What is The Chemical Imbalance Theory?
Chemical imbalance is something that is said to theoretically affect a person through a number of reasons. It’s said that people undergoing depression and other mental illnesses experience this. This is called the chemical imbalance theory and is what we’re going to explore today.
What Exactly Is The Chemical Imbalance Theory?
Depression is a crippling disorder, that much is known. But most of the time, depression has been found to be caused by trauma or terrible experiences that have scarred a person. The chemical imbalance theory adds on to this saying that you can experience depression if the chemicals in your brain or neurotransmitters are out of whack.
In your body you can find a number of chemicals that keep you functioning throughout the day. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters which help your brain send out signals throughout your body. Some chemicals like dopamine and serotonin are responsible for uplifting your mood and that the lack or excess of these chemicals can cause you to spiral into depression. At least that’s what the chemical imbalance theory says. There are doubts as to whether this theory is correct or not as biological testing of these chemicals isn’t accurate enough to truly say it causes mental illness.The biggest supporting factor in this theory is the ability for antidepressants to help a person fight off these disorders.
Antidepressants work by rewiring or introducing the necessary chemicals into a person’s body. This includes ketamine treatment as well. These antidepressants have been proven to work through years of testing and use, and ketamine treatment is slowly becoming an option for those who are depressed as well because of how effective and fast acting it is.
Is This Theory The Truth?
The chemical imbalance theory is still a theory. It is thought of by many professionals that this can lead to a person developing various mental disorders like depression and anxiety. However, there is no concrete evidence of it being the root of the problem. There are a number of other effects that play a part in a person developing mental disorders and these might throw a person’s chemicals out of balance. Drinking alcohol is a prime example of this as alcohol because it is a depressant that numbs your mental capabilities.
Most professionals prefer to diagnose a person with depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses by checking on the signs and symptoms that might be plaguing them. They try to avoid testing for the over abundance or lack of certain chemicals as these can be inaccurate.
We simply do not have the means to accurately pinpoint it yet. This technology may come in the future but at the moment we don’t have the means to correctly assume that a chemical imbalance can cause depression.
What Can You Do?
The best thing you can do for someone with depression or anxiety is to make sure that they can get the help that they deserve. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and help your loved ones fight off even the most devastating of mental illnesses.
