Originally Posted by
Excargodog
If you still require meds to resolve the depression it’s a little more tricky although even that is not necessarily an insurmountable issue for pilots who are already heavily invested in an aviation career.
See this:
Medical Never Submitted
If the problem is chronic, recurrent, or severe, you might not want to
initiate such an investment though.
Yes, I would frankly not plan on investing in training with a requirement to be on anti-depression/anxiety meds long-term.
The FAA in good faith a few years ago decided to allow pilots to *potentially* fly while taking some meds for depression.
Unfortunately, shortly after the rule change, the germanwings suicide crash cast a very long shadow on pilot mental health issues.
Since then the FAA has been (somewhat understandably) very, very leery of approving pilots to fly on meds. I am led to believe that the sum total of pilots approved by the FAA to date can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
So I wouldn't plan on a career with meds. Even if you get approved, that's only good for six months, maybe less and there's NO guarantee the policy won't change for the worse at any moment.