Guest: Dr. Kelly Brogan, MD

I’m waaaaaaaay behind…

I posted this episode maybe six weeks ago, before I took some time off. In this Instant Classic, licensed psychiatrist Dr. Kelly Brogan states a compelling case for why Depression is NOT a Serotonin Deficiency.

Discover what she calls the “flawed logic” in our current understanding of how antidepressants work. And, learn what the science really says about these drugs.

Here are my notes:

3:03 – How the monoamine hypothesis of depression got started and why its logic is flawed.

7:23 – What is a normal brain anyway? How serotonin levels may or may not be a factor in depression.

10:39 – Antidepressant adaptation: what happens to your brain and your body when you take (or stop taking!) an antidepressant.

15:29 – What the studies REALLY say about antidepressant medications and the profound power of placebo.

22:45 – Does time heal all? How treatment could be turning some problems into big ones, when “doing nothing” might be the best treatment of all, and why Dr. Brogan does not prescribe medications to her patients.

30:32 – How one major study showed antidepressant medications might not work the way we think they do and why nobody is talking about it.

35:37 – Could the effects of antidepressants really just be anti-inflammatory? All about the cytokine theory of depression and sickness syndrome.

39:42 – Specific inflammation markers you can test for (with optimal ranges!)

42:44 – Dr. Brogan’s best tips for reducing inflammation with food and lifestyle changes. Plus, real life patient stories of how they work.

50:38 What the cytokine model of depression means for Big Pharma … and for the people taking their medications.

Dig it!

Sean