Mental Health

The Big Cover up About Serotonin Shocked Me

Are you ready for the truth?

The fat fibs from pharmaceutical companies that I believed for a quarter century.

How could I have been so gullible?

But when you’ve been told by psychiatrists and psychologists that a course of anti-depressants will restore the balance of serotonin in your brain, you believe them.

Because they’re the experts.

They avow the value of medication as the first step in your recovery from depression, before the next important step — therapy. With your physical brain balanced, you can now work on your emotional pain.

I took the bait — and the medication.

(Disclaimer: Before you read on, I am not a qualified health professional and do not recommend you stop taking any prescribed medication. Always seek the advice of a physician or qualified health care professional about any mental, physical, or emotional conditions.)

I watched a video recently by Marisa Peer, speaker, therapist, behavioral expert and best-selling author, where she revealed the shocking truth.

“Hang on a minute, that can’t be,” said the voice in my head.

Being an avid fact-checker, I conducted my own research.

The more I explored, the lower my jaw dropped until I spat out the hook I’d clung to for so long.

“A lie with a purpose is one of the worst kind, and the most profitable.”- Finley Peter Dunne

A fitting description for what I found.

Not one lie, but two.

Fact #1

There’s little evidence to prove that an imbalance in certain brain chemicals causes any type of mental health condition.

Yet the pharmaceutical companies manufacture and sell a neurochemical cocktail of medications meant to balance your serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine or noradrenaline.

As of 2018 there were 40 antidepressants on the market.

Between 2000 and 2015, prescriptions on average doubled in all 29 Western countries surveyed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Your brain is the guinea pig while the doctor prescribes.

“Oh, that didn’t work for you? Let’s try this one.”

A classic shotgun approach.

Comparable to throwing random amounts of flour, butter, baking soda, and eggs into a bowl, on the off chance you’ll bake a better brain.

(Note: Around 50% of patients do not respond to antidepressants.)

Then I read (to be honest, I scanned) a ton of articles on treatment-resistant depression, or denials of the placebo effect of antidepressants, or companies creating new generation antidepressants.

Guess whose side they’re on.

The debate rages on with no empirical data to prove the case for or against. (Full story here by New Scientist)

I’ve managed my emotional health without medication for 20 years now and wonder if I could have recovered with talk therapy alone when first diagnosed.

My therapist introduced me to meditation three months into my sessions and I’ve been meditating daily ever since.

“The proven benefits of meditation are so impressive that if drug companies could bottle them, it would rival their best-selling antidepressant!” — Be Brain Fit

I’ve added other ingredients since then, including exercise and diet.

A daily journal with my first cup of coffee to write my thoughts and feelings is another must for me. I can detect any danger signals and neutralize them.

I meditate after journaling.

This clears any harmful thoughts and sets me up with peace of mind for the day.

Fact #2

There’s no scientific lab test that can measure the neurochemicals in our brains.

Scientists have discovered over 100 neurochemicals so far.

Not to mention there’s no correlation between the ones in your body and those in your brain. The latter stay in your brain and those in your body cannot breach the blood-brain barrier and get into your head.

The lab tests offered are pure deception — measuring saliva, urine or blood samples gives you zilch info of the levels in that miraculous spongy muscle upstairs.

And the chemical cocktail can change from one moment to the next — even a thought can alter the mix. Plus the problem may be the neurotransmitter receptors and not the chemicals.

Research on neurotransmitters is now being conducted on mice — it will be many decades before any breakthroughs on humans. (Full story here from Science Daily.)

Here lies the truth

I may not be popular for revealing the hard facts but I couldn’t stay silent.

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”- George Orwell.

Viva the revolution!

Please, if you are on medication and it works for you, I have the utmost respect for you and wish you well. Do not stop without professional guidance.

However, I hope I have opened new pathways for you to explore.

…

And thank you for reading.