Reply #179: I really don't know

[davidthegnome]

I'm on zoloft, 150 MG, and xanax, 1 MG a day. One therapist diagnosed me as Panic disorder and dyslemia, another as Post traumatic stress disorder. One psychiatrist tried to put me on risperdal, another increased the dosage of my zoloft. All roughly around the time of my breakdown.

Yet, unless I am mistaken... there is no test to determine whether or not a chemical imbalance in the brain (the suggested cause of depression, anxiety disorders, and so on) is actually a reality. I was perscribed medication after speaking with a Psychiatrist for just half an hour. He tried to put me on even more than I was willing to take.

They tried me out on other, newer drugs - but those all made me worse. I've been on zoloft, for the better part of ten years, on xanax for almost a year and a half now.

Do I honestly feel better than before? Yes, somewhat. But I am not happy, by any means, not even close. Do I have a chemical imbalance in my brain? I don't know - no one has ever proven it one way or another. From my understanding, chemical imbalance is a theory and not a fact.

I won't say anti-depressants don't work, as in many cases they do help significantly. Yet, at the same time... our understanding, our overall comprehension of mental health is so vague, so small, that in the grand scheme of things they may (and do, in my opinion) do as much harm as they do good.