Why do so many people take anti-depressants?

because life is HARD

First of all - Columbine; i was also taking Paroxetine, otherwise known as Seroxat & i felt bad on them too, but bad enough to massacre a load of students? No, not at all. I was however, plagued with thoughts of suicide and my temper was awful - my friend was also on them and she attacked her then boyfriend with a fish slice. This proves that it can make you violent i suppose, as my friend doesn't have a violent bone in her body, but to hold it responsible for something as awful as Columbine would be ridiculous to say the least. Does free will have no place any more? First we blame TV, then we blame horror films, then ****, then rap music for the violence in society, but its people who are to blame. So as for 'flipping out', mmm.......jury's out on that one.
I think the reason that so many people take anti-depressants is because the world is depressing - watch the news! In years past, depression was largely ignored and anyone who complained would be told to 'pull themselves together'. In recent times we have learnt a lot more about mental illness and discovered it's mainly a chemical thing, not just people wallowing in self-pity, like was originally thought.
Now the stigma has been partially removed, it's much easier for people to admit they're depressed & get help for it & this has to be the reason for increased cases of depression. It's not so much more people are depressed, it's just that many more are seeking help and taking meds, as well as talking therapy, NLP, CBT & other therapies. It's not all about pills, you know.