If you ask anyone on the street what causes depression, and come across someone who knows a thing or two about mental illness, you’re bound to get an answer like “a chemical imbalance” or perhaps even “a serotonin deficiency.”

This idea has been so effectively marketed to us that we almost unanimously accept it as fact. You might be surprised to hear this theory has not been well-documented in the scientific literature. Through blood test, lumbar puncture, and brain scan, the well-meaning world of mental health researchers has failed to document this so-called chemical imbalance of depression.

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