@cchrafrica: HOW THE CHEMICAL IMBALANCE MASKED SOCIAL RACISM #cchrafrica #chemicalimbalance #SocialRacism #MentalWellness When the "chemical imbalance" theory gained global popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s, it subtly took over where scientific racism left off. Instead of looking at how the structural violence of Apartheid damaged human minds, psychiatry shifted toward looking purely at faulty brain chemicals. Locating the Problem in the Victim: By telling a South African that their severe depression or anxiety is merely a "serotonin deficiency," the system effectively ignores the profound, generational trauma of systemic racism, poverty, land dispossession, and violence. The defect is located in the patient's brain, rather than in their structural environment. Ignoring the Biopsychosocial Reality: South Africa faces immense mental health challenges driven by high unemployment, systemic inequality, and community trauma. Labeling these widespread social reactions as individual chemical anomalies invalidates the collective, legitimate response to ongoing socio-economic hardship

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Monday 06 July 2026 11:48:48 GMT