Psychology: Science or Religion?

The pathology of depression—the monoamine hypothesis: Antidepressants are believed to exert their therapeutic effects by acting on brain monoamines, which are believed to be important determinants of mood. However, in a circular chain of logic, the monoamine theory of depression was itself formulated primarily in response to observations that early antidepressants increased brain monoamine levels [3]. (EMPHASIS MINE, in other words, "The drugs work, so the depression must be caused by such-and-such in the brain").

Independent evidence has not confirmed that there is a monoamine abnormality in depression. For example, the findings of brain imaging studies of serotonin abnormality are contradictory. Some found reduced serotonin 1A receptor binding in drug-free patients who were depressed, consistent with the hypothesis that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) improve depression by correcting a deficiency of serotonin activity [4,5]. Other studies, however, have found no difference between patients who are drug-free and controls [6,7] or increased binding potential in depressed patients [7,8]. Postmortem findings of receptor changes in the brains of people who committed suicide have also been inconsistent [9–11]. In some studies, with patients who had recovered from depression, a tryptophan depletion challenge led to a transient increase in depressive symptoms. However, these results have not been confirmed in volunteer studies [12], and the effect appears to be dependent on previous SSRI use [13]. Research on catecholamines (noradrenaline and adrenalin) is similarly confusing and inconclusive [14]. (EMPHASIS MINE).

1. Schildkraut JJ (1965) The catecholamine hypothesis of affective disorders: A review of supporting evidence. Am J Psychiatry 122:509–522. Find this article online
2. Sargent PA, Kjaer KH, Bench CJ, Rabiner EA, Messa C, et al. (2000) Brain serotonin 1A receptor binding measured by positron emission tomography with [11C]WAY-100635: Effects of depression and antidepressant treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry 57:174–180. Find this article online
3. Drevets WC, Frank E, Price JC, Kupfer DJ, Holt D, et al. (1999) PET imaging of serotonin 1A receptor binding in depression. Biol Psychiatry 46:1375–1387. Find this article online
4. Meyer JH, Houle S, Sagrati S, Carella A, Hussey DF, et al. (2004) Brain serotonin transporter binding potential measured with carbon 11-labeled DASB positron emission tomography: Effects of major depressive episodes and severity of dysfunctional attitudes. Arch Gen Psychiatry 61:1271–1279. Find this article online
5. Parsey RV, Oquendo MA, Ogden RT, Olvet DM, Simpson N, et al. (2006) Altered serotonin 1A binding in major depression: A [carbonyl-C-11]WAY100635 positron emission tomography study. Biol Psychiatry 59:106–113. Find this article online
6. Reivich M, Amsterdam JD, Brunswick DJ, Shiue CY (2004) PET brain imaging with [11C](+)McN5652 shows increased serotonin transporter availability in major depression. J Affect Disord 82:321–327. Find this article online
7. Stockmeier CA, Dilley GE, Shapiro LA, Overholser JC, Thompson PA, et al. (1997) Serotonin receptors in suicide victims with major depression. Neuropsychopharmacology 16:162–173. Find this article online
8. Lowther S, De Paermentier F, Cheetham SC, Crompton MR, Katona CL, et al. (1997) 5-HT1A receptor binding sites in post-mortem brain samples from depressed suicides and controls. J Affect Disord 42:199–207. Find this article online
9. Matsubara S, Arora RC, Meltzer HY (1991) Serotonergic measures in suicide brain: 5-HT1A binding sites in frontal cortex of suicide victims. J Neural Transm Gen Sect 85:181–194. Find this article online
10. Murphy FC, Smith KA, Cowen PJ, Robbins TW, Sahakian BJ (2002) The effects of tryptophan depletion on cognitive and affective processing in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 163:42–53. Find this article online
11. Delgado PL, Miller HL, Salomon RM, Licinio J, Krystal JH, et al. (1999) Tryptophan-depletion challenge in depressed patients treated with desipramine or fluoxetine: Implications for the role of serotonin in the mechanism of antidepressant action. Biol Psychiatry 46:212–220. Find this article online
12. Healy D (1999) The antidepressant era. New York: Harvard University Press. 336 p.

SOURCE

Originally Posted by ManOfWord

Here's my theory, it may be full of hot air, but then again, it may not either:

We are killing ourselves and creating more and more people with chemical imbalances in their brains due the US's food supply being FAR from the natural mineral content etc, and the use of chemicals to enhance growth for profit.

I'd like to see some studies done on this. How much of an impact have all these chemically-enhanced and processed foods we've been eating since at least the 1960s had on people?

No amount of counselling or scripture will fix a chemical imbalance outside of a miracle, which I fully believe in. In that respect, psychiatry & psychology can help.

Assuming, of course, such a chemical balance even exists, of which there is no objective evidence. What one does about one's mood state is a spiritual matter, not a physiological one.

I just recieved word tonight that a man committed suicide who was seemed to be an excellent Dad and husband. He even got everything in order in regards to paper work, insurance etc. He had been receiving some counselling, but apparently, too little too late. This is so sad.

So, he was actually planning this out. If he had relied on the Savior instead of himself, if he has listened to the Spirit of God instead of his own heart (that the Bible says is "desperately wicked"), he would not have committed suicide.

If he only could have received some "smarmy" comments about taking two scriptures and everything being OK.

If only he had put his trust in Christ instead of being controlled by his own emotions!

Originally Posted by sherr34

Chan,
If God made the mind then why cant it be studies. I think you are foolish. What would you do if you where Bipolar??

You are responding based on emotion and not on reason. Again, even the head of the American Psychological Association has admitted there are no lab tests to show that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain. The Food and Drug Administration has likewise denied there is evidence of a chemical imbalance (and, thus, denied that the applicable mental illnesses are medical conditions).

Look to God and His word for your answers, not to worldly philosophies.

[sherr34]

I will go on with what I believe. I go to a upc church and my pastors knows about the medical condition that I have. He believes in the chemical imbalance in the brain.

Originally Posted by sherr34

I will go on with what I believe. I go to a upc church and my pastors knows about the medical condition that I have. He believes in the chemical imbalance in the brain.

Ah, yes, the "Don't confuse me with facts, my mind is made up" routine.

Again, here's what the Food and Drug Administration has to say:
.
"Direct to consumer advertising misleads the public by claiming their normal reactions to life experiences *MAY* be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. But consumers don't hear the 'may' - they hear the overall message the drug companies want them to hear, and they take a pill for a chemical imbalance that doesn't exist.

Since the 1960s, researchers have been unable to prove that any of the 374 mental disorders listed in psychiatry's bible, the DSM, are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. Regarding depression, researchers have not been able to prove their theory that any of the depressive disorders is caused by an imbalance of serotonin...'A big tip-off that psychiatry has not proven their chemical imbalance theory lies in the fact that no lab test exists to detect a chemical imbalance in a person's brain' admitted by American Psychiatric Association President Dr. Steven Sharfstein in the July 11th issue of People magazine. If there were a chemical imbalance, then people would be taking a test to see what chemicals they lack and how much they lack. Instead, people are subjectively interviewed, diagnosed, and prescribed an antidepressant in as little as five minutes, as I have witnessed firsthand as a mental health professional.

With many studies debunking the chemical imbalance theory, and not one study proving it, then we must ask, why would anyone take a drug to correct an imbalance that no one knows is there in the first place? Why would someone diagnosed with depression take an antidepressant, when the antidepressant tries to fix something in the brain that is not broken? What occurs in the brain when we introduce drugs to try to fix a problem that is not there - when we give a normal brain an abnormal foreign substance? Common sense says the brain will have an adverse reaction, which is exactly what happens. Antidepressants cause chemical imbalances in the brain, and frequently result in outward manifestations of various mental disorders - even suicide and murder, as the FDA has warned with their black box labels.

For these reasons, psychiatric drug direct to consumer advertising is false advertising, pure and simple. These drug companies have made mental conditions physical diseases without a shred of evidence, have convinced the general public that they have a physical disease without an objective test to prove it, and have made billions from their drugs that do nothing more than placebo at best, and have caused the tragic deaths of thousands at worse."

You will never be set free from your bondage to your emotions as long as you continue to put your trust in worldly philosophies (like psychology) and unproven theories (such as the chemical imbalance theory) instead of putting your trust in God and His word. It doesn't matter that you attend a UPC or that you are filled with the Holy Ghost, you are still a slave to your emotions and are being deceived by psychiatry and psychology.

[Malvaro]

someone needs to rhonify this thread....

Psychology has its roots in ancient philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. None of these men were worshipers of the true and living God. At best, they believed in a god that was not involved in the affairs of men, and at worst they worshiped multiple pagan gods.

Modern psychology was brought to the forefront by Sigmund Freud in the late nineteenth century. Freud certainly wasn’t a godly man. He was obsessed with sex and linked every problem of man to the sexual drive. This man had serious problems, even his most devoted followers admitted that.

Here is the point: If the root is bad, then the tree has to be bad. Jesus said this very plainly in Matthew 7:17-18, "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”

The root of psychology is bad, and therefore, the fruit cannot be good. I’m amazed at the acceptance of psychology in our society and especially in the church. Many churches and ministries have resident psychiatrists on staff. This isn’t the approach Jesus took. He met the needs, all the needs of the people through the power of the Holy Spirit, and I believe He intends His church to do the same. They don’t have to depart and go to the world to get their emotional needs met. They should bring them to Jesus (Matt. 14:16-18).

Christianity and psychology have some things in common: They both state that our actions are the product of inner processes. But in describing what those processes are and how to change them, Christianity and psychology take the opposite approach. For one thing, the very word “psychology” reveals an anti-god approach.

The word “psychology” comes from a derivative of the Greek word "psyche" meaning “soul.” Psychology looks no deeper than the soul of man for answers. It totally ignores the spirit realm: our spirits, God’s Holy Spirit, and demonic spirits. The Word of God is replete with teachings and examples of the influence of God, demons, and our spirits on our actions. Any “answer” that doesn’t take the spirit realm into account isn’t going to the root of the problem. The Greek word "psyche" was also the name of the Greek god of the soul. "eros" and "psyche" were lovers in Greek mythology. Who wants that?

Here are four major tenants of psychology that I believe are incompatible with biblical Christianity:

1) We are products of our environment.
2) Therefore, we are not responsible or accountable for our actions.
3) This leads to placing blame for our actions on anything else but on us, making us victims.
4) Self-esteem is paramount.

SOURCE - For more about this, read the book Harnessing Your Emotions.

Let's look at these points for a moment.

1) We are products of our environment - The Bible tells us that it's our thoughts that make us what we are (see Proverbs 23:7), not our environment. While our environment may have some influence, how we react to and/or interact with our environment is our choice. In other words, we can choose to be either a victim or a victor.

2) Therefore, we are not responsible or accountable for our actions - Taking responsibility for our actions is the big difference between true Christianity and psychology. Psychology has influenced our society to such a degree that no one is held accountable for their actions. Even murderers are being acquitted because it’s "not their fault"; they were abused as children or whatever. That’s stupid. Some of us have had problems that others haven’t, but God still holds us accountable for our own actions, regardless of what has happened to us. In psychology, children aren't rebellious and dishonoring toward their parents, they have "oppositional-defiant disorder." A man doesn't have occasions where he commits the sin of wrath, he has "intermittent explosive disorder." In other words, sin has been replaced with mental illness. For more about this phenomenon, read psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger's Whatever Became of Sin? and former psychotherapist Lisa Bazler's Psychology Debunked.

3) This leads to placing blame for our actions on anything else but on us, making us victims - Oh, yes! Everyone is at fault for my actions except me! Behavior is a choice and I guarantee you that God holds us accountable for our behavior! We'll give account for "every idle word" we've ever spoken (Matthew 12:36); how much more will we give account for every action! You have a choice: you can be a victim or you can (through Christ) be a victor!

4) Self-esteem is paramount - Psychology says "self-esteem" while the Bible says to esteem others "in lowliness of mind" (see Philippians 2:3). Psychology gets us to focus on ourselves and on feeling good about ourselves. This is, to put it mildly, the sin of pride. The Bible tells us to humble ourselves, die to ourselves, and to deny ourselves. Thus, psychology and Christianity are clearly antithetical to each other. Feeling bad because you find yourself with unnatural sexual attractions (such as homosexuality, pedophilia, etc.)? That's okay, psychology will help you feel good about having those unnatural attractions and get you to embrace and celebrate them. Psychology has even gone as far as to declare homosexuality a "normal" variation of human sexuality. Pedophilia may be next if some psychologists get their way. Are you biologically one sex (male or female) but you "feel" you are the opposite sex on the inside? That's okay. Instead of helping you overcome your "gender dysphoria" (a psychological term), psychology encourages you to embrace your internal "gender" and go have a doctor change your body to match what's going on inside your mind. Christianity, on the other hand, urges you with the Apostle Paul to "take every thought captive" to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

The words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 can be applied to the attempt to bring worldly philosophies like psychology into the Church:

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

[sherr34]

Bump

[BrotherEastman]

Perhaps I should drop my psychology courses?

[RandyWayne]

Originally Posted by BrotherEastman

Perhaps I should drop my psychology courses?

Number 2 son Chan, wherever he may be, just couldn't get past L Ron Huber's teachings on psychology.