Chemical imbalance is a term used, particularly but not exclusively in medicine, to describe a situation where different chemical substances required for correct functioning of a system are not present in the required or correct proportions.Chemical imbalance is sometimes used as a lay explanation of mental illness. ~ The term is used in consumer literature and websites for psychoactive drugs (e.g., [1]), and in advertising in the United States after the deregulation of pharmaceutical advertising. ~ It is not used in scientific literature as it does not reflect current knowledge. ~ A criticism of the use of this lay explanation is that explaining mental illness in terms of 'chemical imbalance' implicates a chemical solution. ~ For example, insufficient availability of insulin in type I diabetes is treated with insulin. ~ By analogy, it then appears that the appropriate treatment for insufficient (imbalanced) neurotransmitter levels is a chemical that fixes this balance. ~ However, unlike Type I diabetes, other treatments are available for mental illness, and medication is often most effective when supplemented with other treatments.
Contents
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* 1 'Chemical imbalances'
o 1.1 Clinical depression
o 1.2 Other disorders
o 1.3 Use of drugs to 'correct'
o 1.4 Limitations on the use of medications
* 2 Diagnostic utility
* 3 Popular culture and advertising
* 4 Controversy
* 5 Cautionary measures
* 6 See also
o 6.1 Current neuroscience perspectives
o 6.2 Critical perspectives
* 7 External links
o 7.1 History
o 7.2 Current neuroscience theories
o 7.3 Critical views
o 7.4 Proponent views
