251: Recent news in psychiatry. Was Tom Cruise right all along?

from Beer and Conversation with Pigweed and Crowhill · host Pigweed and Crowhill

P&C drink and review a homebrewed mild ale, then discuss recent disturbing revelations about psychiatry, and a very disturbing finding in the area of Alzheimer's research.  An analysis of multiple studies shows there's little evidence that depression is caused by a "chemical imbalance" -- which is what we've been told for decades. It's "common knowledge" that depression is from low serotonin, right? Well ... maybe not. And experts in the field have known this for years, but psychiatrists have continued to prescribe drugs based on this apparently false theory.  One in eight people in America are taking anti-depressants, and it might all be a waste of time!  Have psychiatrists been engaged in a "noble lie" to help their patients?  Also, are drugs displacing therapy that might actually help people? It's hard to help someone lose weight, exercise, eat well, get more sleep, fix their bad relationships, come up with some sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, etc. It's easy to hand out pills.  Who wins here? The pharmaceutical industry. Are pharma industry profits what's driving "the science" -- on the backs of depressed people?  Also, is depression an aberration, or is depression the default state?  What if psychedelic mushrooms do more for depression than the pills we get from SSRI drugs?  Shortly after this serotonin story there was another story about outright fraud that has set back Alzheimer's research for at least 10 years.  How does this relate to our overall confidence in "settled science"? 

What this episode covers

P&C drink and review a homebrewed mild ale, then discuss recent disturbing revelations about psychiatry, and a very disturbing finding in the area of Alzheimer's research. An analysis of multiple studies shows there's little evidence that depression is caused by a "chemical imbalance" -- which is what we've been told for decades. It's "common knowledge" that depression is from low serotonin, right? Well ... maybe not. And experts in the field have known this for years, but psychiatrists have continued to prescribe drugs based on this apparently false theory. One in eight people in America are taking anti-depressants, and it might all be a waste of time! Have psychiatrists been engaged in a "noble lie" to help their patients? Also, are drugs displacing therapy that might actually help people? It's hard to help someone lose weight, exercise, eat well, get more sleep, fix their bad relationships, come up with some sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, etc. It's easy to hand out pills. Who wins here? The pharmaceutical industry. Are pharma industry profits what's driving "the science" -- on the backs of depressed people? Also, is depression an aberration, or is depression the default state? What if psychedelic mushrooms do more for depression than the pills we get from SSRI drugs? Shortly after this serotonin story there was another story about outright fraud that has set back Alzheimer's research for at least 10 years. How does this relate to our overall confidence in "settled science"?