A chemical imbalance in the brain is said to occur when there’s either too much or too little of certain chemicals, called neurotransmitters, in the brain. Neurotransmitters are natural chemicals that help facilitate communication between your nerve cells. Examples include norepinephrine and serotonin.
It’s often said that mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. The hypothesis is sometimes called the chemical imbalance hypothesis or chemical imbalance theory.
If you’re wondering if the symptoms you’re having are caused by a chemical imbalance, it’s important to know that there’s quite a bit of controversy surrounding this theory.
In fact, it’s been largely refuted by the medical community. Researchers argue that the chemical imbalance hypothesis is more of a figure of speech. It doesn’t really capture the true complexity of these disorders. In other words, mental disorders aren’t simply caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. There’s a lot more to them.
