“Many psychiatrists are well aware that the myths do not hold and have told me so, but they don’t dare deviate from the official positions because of career concerns.”
An article called “Psychiatry Gone Astray“, by Prof. Peter Gøtzsche, appears on the blog site of psychiatrist Dr. David Healy. The article lists ten myths about mental illness and psycho-pharmacology:
Myth 1: Your disease is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain
Myth 2: It’s no problem to stop treatment with antidepressants
Myth 3: Psychotropic Drugs for Mental Illness are like Insulin for Diabetes
Myth 4: Psychotropic drugs reduce the number of chronically ill patients
Myth 5: Happy pills do not cause suicide in children and adolescents
Myth 6: Happy pills have no side effects
Myth 7: Happy pills are not addictive
Myth 8: The prevalence of depression has increased a lot
Myth 9: The main problem is not overtreatment, but undertreatment
Myth 10: Antipsychotics prevent brain damage
Here you can read the full article, which includes an explanation for each myth.
