“The chemical imbalance lie removes any responsibility from the child or the parents, invokes the science that western societies have learned to worship, positions the doctor as trusted expert and promises a quick fix.”
In this conference paper by Leonie Fennell and Maria Bradshaw (March 2015, Wicklow, Dublin, Ireland), the authors write:
“Introduction – The Telling & Selling of a Lie
The instinct to protect your child is strong and primal in most human beings. When faced with a child who is sad and tearful, has lost interest in activities they used to enjoy, feels worthless or guilty, can’t eat or sleep and has thoughts of suicide, the natural reaction of most parents would be to provide their child with increased nurturing, love and support; not to foist toxic chemicals on them, which may actually worsen the symptoms that are preventing them from functioning. What would induce a parent to give a depressed child a drug that has been shown in some cases to worsen depression, double the risk of suicide, cause aggression and sexual dysfunction, interfere with sleep, retard growth, risk cardiac arrest and expose the child to a host of other serious adverse reactions?
What is required is the telling and selling of a lie. A lie that persuades parents that in giving their child poison, they are correcting a deficiency, inherent in their offspring.
The lie is that the child has a chemical imbalance, usually a deficiency of serotonin, which can be corrected through the ingestion of antidepressants.
As lies go, it has all the best features. It’s logical, credible and sells a simple solution to a complex problem. Your child is ill. Medical science has the cure. Depression is an act of God but your doctor can correct God’s error and fix your broken child. The chemical imbalance lie removes any responsibility from the child or the parents, invokes the science that western societies have learned to worship, positions the doctor as trusted expert and promises a quick fix.
It’s intuitive, seductive and believable …”
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