> They can also increase suicidal ideation.
A very close family member committed suicide, after Prozac dosage adjustments made his brain chemistry go haywire.
This happened 30 years ago, and it has been known to us that Prozac can cause this, since then.
The Guardians headline is way, way understating the real situation here.
Medications almost always target symptoms and never address root causes.
I'm not sure what kinds of studies have been done about it, but I've had a few therapists same similar ideas. If it's not a studied phenomenon, then it has folks that believe it exists.
I went through a frankly terrible few months on my current meds because they removed the emotional numbness before removing the bad feelings. However, once that was over they effectively gave me my life back after 10+ years of continual exhaustion and brain fog.
Inflammation and depression are linked. Infection causes inflammation. It doesn’t follow that depression is caused by infection.
No, it’s not. Depression can be influenced by inflammation.
This thread is a good example of the GIGO pitfalls that researching with chatbots entails.
EDIT - I ask because the only results I get when searching are a Harvard article debunking it. I'd rather hear the opinion of someone that actually believes in it before I read about why it's all malarky. I believe in arguing against the best version of someones argument.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-dubious-p...
PS Thanks for keeping this a good place to be!
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
More for the avid reader:
1.) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7698404/
I’m not sure if it has a technical name or if it’s been rigorously studied, but it’s a common observation which even I’ve seen (and reported to growers I work for).
A casual mention here: http://www.sheep101.info/201/behavior.html
It was just the best “every man” link I could provide for understanding how efficacy of toxin-clearing (toxicity) could be related to depression, other struggles with homeostasis.
Did you grasp the connection?
== === Why the Sick Get Sicker Most people think illness progresses because of pathogens, toxins, or genetics — but the deeper truth is that tension, stress, and breathing patterns control the trajectory of health more than anything else.
When the body is stressed, the breath changes.
When the breath changes, the lymph stagnates.
When the lymph stagnates, toxins accumulate.
When toxins accumulate, inflammation accelerates.
And that is how sick becomes sicker.
Here’s the breakdown:
1. Stress Immediately Changes Your Breathing Pattern
When the nervous system senses stress — emotional, physical, mental, or energetic — breathing becomes:
• shallow
• rapid
• high in the chest
• tight in the ribs
• limited in diaphragm expansion
This cuts oxygen supply, raises cortisol, and signals the body to brace.
Bracing = stagnation.
2. Your Breath Controls Your Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is the body’s drainage system, and it has no pump of its own.
It relies entirely on: • diaphragmatic breathing
• muscle movement
• fascia softness
• a calm nervous system
Shallow breathing = no diaphragm movement.
No diaphragm movement = lymph stagnation.
When lymph stagnates:
• waste can’t drain
• toxins recirculate
• inflammation builds
• swelling increases
• the immune system gets overwhelmed
This is why people in long-term stress decline rapidly.
3. Chronic Tension Physically Constricts Detox Pathways
Tension in the shoulders, neck, jaw, abdomen, and ribs acts like a clamp on the lymphatic system.
Chronic tightness:
• blocks lymph nodes
• stiffens fascia
• shuts down circulation
• compresses nerves
• restricts oxygen
• slows detox
The body becomes a closed loop where waste can’t leave — so it begins leaking into tissues, joints, and organs.
This accelerates aging, pain, brain fog, and inflammation.
4. This Is the Progression From Sick → Sicker
When breath + lymph + fascia are blocked:
Phase 1 — Shallow breathing
Fatigue, anxiety, tight chest, poor digestion.
Phase 2 — Lymph stagnation
Swelling, puffiness, inflammatory symptoms, chronic infections.
Phase 3 — Detox recirculation
Migrating symptoms, rashes, headaches, histamine issues, chemical sensitivity.
Phase 4 — Systemic overload
Autoimmune symptoms, mold sensitivity, debilitating fatigue, hormone disruption.
It appears “mysterious,” but physiologically it is predictable.