Anti-depressants are not a "happy" pill. If you have a chemical imbalance these will help put that balance back to where it should be. If you don't have a chemical imbalance then these pills will not do anything for you.
I was paxil for about 3 years and I certainly never felt high on it. I didn't have any problems going off it other than feeling "off" for about a week. But everyone is different and I wasn't on a high dosage.
But I wouldn't compare bein on paxil to drinking. No comparison to that. You should also ask yourself why this bothers you so much. Worry about yourself, not what everyone else is doing.