The Giants Shoulder #46 Meet the Psychiatrist Debunking The Chemical Imbalance Myth That Fooled Millions!
Dr. Joanna Moncrieff is a psychiatrist, researcher, and author of The Myth of the Chemical Cure and Chemically Imbalanced, whose work has radically challenged one of the most powerful ideas in modern psychiatry — that depression is caused by a serotonin imbalance. Her landmark 2022 review in Molecular Psychiatry dismantled the serotonin hypothesis, exposing how Big Pharma turned a shaky theory into a multi‑billion‑dollar industry.
Read the review: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0
Expect to learn why the serotonin “chemical imbalance” story became the biggest myth in mental health, how SSRIs actually work — and why their benefits may be no greater than placebo, the shocking prevalence of emotional blunting and sexual dysfunction, why nearly 1 in 4 women in the UK are now on antidepressants, how Big Pharma engineered one of the most influential disinformation campaigns in medicine, what depression really is if not a brain disorder, why environmental factors far outweigh genes, the overlooked power of placebo, and why Joanna believes SSRIs may be doing more harm than good.
Timestamps:
00:03:10 The Serotonin Hypothesis of Depression
00:06:13 Challenging Conventional Psychiatric Narratives
00:09:08 The Role of Big Pharma in Mental Health
00:12:02 Public Reaction to New Findings
00:15:14 The Impact of Misinformation on Patients
00:18:10 Understanding SSRIs and Their Effects
00:21:07 The Pharmaceutical Industry's Influence
00:23:40 The Relationship Between Healthcare and Pharma
00:26:28 Current State of Antidepressant Research
00:29:26 Efficacy and Side Effects of SSRIs
00:32:19 Emotional Blunting and Sexual Dysfunction
00:35:45 Long-term Effects of Antidepressants
00:43:57 Concerns Over Antidepressants and Sexual Dysfunction
00:49:01 Understanding Depression: A Complex Emotional Reaction
0:54:33 The Role of Serotonin in Mood Disorders
01:00:11 Genetic Influences on Depression
01:13:25 Rethinking Treatment Approaches for Depression
01:19:27 Psychedelics: Potential and Pitfalls in Mental Health Treatment
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