Antidepressant letter was way off

I am writing concerning a letter which was titled “Antidepressants are to blame for violence” in your Jan. 30 issue.

I believe the writer has made some false cause-and-effect conclusions.

Does he think that the people who committed violent acts were just fine before they took the antidepressants, and then went off?

They were taking medications because they were having some mental health issues.

Television ads for some antidepressants caution about possible suicidal thoughts for the person taking the medications or their family to be alert to any problems.

The TV ads say nothing about acts of violence.

I think that the vast majority of the tens of thousands of people on antidepressants are very grateful for the life improvement that they give, and that the medications reduce the incidence of erratic behavior.

Norma Mason
Glendale