Depression is a major concern, particularly because the condition can often bring suicidal thoughts and behaviors as part of its side effects. In an effort to prevent these deaths, treatments such as psychotherapy and medications like Prozac are used to relieve the symptoms. However, there have been many anecdotal reports about Prozac and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like it being linked to suicide risks. It is not uncommon for medication to have side effects, but the possibility of an SSRI making depression even worse, rather than alleviating it, has become a major source of concern.

 

The risk of increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors while taking Prozac is not unknown. The Food and Drug Administration has issued orders for pharmaceutical companies to issue “black box” warning labels – the highest that the FDA can demand – for prospective buyers. The warnings include statements regarding the risk of suicidal behavior increasing in children and adolescents on the drug. Recent research has suggested that the risks might not be limited to just that group. Some evidence has been found that implies that SSRI antidepressants might increase the formation of suicidal thoughts and behaviors even in people who are not depressed.

 

While seemingly damning evidence, this information has not kept SSRI antidepressants off the market, and drugs like Prozac are still selling by the millions. However, proponents of SSRI medications point out that these results were obtained via drug trials, which make them flawed. Drug trials are designed to determine whether or not a given medication is useful in treating a given condition, not what side effects it might have on the person using the drug. Drug trials are also not meant for obtaining evidence of side effects. According to most pharmaceutical companies, there has never been any evidence that their medication is harmful. Of course, this is arguably caused by the fact that nobody has ever attempted a study solely to find evidence of harmful side effects.

Prozac and other SSRI antidepressants like it have been associated with an increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the patients taking them. However, a recent study has found that this increased risk might also manifest in those who do not have depression.