Posted by Racer on January 29, 2006, at 14:31:09
In reply to Re: Help!! Bipolar, off meds, losing it » fenix, posted by Tomatheus on January 28, 2006, at 22:54:55
> > They say it is a chemical balance thing. But really, that is bull
>
> Really? How interesting. I've personally read hundreds of research articles that have provided strong evidence that depression, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric illnesses are at least partially caused by genetically mediated biochemical abnormalities in some patients.
>
> But for me to take a claim like yours seriously, I would need you to discredit each and every piece of research data that provides support for the idea that "chemical imbalances" do indeed exist.
Absence of proof is not proof of absence, so I don't think ALL studies ever have to be discredited. In fact, I'll offer up something much simpler:Since we know that other metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, are caused by chemical imbalances in the body, I will believe that mood disorders are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Unless or until someone *proves* that the brain is *not* subject to the same sorts of metabolic disruptions as other organs of the body, it just makes more sense to me to assume that the brain *is* subject to those disruptions, and therefore that mood disorders include a chemical imbalance in the brain as part of their etiology.
Simple as can be: until you prove the brain is fundamentally different from other organs, let's assume that it's fundamentally similar, and thus subject to metabolic disruptions that cause chemical imbalances.
And, if these disorders are caused by chemical imbalances, then drugs can address those imbalances.
Simpler still: proof's in the pudding. Most of these drugs are effective for people who take them. Not all people, but many. That really should tell us all we really need to know about the subject, yes?
(Oh, and Tomatheus? I'm not disagreeing with you. Sorry if it came across that way -- just offering up what I think might be a simpler way of looking at the arguments involved, inspired by what you wrote.)
poster:Racer
thread:603849
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060129/msgs/604144.html