Faith and dating · Personal boundaries
Your date asks you to stop antidepressants. What now?
Talk to your healthcare professional
Your faith and your healthcare are personal. An antidepressant is a medicine that may be prescribed for depression or other conditions. You do not have to stop it because a date asks you to. The UK NHS advises speaking to your doctor before stopping an antidepressant and warns against stopping suddenly. If you want to change treatment, discuss it with the healthcare professional who prescribes it. If you already stopped or missed medicine and are worried, contact that healthcare professional promptly for advice.
Adult dater Wanjiku in Nairobi values her faith and is looking for a serious relationship. She tells a new date, Baraka, that she takes a prescribed antidepressant. Baraka says that if her faith were strong enough, she would stop it. Wanjiku wants both her beliefs and her healthcare choices to be respected.
A clear answer can be short
Wanjiku might say, “My faith matters to me. My treatment is a decision I make with my clinician.” She can decline to discuss a diagnosis or show medical records. Baraka may have questions, but repeated demands after her answer are pressure, not a treatment plan.
Talk to the person who prescribes it
A clinician is a healthcare professional who treats patients. A prescriber is the professional who writes your medicine order.
If Wanjiku has side effects, doubts or wants to stop, she can raise those concerns with her doctor or prescriber. The NHS says stopping an antidepressant suddenly can cause withdrawal symptoms, and a clinician can help make an individual plan. Do not change a dose using instructions from a date or this guide.
If medicine has already been stopped or missed, ask the prescribing clinician what to do next. Do not guess at a replacement dose. In an emergency or immediate danger, seek urgent local medical help or contact local emergency services when safe.
Choose support that respects your choices
People of faith hold many different views about health and care. This example is about one person’s behaviour; it does not describe a whole religion or community.
Wanjiku may want to speak separately with a trusted faith leader, friend or mental-health professional. She can choose what to share and ask how private the conversation will be. A faith adviser may offer spiritual support; do not assume they are qualified to advise on medicine unless they have the relevant training and role.
If asking for help feels unsafe
If Baraka threatens her, prevents access to care or she feels unsafe, she can contact a trusted local support service in a safe way. She does not need to arrange a joint conversation with him to seek help.
Notice the response to your boundary
Baraka might listen, acknowledge her decision and stop pressing. If he continues to make her prove her faith by giving up care, Wanjiku can pause or end the relationship. She is allowed to look for a partner who respects both her beliefs and her healthcare choices.
Keep reading
More about respect and personal choices
Sources and what they can tell us
Wanjiku and Baraka are invented adults. Healthcare access and support services differ; speak to a qualified clinician about your own care.
- UK National Health Service: Antidepressants
It advises speaking with a doctor before stopping an antidepressant and describes possible withdrawal symptoms.
Limit: It is UK general information, not an individual treatment plan or Kenyan healthcare rule. - UK National Health Service: Living with depression
It discusses taking prescribed antidepressants and speaking to a doctor or pharmacist about concerns.
Limit: It is UK general information and cannot advise Wanjiku’s individual dose. - Love is respect: When boundaries aren’t respected
It discusses personal limits and seeking support when boundaries are crossed.
Limit: It cannot diagnose Baraka or determine the safety of this particular relationship.
Questions about faith and treatment
What if I want to stop an antidepressant?
Speak to your prescriber first. The NHS cautions against stopping suddenly and recommends an individual plan.
Must I show a date my medical records?
No. You decide what personal health information you are comfortable sharing.