In Angell’s paper she explains how psychoactive drugs are less effective than placebos, and why we still use these drugs despite knowing that placebos work more efficiently than the actual drug. Angell also talks about what the causes of mental illness. “the popular theory that mental illness is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain… But the main problem with this theory is that after decades of trying to prove it, researchers have still come up empty-handed” (8, 10). Angell is stating that mental illness isn’t caused by a chemical imbalance, although many of the drugs used to fight these illnesses cause your brain to balance these chemicals.In her essay Angell uses information from Irving Kirsch’s book The Emperor’s New Drugs, that claims