any reliable abnormalities of the serotonin system in people who are depressed.
It is often said the fact that drug treatment “works” proves there’s an underlying biological deficiency.
But there is another explanation for how psychiatric drugs affect people with emotional problems.
It is frequently overlooked that drugs used in psychiatry are psychoactive drugs, like alcohol and cannabis.
Psychoactive drugs make people feel different; they put people into an altered mental and physical state.
They affect everyone, regardless of whether they have a mental disorder or not…. Continue reading
Source: BBC News
Our latest Psychobabble looks at Preventing Depression in Adolecents. Written by Jennifer Gibson, Pharm.D. its reprinted with kind permission from BrainBlogger
 Jennifer Gibson, PharmD, is a practicing clinical pharmacist and freelance medical writer and editor with experience in researching and preparing scientific publications, developing public relations materials, creating educational resources and presentations, and editing technical manuscripts. Her clients include academic research institutions, international authors, pharmaceutical companies, professional organizations, and public advocacy groups.
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I recently “Clipped” ( The Clipmark Widget is located in the sidebar) Do you really want to live forever this brought in an interesting comment from Lexica
Definitely food for thought. When I first came across it, my reaction was “what a horrible idea – aging and death are part of the natural cycle.” However, if one defines “aging” as “cumulative damage”, as Aubrey de Grey does, it raises the question: what benefit is gained from permitting damage to accumulate if it’s possible to avoid it? What if we could prevent the negative symptoms of aging so that people are vigorous and healthy all their lives? Lexica included a link to this Aubrey de Grey interesting TED Talk on ageing.
Source: TED, hat tip to Lexica
Photo Credit: iStockphoto
It’s not easy keeping kids off ganja these days. The world, it seems, has gone to pot. President Obama admits to having “inhaled frequently” in his youth. Hollywood Dudes-of-the-Hour Seth Rogen and James Franco shared a joint (or an authentic-looking prop) onstage at the MTV Movie Awards last summer. Regular moms can get hash prescriptions for anxiety and pick up a dimebag from a clinic on their way to yoga. ……….
Continue readingSource: Santa Barbara Independent
