Of the few deaths reported, Zoloft was taken in combination with other drugs or alcohol. Zoloft may impair a person's judgment, thinking, or motor skills. Dizziness and lightheadedness when rising from a seated position have been reported, and alcoholic beverages will exacerbate these effects. Since alcohol is a central nervous system depressant it is strongly recommended that a patient refrain from alcohol use while medicated on Zoloft or other SSRIs. It is important to decipher if one has an authentic neurochemical imbalance or is a reactive depression.
Reactive depression is characterized as the everyday normal stress and mild sadness of life.
Marital breakups, death of a close one, and an over demanding lifestyle can all be classified as potential causes of reactive depression. These depressions are quite real and a patient can benefit from an array of therapies that are not pharmacological. Behavior therapy, psychoanalysis, and Albert Ellis' Emotive Rational Therapy that emphasizes real-thinking solutions would be excellent solutions for reactive depression caused by life stressors. According to the DSM IV, clinical major depression has an onset age beginning at age 20, occuring mostly among women. According to the American Psychiatric Association, major depression will have at least five of the following manifestations in a two week period and must have 1 and 2.