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PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS The Chemical Imbalance Lie
Much of the information
about mental disorders that is provided by psychiatrists or
pharmaceutical-funded psychiatric interest/support groups,
includes references such as �neurobiologically based condition�
or �treatable brain disorder.�
Reputable physicians agree
that for a disease to exist, there must be a tangible, objective
physical abnormality that can be determined through
tests such as, but not limited to, blood
or urine, X-ray, brain scan or biopsy. No scientific evidence
exists that would prove that ADHD is a �brain-based disease�
or that a chemical imbalance in the brain is responsible for any
mental disorder.
Pediatric neurologist
Dr. Fred Baughman Jr. states that claiming ADHD is a �disease� or
�neurobiological� condition makes it so �real and terrible that the parent who
dares not to believe in it, or allow its treatment, is
likely to be deemed negligent, and no longer deserving
of custody of their child. � This is a perversion of
science and medicine and is a lie.�
Ty C. Colbert,
a clinical psychologist and author, says: �Biopsychiatrists
have created the myth that psychiatric �wonder� drugs correct
chemical imbalances. Yet there is no basis for this model because no chemical
imbalance has ever been proven to be the basis of a mental
illness. �
In his 1998 book, Blaming
the Brain , biopsychologist Elliot S. Valenstein says
the �biochemical� theory is held onto because it is �useful in promoting
drug treatment.�
In 2003, Australian
psychologist Philip Owen warned: �The claim is continually
made that the drugs repair chemical imbalances in
the brain. This claim is false. It is still not possible
to measure the exact levels of neurotransmitters in specific
synapses within the human brain. How, then,
is it possible to make claims about chemical
imbalances?�
Jonathan Leo, professor
of anatomy at Western University of Health Sciences,
and Professor David Cohen of the School of Social
Work at Florida International University, reviewed 33 of the
most recent brain-imaging studies of ADHD-diagnosed
subjects. They confirmed that every study
concerned medicated children, a major variable
because stimulant drugs �cause very persistent
changes in the brain.� They also reviewed
a 2001 National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
study, widely promoted by psychiatrists, which claimed that
unmedicated ADHD children had significantly smaller
brains. However, the comparison group was two
years older, so naturally the younger children had smaller brains.
Psychiatric assertions
of �chemical imbalances� and �treatable brain disorders� are always accompanied
by a strong pretense of scientific rigor, but are in fact no more than
anecdotal reports.
BOGUS BRAIN THEORY: Presented in countless
popular magazines, the public has been assailed with the latest theory
of what is wrong with the brain. What is lacking, as with all psychiatric
pontificating, is scientific fact. As Dr. Elliot S. Valenstein explains,
�There are no tests available for assessing the chemical status of a living
person�s brain.�
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