FAA in the USA does not allow pilots to fly on SSRIs without careful monitoring — this is not because people who are depressed are dangerous…it’s because SSRIs are often dangerous. They have been, for a long time, associated with increased suicidal impulses as well as violence.
SEE : Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners Item 47. Psychiatric Conditions – Use of Antidepressant Medications
See also : SSRIstories.org — SSRI Stories is a collection of over 5,000 stories that have appeared in the media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) in which prescription drugs were mentioned and in which the drugs may be linked to a variety of adverse outcomes including violence.
Update: I hadn’t seen this piece by David Healy MD: Winging it: Antidepressants and Plane Crashes
Driving while medicated (on psychiatric as well as a lot of other drugs) can also, in general, impair people’s capacity to drive safely. It’s worth being aware of this reality.
Info on SSRIs from Beyond Meds (not an exhaustive list of info):
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Study shows 31 prescription drugs (mostly psychiatric) associated with reports of violence towards others
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Many psychiatric symptoms remit upon drug withdrawal – even suicidal impulses
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Chemical imbalance myth takes a big public fall (no, antidepressants do NOT correct an imbalance of serotonin, nor do other psychiatric drugs correct anything at all)
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What your MD should tell you about SSRI antidepressants
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SSRIs are no better than placebo. Really?
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NUMB the movie: documentary on SSRI withdrawal
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Protracted withdrawal from SSRIs and SNRIs antidepressants
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Potential SSRI/SNRI and benzodiazepine withdrawal symptom list
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Driving while medicated: antidepressants, sleeping pills, anxiety drugs increase driving risk
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Cold-turkeying off psych drugs is not a wise choice except in a life-threatening emergency
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Many who ‘benefit’ from meds will have enduring problems from physical dependence & other legacy effects
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Alarming report on persistent side effects of antidepressant drugs published online
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America – the antidepressant nation?
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Doctors told antidepressants are not harmless (legal action being taken for AD issues too)
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Antidepressants can worsen long term course of depression
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Now Antidepressant-Induced Chronic Depression Has a Name: Tardive Dysphoria
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“Creating the Bipolar Child: The Risks of Prescribing Antidepressants to Youth.”
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Have antidepressants turned an episodic illness into a chronic one?
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Do antidepressants work? — short video with Dr. Joanna Moncrieff
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What should doctors know about psychiatric drug withdrawal? — another brief video
Posts on psychiatric drug withdrawal:
Please do not attempt to discontinue psych drugs without first very carefully educating yourself on the risks involved so that you might minimize the chances of developing grave iatrogenic illness if you decide to withdraw: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up
● Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up
● Online Support in Withdrawal
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