Originally Posted by
thomas11 
I think if you do some digging you'll see there are articles that point out that many suicides are committed by people on SSRI's. There is also evidence that most of our mass shooters in the US have been taking an SSRI or have stopped taking their SSRI. They alter brain chemistry, so I think if you have millions of people taking them, there is going to be a few that don't do well on them.
Increased suicide IS indeed a risk, but that's primarily in teens. Still, they carry a black box warning, but most doctors feel that the benefits for someone who's deeply depressed far outweigh the risks.
As to "most of our mass shooters in the US were taking or had stopped taking SSRIs..." I've heard that theory from gun advocates to justify not changing our gun laws, but never from a credible source. Even if there IS a correlation....remember that correlation doesn't necessarily imply causation. Deeply troubled people commit mass shootings, and deeply troubled people are also more likely to have been treated for a psychiatric disorder. And people who have been treated for a psychiatric disorder are far more likely to have been prescribed psychiatric medication, including SSRIs.
Look at the sources for articles that say otherwise. I've found the ones I've tracked down to be from NRA and other gun blogs. It's the "mass shootings are a mental illness issue, not a gun issue" rationale.
As far as SSRIs causing an increased desire to drink...I'm sure it's possible. If so, and you're OK with not taking them, then I could continue to do without. If your depression returns, there are other medications besides SSRIs.
I'm bipolar, so SSRIs aren't the best choice for me, they can definitely trigger mania. I take a non-SSRI AD that works far better for me. YMMV, these drugs affect everyone differently.