Hi Lora,
Thank you for writing your story on the depression forum. I would encourage readers to look at an article about depression which talks about the myth of chemical imbalance. You can read it
http://youronlinecounselor.com/Articles ... micals.htm
While there is no doubt that depression exists, there is no known way to measure neurotransmittor availability in the brain. Scientists cnnot promote the theory that the drug companies push becaause they have no proof.
The US Head of the WHO who is himself a psychiatrist states that he cannot in all faith tell his patients that their depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. In recognisition of this, several countries are now forced to print on their packaging that there is no proof of a chemical imbalance in the brain as being the cause of depression. This is the beginning of the end of pushing antidepressants as "fixing" depression.
I have had hundreds of clients who suffer from both acute and generalised low grade depression. As I stated one of the articles I wrote on depression which you quoted, I have yet to meet a client who, although they may be unaware of what is driving their long term depression, has not come to recognise during therapy exactly what is causing it.
I cannot say what is causing your depression but I would encourage you to have face-to-face counseling with a therapist who is experienced in the roots of depression, because antidepressants do mask some of the symptoms of depression, but they do not take them away. They are still there below the surface. Antidepressants can be life savers, but they also rob people of the opportunity to get off them if they take them for years. Unlike diabetes, for which the reason is well known, there is no concrete proof that chemical imbalance is the reason for depression and if governments can bring chemical companies to write this on their product then there is clearly no case to answer for, given the power of chemical companies and corporations.
I have had and know of, many clients who claim that they don't understand why they are depressed and anxious as they "have it all". I have, as I said , yet to go away without finding a reason for that person's chronic unhappiness. This is my experience and sometimes the reason is obscure or deeply buried. Many clients also want to get of the drugs becasue they are aware of the damage they are doing to their bodies.
It would be great to hear from other readers about their experiences with antidepressants.
Best wishes,
Beth
