--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rather than fix chemical imbalances in…" description: "\"“Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the drugs creat them.”\" — Robert Whitaker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/robert-whitaker-27072_drugs_rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-t_583709.jpg" --- # Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the… ![“Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the drugs creat them.” quote by Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/robert-whitaker-27072_drugs_rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-t_583709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/robert-whitaker-27072_drugs_rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-t_583709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/robert-whitaker-27072_drugs_rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-t_583709.jpg) > ““Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the drugs creat them.”” [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Psychiatric drugs may create the chemical imbalances they claim to fix, suggesting i effects **In simple terms:** Drugs can cause the problems they treat Key Takeaway Be cautious of medication side effects and seek alternatives Themes medicine psychiatry ethics Mood critical informative Type medical critique patient empowerment When to use this quote - mental health treatment - prescription use - patient advocacy Key Concepts pharmacology neurobiology critical medicine Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist for mental health? - How can patients stay informed about medication risks? A Different Perspective Medical interventions can have unintended consequences ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs/) ## Related quotes > [Both depression and anxiety disorders, for example, are repeatedly described in the media as 'chemical imbalances in the brain,' as if spontaneous neural events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/both-depression-and-anxiety-disorders-for-example-are-repeatedly/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Depression, we are told over and over again, is a brain disease, a chemical imbalance that can be adjusted by antidepressant medication. In an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-kirsch/depression-we-are-told-over-and-over-again-is-a-brain-disease-a/) [Irving Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-kirsch/) > [“Your Brain on drugs is a terrible sight, but Mr Tulip was living proof of the fact that so was Your Brain on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/your-brain-on-drugs-is-a-terrible-sight-but-mr-tulip-was-living-proof/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“is your brain on drugs.” I saw that image in the scorching nighttime sky. I heard the disembodied voice. But what I thought was:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-jurek/is-your-brain-on-drugs-i-saw-that-image-in-the-scorching-nighttime/) [Scott Jurek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-jurek/) > [That's what falling in love really amounted to, your brain on drugs. Adrenaline and dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin. Chemical insanity, celebrated by poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/that-s-what-falling-in-love-really-amounted-to-your-brain-on-drugs/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“I think there are certain unimpeded passages, that this is registering in my brain somewhere where the drugs and the bugs don’t reach. There’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moran/i-think-there-are-certain-unimpeded-passages-that-this-is-registering/) Thomas Moran > [When you talk about emotional, chemical imbalances in people, there is no science behind that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cruise/when-you-talk-about-emotional-chemical-imbalances-in-people-there-is/) [Tom Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cruise/) > [When I decided to get sober, there were a lot of chemical imbalances that came along with that, physically as well as mentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-moody/when-i-decided-to-get-sober-there-were-a-lot-of-chemical-imbalances/) [Ivan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-moody/) > [Most psychiatrists assume that mental illnesses such as depression are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, which can be treated by drugs. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/most-psychiatrists-assume-that-mental-illnesses-such-as-depression/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [“People aren't crazy, they’re just reacting normally to an abnormally crazy world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/people-aren-t-crazy-they-re-just-reacting-normally-to-an-abnormally/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [A pill to make you numb, a pill to you make you dumb, a pill to make you anybody else, but all the drugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/a-pill-to-make-you-numb-a-pill-to-you-make-you-dumb-a-pill-to-make/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [not all drugs are good.. some of them are great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/not-all-drugs-are-good-some-of-them-are-great/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [We have drugs to make women speak, but none to keep them silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/we-have-drugs-to-make-women-speak-but-none-to-keep-them-silent/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Who said we take drugs? we're just lacking fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-chatto/who-said-we-take-drugs-we-re-just-lacking-fate/) [Cath Chatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-chatto/) > [You find out so many interesting things when you're not on drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/you-find-out-so-many-interesting-things-when-you-re-not-on-drugs/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) ## More by Robert Whitaker > [“The history of psychiatry and its treatments can be a contentious issue in our society, so much so that when you write about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-history-of-psychiatry-and-its-treatments-can-be-a-contentious/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“The off-drug patients also suffered less from depression, blunted emotions, and retarded movements. Indeed, they told Carpenter and McGlashan that they had found it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-off-drug-patients-also-suffered-less-from-depression-blunted/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“I have always been told that a person has to accept that the illness is chronic," she says, at the end of our interview.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/i-have-always-been-told-that-a-person-has-to-accept-that-the-illness/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“When it comes to dead bodies in current psychotropic trials, there are a greater number of them in the active treatment groups than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/when-it-comes-to-dead-bodies-in-current-psychotropic-trials-there-are/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“If you expand the boundaries of mental illness, which is clealry what has happened in this country during the past twenty-five years, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/if-you-expand-the-boundaries-of-mental-illness-which-is-clealry-what/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“...and she no longer is having her emotional responses to...stress numbed by medication. "I've been off the drugs for two years, and sometimes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/and-she-no-longer-is-having-her-emotional-responses-to-stress-numbed/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“The cocktail she took usually included a mood stabilizer, an antidepressant, and a benzodiazepine for anxiety, although the exact combination was always changing. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-cocktail-she-took-usually-included-a-mood-stabilizer-an/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“In the United States, people with depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia are losing twelve to twenty years in life expectancy compared to people not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/in-the-united-states-people-with-depression-bipolar-and-schizophrenia/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“Prior to being medicated, a depressed person has no known chemical imbalance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/prior-to-being-medicated-a-depressed-person-has-no-known-chemical/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“The prescribing of stimulants to ADHD youth began to take off in the 1980s, and today, thirty years later, studies have failed to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/the-prescribing-of-stimulants-to-adhd-youth-began-to-take-off-in-the/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“That is where we stand as a nation today. Twenty years ago, our society began regularly prescribing psychiatric drugs to children and adolescents, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/that-is-where-we-stand-as-a-nation-today-twenty-years-ago-our-society/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“...all I could think about was how both sets of parents had needed to make their decision, on whether to medicate their child, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/all-i-could-think-about-was-how-both-sets-of-parents-had-needed-to/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“When it comes to dead bodies in current psychotropic trials, there are a greater number of them in the active treatment groups than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/when-it-comes-to-dead-bodies-in-current-psychotropic-trials-there-are-2/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“Psychosis does not live in the head. It lives in the in-between of family members, and in the in-between of people," Salo explained. "It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/psychosis-does-not-live-in-the-head-it-lives-in-the-in-between-of/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) > [“Klonopin ruined my lie. It takes away your drive, and in the morning, you don't want to get out of bed, because you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/klonopin-ruined-my-lie-it-takes-away-your-drive-and-in-the-morning/) [Robert Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) [Explore all 21 Robert Whitaker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/) ## More Drugs quotes > [You find out so many interesting things when you're not on drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/you-find-out-so-many-interesting-things-when-you-re-not-on-drugs/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [Who said we take drugs? we're just lacking fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-chatto/who-said-we-take-drugs-we-re-just-lacking-fate/) [Cath Chatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-chatto/) > [We have drugs to make women speak, but none to keep them silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/we-have-drugs-to-make-women-speak-but-none-to-keep-them-silent/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [not all drugs are good.. some of them are great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/not-all-drugs-are-good-some-of-them-are-great/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [A pill to make you numb, a pill to you make you dumb, a pill to make you anybody else, but all the drugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/a-pill-to-make-you-numb-a-pill-to-you-make-you-dumb-a-pill-to-make/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“People aren't crazy, they’re just reacting normally to an abnormally crazy world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-s-b-morse/people-aren-t-crazy-they-re-just-reacting-normally-to-an-abnormally/) [J.S.B. Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-s-b-morse/) > [Raves when it was safe to be free & wave your hands in the air, like you didn't even care! Not scared to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/progrezza/raves-when-it-was-safe-to-be-free-wave-your-hands-in-the-air-like-you/) [Progrezza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/progrezza/) > [Rock n roll is about drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/rock-n-roll-is-about-drugs/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/if-you-don-t-think-drugs-have-done-good-things-for-us-then-take-all/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I don't like drug, but drug like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammar-farini/i-don-t-like-drug-but-drug-like-me/) Ammar Farini > [“If Barack Obama had come up in a time when the drug war was being waged as intensely as it is now, we probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hart/if-barack-obama-had-come-up-in-a-time-when-the-drug-war-was-being/) [Carl Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hart/) > [“Whenever the wife wants to do drugs, she thinks about Sartre. One bad trip and then a giant lobster followed him around for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-offill/whenever-the-wife-wants-to-do-drugs-she-thinks-about-sartre-one-bad/) [Jenny Offill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-offill/) > [“The W. M. Keck Observatory is the only employer that has surprised me during my employment with urine tests for illegal drugs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-w-m-keck-observatory-is-the-only-employer-that-has-surprised-me/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I think religion is bad and drugs are good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-think-religion-is-bad-and-drugs-are-good/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [You're my drugs because you help me see the beauty of life upside down and you help me escape the ugliness of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-my-drugs-because-you-help-me-see-the-beauty-of-life-upside/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,085 Drugs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the drugs creat them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Whitaker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-the-brain-the-drugs-creat-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drugs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-the-brain-the-drugs-creat-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/robert-whitaker-27072_drugs_rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-t_583709.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/robert-whitaker-27072_drugs_rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-t_583709.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b4/robert-whitaker-27072_drugs_rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-t_583709.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the drugs creat them.” — Robert Whitaker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Whitaker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whitaker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Rather than fix chemical imbalances in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-the-brain-the-drugs-creat-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whitaker/rather-than-fix-chemical-imbalances-in-the-brain-the-drugs-creat-them/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```