5 Myths About Stress, Anxiety and Depression
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Junaid Tahir
Jul 2, 2026, 12:01:33 AM (yesterday) Jul 2
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5 Myths About Stress, Anxiety and Depression
Chris Green Around 18 million US citizens suffer from stress, depression and anxiety every year and for many of them...
Around 18 million US citizens suffer from stress, depression and anxiety every year and for many of them, understanding why they endure the torment is difficult to establish. This is because of the many "magic bullet myths" associated with these problems. Here are five such myths along with the root cause as to why stress, anxiety and depression arise.
1. Chemical imbalances within the brain. This is a theory with no proven clinical evidence to support it. The theory alleges that low levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain cause people to suffer from anxiety, stress or depression. Drug therapy is used to treat the imbalance. But there is no test to establish levels of these chemicals before patients are prescribed drugs and therefore, no way of knowing which chemicals are depleted and which ones aren't. So there's no way of measuring success either. Another issue: Over seventy percent of people who stop taking antidepressants enter into second and further episodes of stress, anxiety or depression. For another one third, they are totally ineffective. But if chemical imbalances haven't been proven to cause these problems, why are they being treated?
2. Nutritionally deficient diet, either not eating enough fresh food or eating way too much junk food. There are many people throughout the world who don't eat a good diet. Most of our forefathers would've struggled to eat the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Does this mean all of these people suffered from stress, depression or anxiety? Highly unlikely. And I know people whose diet is largely junk and they don't suffer from stress, depression or anxiety. Also, does it mean that everybody who eats a nutritionally sound diet won't suffer from these problems? Again, and I include myself in this, there are people who eat a balanced, nutritionally sound diet but suffer from stress, depression or anxiety. Why?
1. Chemical imbalances within the brain. This is a theory with no proven clinical evidence to support it. The theory alleges that low levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain cause people to suffer from anxiety, stress or depression. Drug therapy is used to treat the imbalance. But there is no test to establish levels of these chemicals before patients are prescribed drugs and therefore, no way of knowing which chemicals are depleted and which ones aren't. So there's no way of measuring success either. Another issue: Over seventy percent of people who stop taking antidepressants enter into second and further episodes of stress, anxiety or depression. For another one third, they are totally ineffective. But if chemical imbalances haven't been proven to cause these problems, why are they being treated?
2. Nutritionally deficient diet, either not eating enough fresh food or eating way too much junk food. There are many people throughout the world who don't eat a good diet. Most of our forefathers would've struggled to eat the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Does this mean all of these people suffered from stress, depression or anxiety? Highly unlikely. And I know people whose diet is largely junk and they don't suffer from stress, depression or anxiety. Also, does it mean that everybody who eats a nutritionally sound diet won't suffer from these problems? Again, and I include myself in this, there are people who eat a balanced, nutritionally sound diet but suffer from stress, depression or anxiety. Why?
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