How long can one survive with severe depression?

Major depressive disorder is a serious mental health disorder, which is mainly manifested by persistent low mood, inner emptiness and loneliness, lack of interest, insomnia or excessive sleeping, attenuated thinking, distraction, etc. It generally does not directly lead to human death or affect life span. However, severe depression may be suicidal and life-threatening, so there is no precise answer to how long one can survive with severe depression.

The vast majority of patients with depression will not end their lives easily. It should be noted that patients with depression who are not diagnosed and treated in time are at a very high risk of suicide, especially if they suffer from other co-morbidities (such as anxiety disorders) and encounter adverse life events. Due to the influence of traditional concepts, patients with depression are very worried about being discriminated against if their illness is known. Especially those who have attempted suicide, suicidal ideation, or attempted suicide are unwilling to tell others about their "past events". The longer these "past events" are suppressed in their hearts, the more deadly they will be if they break out.

Relevant data show that the vast majority of patients who commit suicide have depressive symptoms before committing suicide, and about 60% of them are diagnosed with depression. In recent years, foreign follow-up studies have found that 35% to 40% of patients with severe depression will die due to various reasons within 5 to 10 years, and suicide accounts for 30% to 40% of them. The lifetime suicide risk is estimated to be between 5% and 26%. It can be seen that suicidal tendency is one of the main factors that seriously affects the survival of patients with severe depression.

In addition, in addition to the direct impact on life of suicide, patients with severe depression are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease than normal people, and the mortality rate after myocardial infarction is also relatively high. The latest research also proves that there is also a close relationship between major depression and certain malignant tumors. Therefore, there is no precise answer to the exact lifespan of a person with major depression. However, what needs to be made clear is that systemic treatment should be actively sought in the early stages of the disease, combining drug, psychological and other treatment methods to avoid delaying treatment and causing serious consequences.

References

[1] Li Yiqiang. Nursing experience on suicide prevention for patients with severe depression [J]. Diet and Health Care, 2016, 3(8): 128-129.

[2] Zhao Jingbo, Xu Shiqi, Chen Yu, editors-in-chief. Mental health for depression [M]. Beijing: China Medical Science and Technology Press, 2019: 152.