Antidepressant Drugs and the Emergence of Suicidal Tendencies

Available evidence which suggests that antidepressants can, in rare cases, induce or exacerbate suicidal tendencies is reviewed. 9 mechanisms are described through which antidepressants may enhance suicidal tendencies. The major conclusion is that antidepressants are not uniformly neutral in regard to suicidal ideation & attempts, e.g. antidepressants may lessen suicidal ideation more effectively than a placebo in depressed patients but this is not always true in personality disorder patients.