When a depressed patient becomes suicidal, she focuses on the sadness and hopelessness that has taken over her life. The patient starts to feel that life is not worth living. Without proper treatment, she thinks about or even attempts to kill herself. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that 15 percent of depressive patients commit suicide.
Emotional Distress
The Surgeon General's report "Depression and Suicide in Children and Adolescents" states that two types of depression in particular, major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder, can cause severe emotional problems. For example, a patient with one of these types of depression tends to be pessimistic, which makes him more prone to depressive episodes in the future. Depressive patients are also more likely to be socially isolated and to have increased stress. Emotional distress can occur in other forms of depression as well, such as atypical depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Physical Injury
When attempting suicide, depressed patients can inflict serious self-injury that can cause health problems in the future if they survive the suicide attempt. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that in 2005, about 395,000 people were treated in the emergency room for these types of injuries. Serious injuries can impair the patient's ability to function. For example, if the patient tries to kill himself with carbon monoxide poisoning but survives, he can suffer from severe brain damage, like memory loss.
Death
The WHO states that "patients above the age of 55 with depression [have] a death rate four times higher than those without depression," with heart disease and stroke as the most common causes of death. In severe cases of depression, the patient may take her own life. The CDC adds that in 2005, suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death, with 32,000 people dying each year in the United States.
