With 1 in 7 adults Australian adults on anti-depressants and SSRIs, the new research is questioning the effectiveness of these for depression.

The main cause of depression was as controversial now as it was say 40 years ago- says a University of Sydney Professor of Psychiatry.

The large review of past studies by scientists at the University College of London in the UK claims that since a chemical imbalance is not to blame for depression,.Another study confirmed that the causes of depression are complex and not clearly defined, but chemical imbalances might be only one factor that plays a role. It calls into question the basis for the use of antidepressants.

It wasn’t that long ago that depression was treated by exorcism to expel demons. The serotonin hypothesis sounds sciencey, but it has about the same explanatory power as demonic possession. But that’s true of a lot of medicine. We’ve used aspirin for over a hundred years, but only recently have we learned how it works. Part of the mystery of working (or non-working) of SSRIs lies in the gut. Surprisingly, 95 percent of the serotonin in your body is active in your gut, not your brain. Your gut has an impressive network of nerves and to make it complex, gut microbiota are involved. The antibiotic effect of antidepressants can, in turn, affect mood via the gut-brain axis. Among the astonishing revelations of recent microbiome research is that microbes can secrete neurotransmitters on their own, including dopamine, GABA, and, importantly, serotonin. At least some of the impact of antidepressants is to kill specific microbes and, along with that, the neurotransmitters they produce. This domino effect is fantastically complicated and varies from person to person

With one in two females aged 16-24 having experienced a mental health condition in the last 12 months, is it the time now to look for other solutions for treating mental health conditions?

Ayurveda offers some profound therapies for mental health conditions like Shirodhara and Marma Therapy. It also offers tools and techniques under Vedic counselling and some herbal remedies for improving mental health.

I do not claim that these are better substitutes for conventional medicine based treatments and in some cases medicinal intervention is a must. However, I think these therapies are certainly worth exploring given their long standing tradition and potentially nil side effects.

More people seek their benefits, more data can be collected about their efficacy in the today’s mental health crisis.

If you, or someone you know, needs help, please called Lifeline on 13 11 14.