Using Antidepressants to Manage Acute, Normal Grief

[Reviewed and updated November 9, 2024]

Encouraging words are good medicine for the soul. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

A reader writes: About four weeks ago, I came off an antidepressant which allowed the unresolved grief issues over my brother’s death to surface. I believe that the antidepressant kept me from fully grieving his loss, which I am in the process of doing now. A colleague, therapist, and good friend who has known me over the years knows exactly where I am and says perhaps just a small dosage of an antidepressant (not the one that I was on) could be beneficial until resolution and integration is accomplished. I see my M.D. next week to explain what has been going on, and to get a med check (I am also on a thyroid medication). I seem to be doing well and don’t really want to take any more meds. I would appreciate any advice in this respect.

Using Medication to Manage Grief

Find the latest version of this post here:

Using Antidepressants to Manage Acute, Normal Grief

A reader writes: About four weeks ago, I came off an antidepressant which allowed the unresolved grief issues over my brother’s death to surface. I believe that the antidepressant kept me from fully grieving his loss, which I am in the process of doing now. A colleague, therapist, and good friend who has known me over the years knows exactly where I am and says perhaps just a small dosage of an antidepressant (not the one that I was on) could be beneficial until resolution and integration is accomplished. I see my M.D. next week to explain what has been going on, and to get a med check (I am also on a thyroid medication). I seem to be doing well and don’t really want to take any more meds. I would appreciate any advice in this respect.

Voices of Experience: Grief and Depression: Are They Different?

Photo by Lauren Cottrell

Elaine Mansfield’s husband died in 2008 after two years of illness. Since his death, Elaine has become a bereavement volunteer at Hospicare and Palliative Services of Tompkins County in Ithaca, New York. She writes for the Hospicare website and e-newsletter, and facilitates bereavement support groups for women who have lost their spouses or partners. The post below originally appeared on Elaine's blog on May 14, 2012, and is reprinted here with her permission.

It’s hard to distinguish between grief and depression. When does one slide into the other? Who gets to choose the labels anyway?