No Chemical Imbalance

Psychiatrists argue that the source of ADHD is a chemical imbalance that requires “medication” in the same way that diabetes requires insulin treatment.

However, Elliot Valenstein, Ph.D. says, “[T]here are no tests available for assessing the chemical status of a living person’s brain.” Dr. Joseph Glenmullen of Harvard Medical School states, “In every instance where such an imbalance was thought to have been found, it was later proven false.”

In 2004, psychiatrist M. Douglas Mar also debunked the theory that brain scans can diagnose mental discoveries, stating: “There is no scientific basis for these claims [of using brain scans for psychiatric diagnosis].” Dr. Michael D. Devous of the Nuclear Medicine Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center agreed: “An accurate diagnosis based on a scan is simply not possible.”

Dr. Mary Ann Block, author of No More ADHD, is adamant: “ADHD is not like diabetes and Ritalin is not like insulin. Diabetes is a real medical condition that can be objectively diagnosed. ADHD is an invented label with no objective, valid means of identification. Insulin is a natural hormone produced by the body and it is essential for life. Ritalin is a chemically derived amphetamine-like drug that is not necessary for life. Diabetes is an insulin deficiency. Attention and behavioral problems are not a Ritalin deficiency.”

In 2001, Ty C. Colbert, Ph.D., added his voice: “As with all mental disorders, there is no biological test or biological marker for ADHD.”

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