Last week, as I was getting ready at my hotel for a leadership conference, I listened to this mic🎤 💥drop podcast: “Unscientific Diagnoses Medicalize Normal Human Experiences”. I sat down late that night to share it with you all…. and wouldn’t you know it, the black hole of social media oblivion swallowed it when I hit “post”. So, here I am… back home ….. trying again! Yes, this information is THAT important… that I’m willing to write about it twice.
We are taught how to think. All of us. Healthcare professionals and laypersons alike. However, what we are taught isn’t necessarily true. Nonetheless, we believe and act upon those beliefs. This podcast shatters some of those beliefs that surround mental illness.
Key points of the podcast:
- There is no research evidence for a chemical imbalance that leads to mental health problems. Example: Low serotonin levels are blamed for depression. This is an overly simplistic myth perpetuated by Big Pharma. The reality is that serotonin levels cannot be easily measured in the brain (if at all).
- Where do ideas about the cause of mental distress come from? We (as a cumulative society) are led to believe they come from a chemical imbalance as perpetuated by prescribing physicians, pharmaceutical ads (a pill will fix ya), pop culture (normalization of a pill for everything), and interaction with family and friends who endorse the “pharmaceutical fix” model. (note: in cultures where Big Pharma 💊 doesn’t have a big footprint, mental health disorders are quite low.)
- Side effects of antidepressants include chronic depression (that’s a fact).
Normal human experience includes suffering in life. Suffering may mean something different to each of us. Perhaps it is grief, social shyness, disappointment, fear, angst, or __ (fill in your blank). Experiencing suffering does not mean the brain is broken….. it just means you (we) all are living a human experience and processing emotions as we go. Don’t get me wrong….. psych medications definitely numb the mind and do so without differentiation. When suffering is numbed, so is joy. Psych meds could be considered an emotional anesthesia, but here’s the thing….. anesthesia by itself doesn’t heal does it? Acknowledging the problem and then working on the root cause is wherein lies healing (and living fully).
Community, whether that be family, friends, or a combination of the two is balm to healing. Generational curses (Biblically speaking) are very real, more real, I would argue (based on science and the word of God) than an estimated low neurotransmitter in the brain. Generational curses can be broken. It starts with us to break them. Purposefully and intentionally.
Find your tribe friends. We were not meant to be islands. We are to lean on one another in times of joy and in need. Yes we have tools of all variety available to us of the natural variety in addition to the Big Pharma ones. Do you want numbing or do you want deep true healing?
No medical advice given here, other than this: Know truth and then do with it what you will. It just might change your life.
Oh…. final thought and not mentioned in the podcast. There are MANY biological imbalances that can aggravate emotional peaks and valleys. Hormones, thyroid, vitamin and mineral deficiencies are not uncommon culprits, but it takes a good sleuth willing to spend the time looking for the clues. These ARE measurable in the body. Request comprehensive labwork before accepting any prescription. If your doctor or insurance company won’t honor this request (and I do mean comprehensive!), find one that will.
xoxo~ liz
If you have questions about what comprehensive labwork looks like, let’s chat!
#sharingiscaring
#livinglifetoitsfullest
#emotionsarepartofliving
#processingemotionsisgoodmedicine
#ThanksYL
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