It was long understood that people suffering from depression had a chemical imbalance in the brain — namely, low serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter jokingly known as the “happy” chemical, as its release in the brain improves mood and regulates other bodily processes such as sleep, hunger, digestion, learning, body temperature, and sexual behavior. Psychiatrists have long been prescribing antidepressants to boost those levels and help the sufferer.

University College London conducted a mega study specifically on the research pertaining to the theory of chemical imbalance in depression. Its findings are a bombshell: “The main areas of serotonin research provide no consistent evidence of there being an association between serotonin and depression, and no support for the hypothesis that depression is caused by lowered serotonin activity or concentrations. Some evidence was consistent with the possibility that long-term antidepressant use reduces serotonin concentration.”

In other words, depression isn’t caused by a chemical imbalance, and antidepressants used to help correct that imbalance did not help regulate or heal the depressed person.

One of the study’s main authors, professor Joanna Moncrieff, commented, “It is always difficult to prove a negative, but I think we can safely say that after a vast amount of research conducted over several decades, there is no convincing evidence that depression is caused by serotonin abnormalities, particularly by lower levels or reduced activity of serotonin.”

Although this is the first formal scientific study to tackle this particular theory, an unlikely person was talking about this back in the early 2000s. Actor and eccentric Tom Cruise gave an interview on the “Today” show in 2005, where he talked about the research he had done into the use of antidepressants. He stated: “All it does is mask the problem. … That’s what it does. That’s all it does. You’re not getting to the reason why. There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance. … Drugs aren’t the answer. These drugs are very dangerous. They are mind-altering anti-psychotic drugs.” Cruise was deemed a crazy person and almost lost his career over this particular stance. Today’s stunning news vindicates Cruise’s once-far-out perspective, and it only took the world’s leading neuroscientists 17 years to catch up to him.

Why this potential oversight regarding depression and the subsequent prescription of antidepressants?

Perhaps it was pure incompetence. Humans, after all, like to try to find shortcuts, and antidepressants do seem to mask the most oppressive symptoms. It could perhaps also be corporate greed. As political pundit Matt Walsh discussed on a recent podcast, doctors and major pharmaceutical companies are financially incentivized to get as many people hooked on these drugs as possible. Walsh points out that there are a significant number of people that are diagnosed with a disorder “requiring” antidepressants, and that number keeps growing.

The University College London study debunking the theory of chemical imbalance is potentially terrible news for families trying to work with and help heal a loved one suffering with depression. Antidepressants are used to treat other mental illnesses as well, like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and more. And for those families and people living with those mental disorders, what are the implications of this study for their plight?

It’s good that this information is coming to light, but it’s a shame the status quo was allowed to continue unchallenged for so long.