“It’s Just a Chemical Imbalance”: Why Brain Chemistry Takes the Blame

By Nicole Houck

Chemicals found within the brain often take the brunt of the blame when it comes to mental health disorders. It is an idea that makes just enough sense for it to have been widely accepted by the public, despite the truth being a bit more complicated. Let’s explore what is really going on inside our heads!

The History

First, we should ask ourselves how we got to this explanation. Interestingly enough, imbalances within the body have been considered the cause of mental troubles for thousands of years. Over 2,000 years ago, the Theory of the Four Humors, linked to both Hippocrates and Galen, was used to understand mental struggles in Ancient Greece. The theory claimed that issues of attitude, physical health, and even appearance could be explained by imbalances in blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. 

• Sanguine: those with an overabundance of blood

  • Cheerful, jolly personalities

• Choleric: those with an overabundance of yellow bile

  • Angry and irritable

• Melancholic: those with an overabundance of black bile

  • Sad, pensive, and creative people

• Phlegmatic: those with an overabundance of phlegm

  • Apathetic and calm individuals

This theory may have been such a popular explanation because it provided a clear explanation for mental struggles that are, in truth, much more complicated. However, providing an explanation that was easy to understand (however silly it may seem to us today) meant that it was widely accepted.

Chemical Imbalances: Fact and Fiction

Today, we are still not immune to the pull of simplified explanations when it comes to psychological troubles. While there is some truth to this commonly-accepted explanation, it is an oversimplification that is not always applicable. 

Facts

• There is some research linking a chemical imbalance of serotonin in the brain to depressive disorders

  • However, it should be noted that this is likely not the entire picture. Scientists are still trying to understand what is really going on!

• Dopamine levels in the brain may contribute to bipolar disorders

• There are many neurotransmitters that may play a role in anxiety disorders, including:

  • GABA

  • Oxytocin

  • Endocannabinoids

  • And more!

• Some medications for treating mental health disorders target specific brain chemicals

Myths

• Chemical imbalances are the proven cause of all psychological disorders

  • Nope!

• Scientists know exactly how people develop chemical imbalances

  • Not at all!

• Mental illnesses are only caused by biological problems

  • Research has supported the idea that mental health diagnoses are caused by multiple factors, including:

    • Genetics

    • Environment

    • Stress 

    • Age 

• People feel better immediately after their neurochemicals are “balanced” again

  • In reality, medicines that boost certain brain chemicals still take time to cause positive mental changes, suggesting there is more at play

If you want to read more about the fact and fiction behind this idea, I suggest you visit this Medical News Today page or this article posted by Harvard Health.

Overall, brain chemicals do often play a part in mental health conditions, but to blame all struggles on a chemical imbalance in the brain is to completely oversimplify the issue! With oversimplification, we run the risk of accepting this idea and missing out on other crucial parts of the mental-health puzzle. It is important to continue to research psychological issues so that we can better understand, diagnose, and treat them.