That's sorta why I brought in the conspiracy connection. I'm not sure I'm there yet, but I've seen plenty to support a conspiracy.
I had a family member get on an SSRI. She was like a Stepford wife. She had no emotion on anything. Wreck the car, oh well, we have insurance. Lose your purse, oh well, I needed a new one anyway. Johnny gets busted for dope, oh well, boys will be boys. It was not human. after about a year, even she noticed it and tried to get off of it. She had GREAT difficulty. Went to the doctor and he said why are you trying to get off? She told him and he said she needed them and that's why she had trouble. To make a long story short after several attempts, she tried cold turkey from a gradual decrease. The weaning off wasn't working. Crying, yelling, leaving home in the middle of the night, all kinds of bizarre behavior and she couldn't get it straight. The doctor kept telling her that is why she shouldn't quit. Her response was she wasn't like this before she started taking the SSRI so something had changed her. When she went cold turkey, she was in bed for 2 weeks. She cried, screamed, laughed, and slept for all but just a few lucid moments. When she was laughing, I asked her "what was so funny?". She said you really DON"T want to know. Then she said if I told you, I'd have to kill you. That was the first time since I knew her I was actually scared of her. She looked possessed by a demon like in the movies. after a couple of weeks she started to become functional again and is now as normal as she can be. ( She did have emotional problems before, but I was never afraid for her).
So you are either an emotional vegetable or a person that is kinda iffy. I don't know which is worse, but I do know that many people get SSRI's for just being temporarily upset at a lack of sleep or other minor complaints, and then you are hooked and can't get off. A neighbor of mine complained about his job and told the doctor he was upset that he missed a promotion. He went on Paxil. After awhile he tried to get off and now all he does is cry, ALL THE TIME. You can't hardly say anything without him starting to cry. Now he's back on and is a robot.
Now knowing all this, think about the government pushing these meds and hiding the addictive effects from even the doctors. Sounds like a prescription to pass whatever the fascist government wants and everybody is happy. I'm not saying it's not a needed med, but I KNOW it is over prescribed and not watched close enough. Just as a ball park guess, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if 60% or more is prescribed for minuscule reasons. For a real emotionally disturbed person, this could be a life changer, but I think we did pretty good before we had SSRI's. It would be easy for an out of control government to just say "Give em Paxil", and they would be forever in debt to the government. Just think about Pelosi saying "Those mean ole Republicans want to cut your meds off!" Revolution and murder would be everywhere.
It IS over perscribed. I don't believe the government is "behind this" but the US is becoming a Brave New World - newer than is comfortable.
Your comments about a "fascist government" aren't that far off the mark. Germans used St John's Wort - a "natural" antidepressant. I've often wondered how Germans could live with themselves emotionally knowing they had created "death factories" - and St. John's Wort is the answer. Being depressed often means we're doing something wrong - it's the body's warning. Depression serves a useful purpose. Think: conscience. And antidepressants - take that edge off. We don't suffer the guilt we should be feeling.
And you're right - sometimes people actually need the help antidepressants offer - but not whole societies. I think of the drug as "sociopath lite"....