Question

How long should antidepressants be used following a bereavement?

Answer

Bereavement may precipitate depression, but this is often short term and in that case only a short course of antidepressants may be justified. Longer-term depression may need prolonged treatment, but that depends on the assessment of the depression and any suicidal risk. It is important to determine whether poor physical health could be prolonging any continued depression. The patient may not be taking the antidepressant, and this should be checked. Sometimes depression is truly resistant to current therapy. If someone has been taking antidepressants for several years, it may be appropriate to now review not only the treatment, but also the person, both mentally and physically, and to look for factors that could be maintaining the depression, if it is still present.

Links

• Information on all aspects of depression