Chemically Imbalanced
The Making and Unmaking of the Serotonin Myth
$68.84
- Hardcover
- Release Date
16 January 2025
Summary
For decades, the public has been told that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance and that antidepressants work by targeting this mechanism. Millions have decided to take antidepressants based on this information.
Chemically Imbalanced tells the story of a scientific myth and its consequences. It traces the history of the serotonin theory of depression from its development in the 1960s, through its inculcation into popular culture in the 1990s, to the recent revelations…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781803996790 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 180399679X |
| Author: | Joanna Moncrieff, Chris van Tulleken |
| Publisher: | The History Press Ltd |
| Imprint: | The History Press Ltd |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Release Date: | 16 January 2025 |
| Weight: | 496g |
| Dimensions: | 33mm x 165mm x 244mm |
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Critics Review
‘controversial and courageous.’
* Daily Mail *‘the most comprehensive rebuttal to date.’
* New Scientist *‘Authoritative and well-researched, Chemically Imbalanced documents the overinflation of antidepressant efficacy, where the false scientific information repeated is altogether misleading. The scale of deception and fraud unearthed is staggering and incendiary.’
– Christopher Lane * Psychology Today *‘A complicated story told with patience and passion on behalf of the patient.’
– Jeannette Hyde, author of The Gut Makeover‘This is a scholarly and utterly engaging examination of one of the most important health scandals of the last few decades. Privileging the use of anti-depressants over all other individual and structural solutions for the growing crisis of mental health has harmed millions of people - this book is essential reading from one of the most important voices in the psychiatry. It has my enthusiastic support.’
– Chris Van Tulleken, doctor, TV presenter and author of Ultra-Processed People and Secrets of the Human Body‘This essential book debunks one of the greatest misperceptions besetting current medical practice: that what we call mental illness is reducible to biological causes, divorced from people’s life experiences and traumas. Dr. Moncrieff explains both the scientific flaws and the deliberate manipulations underlying much of today’s psychiatric ideology and treatment.’
– Gabor Maté M.D., author of The Myth of Normal and When the body says no‘This is the most important health book written in recent decades. It exposes a medical myth that has misled millions of people into taking powerful psychotropic drugs unnecessarily. It tells the story of how science was abused in the service of money and power, and how we, the public, have been the victims. This is the chilling story of how, in the name of helping, a medical community has caused harm, and how we can put things right again.’
– James Davies, academic and author of Sedated and Cracked‘Everyone ‘knows’ that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin in the brain. However, the scientific data show that this is false. Professor Joanna Moncrieff and her colleagues have reviewed these data and exposed the fact that the serotonin-depression connection is a myth. This book should be read by all psychiatrists and physicians with depressed patients, as well as by anyone considering taking an antidepressant medication.’
– Irving Kirsch, academic at the Harvard Medical School and author of The Emperor’s New Drugs‘Joanna Moncrieff is one of the most important scientists in the world. Her research has revolutionised our understanding – everyone should read this book.’
– Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author of Stolen Focus and Lost ConnectionsJoanna Moncrieff
Joanna Moncrieff is Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London, and a consultant psychiatrist for the NHS. She is an expert in the field, and in 2022 she was the lead author of a landmark study into the theory of serotonin and depression. She is a founder member and co-chairperson of the Critical Psychiatry Network, an influential network of psychiatrists and other doctors. She has written for The Guardian, Daily Mail, The Conversation, Literary Review, was profiled in the Spectator magazine and has been interviewed for The Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast and the Evening Standard’s Tech and Science Daily, amongst others.
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