A Brief History of SSRI Shootings (Anti-Depressants)

SSRI stands for Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor, and it is a class of drugs that is often used to treat depression and anxiety. It includes Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Paxil and a host of other commonly prescribed antidepressants. And the perpetrators of a raft of school shootings, mass murders and other violent incidents in recent years have been taking them.

Although the drug manufacturers are quick to downplay this connection as anecdotal or coincidental, mounting scientific evidence points to a strong correlation between the use of psychiatric drugs in general, and SSRIs in particular, and violent behavior.

Find out more about this correlation and its implications in the treatment of mental illness in this week's edition of The Eyeopener.