Treating depression with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: A practical approach

Depression is a common disorder that is becoming better understood as an il lness that can be chronic, recurrent, and refractory to treatment. Depressi on can produce substantial suffering and profoundly affect a patient's self -esteem, relationships, and functional capacity. The improved adverse-effec t profile and safety from overdose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibito rs (SSRIs) have led to treatment of milder forms of depression and thus inc reased treatment of depression overall. This article synthesizes several pr eviously published reviews and psychopharmacology resources and addresses p ractical issues related to initiating, monitoring, continuing, and disconti nuing SSRIs, Precautions related to SSRI use and important considerations f or various types of depression are discussed.