This book, by Joanna Moncrieff, critically examines the serotonin hypothesis and its impact on the medicalization of depression. Moncrieff argues that the emphasis on a 'chemical imbalance' has led to an overreliance on antidepressants and a distorted understanding of the condition. She presents evidence suggesting the hypothesis lacks scientific support and that the 'drug-centered' approach has overshadowed a more nuanced view of mental health.
The serotonin hypothesis remains the principal justification for their use.has acted as the template for the creeping medicalization of a widening array of life problems,” contends Joanna Moncrieff in her startling and insightful new book,published today in the United Kingdom by Flint Books at The History Press.
But as we learn from Moncrieff’s riveting account of how she briefly became its victim, the construct itself doesn’t thereby disappear. Discredited theories aren’t simply removed from circulation, as if by fiat or fast-established consensus. Especially if they have been publicized over many years by drug makers and influential figures, they can quickly assume new life.
Moncrieff asks with disarming bluntness: “What are we to make of the fact that antidepressants, among the most commonly used drugs of modern times, have not been convincingly shown to be beneficial, either in the short term or the long term? How is it possible that doctors, policy-makers, the media and the public have carried on as if they do?”One conclusion drawn from a now almost-impassable gulf between scientific evidence and popular understanding of antidepressants is that the “chemical...
That would account for some of the hostility to Moncrieff’s and her team’s findings, including that discrediting the theory supposedly wouldn’t matter if the drugs still “work.” But, obviously, itmatter that patients receive reliable, accurate information about antidepressants, including so they can make informed decisions about whether to take them.
Medicine Psychology SEROTONIN HYPOTHESIS ANTIDEPRESSANTS CHEMICAL IMBALANCE DEPRESSION MEDICALIZATION
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