Could you be not depressed but suicidal?

[TDF]

is that possible?

 

[aGoodDayToDie]

Absolutely. I saw an article just recently that discussed this and a large proportion of suicidal people don't have mental health problems at all. Suicide can be a perfectly rational decision. Although often it's not, it can be impulsive and driven by all kinds of distorted thinking. But not in all cases, for certain.

 

[The anhedonic one]

A serious existential crisis could make you suicidal, even if you are not suffering from any mental illnesses.

 

[Jolene79]

Absolutely. I saw an article just recently that discussed this and a large proportion of suicidal people don't have mental health problems at all. Suicide can be a perfectly rational decision. Although often it's not, it can be impulsive and driven by all kinds of distorted thinking. But not in all cases, for certain.

Yes 100%! On some level I feel severe sadness, despair, hopelessness. BUT - I'm looking at CBT as I am finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate the agonising pain, disturbing sensations ( neuropathy) and other severe limitations posed by illness. On some level I'm sure my illness is affecting my cognition. It pisses me off so much knowing that despite a mountain of diagnosed conditions that I can hardly tolerate, the first assumption will be ' depressed' ' couldn't cope with life' or some other crap.

I read stories where people have or are enduring hideous situations or experiences and then kill themselves. Not depression as such but am absolutely understandable reaction to a horrifying situation they have endured.

 

[carac]

Definitely, I wasn't depressed I just had undiagnosed chronic physical pain leaving me practically bedbound and in despair. I got treated like I had depression though.

 

[Stormy Raine]

Absolutely! I think it's perfectly natural for one to simply say as I often do, "I've never enjoyed this life and i never will! I don't need medication to fix that, i simply want to go as soon as possible and I will be happy!" Unfortunately, the world doesn't understand us, so they label us and try to put a crap of medication on us, simply because we are honest and want to leave, it's not depression, it's honesty!

 

[schrei_nach_liebe]

Most definitely, a dysphoric manic episode could do it. The correct new DSM-V word is bipolar mixed episode (as in mixed depressive manic) but I don't think that's an accurate term having gone through a few of these episodes myself. Dysphoric is the only way I could describe it. Like a cold calculated self destruct mode.

 

[FuneralCry]

I think that wanting suicide is a logical reaction to existing here rather than being an "illness", I personally just prefer the sound of not existing, death is a relief for me as it's the permanent escape from all suffering.

I just don't see existence as being desirable in general, as it's pointless, futile and as well as that there is unlimited potential to suffer endlessly in this harmful world. I just think that the existence of life is a hellish, horrific mistake, not wanting to decay from age and suffer in the process could never be an "illness", instead it's a perfectly justified way to feel.

 

[SmoolPepe]

Yes, definitely. It is really tragic suicide is automatically associated with depression. They can share similar symptoms, they can be caused by one another probably but it does not mean it is always the case nor can the two be used interchangeably.
A suicidal person can be suicidal without being depressed, especially if they are even a tiny bit more intelligent (for lack of a better word) than average or are more receptive to their surroundings or are more introspective or have a more sensitive personality, more empathy, kindness, all those things that are taken advantage of in our world, you get the point.
Add to that a deeply sick society that treats everyone as a resource to be discarded, creates discord between people of different classes, is hyper competitive and forces everyone to do anything and everything for money and to top it all off has a dysfunctional balance between working and living and nobody can afford shit anyway.
I truly wonder what could possibly be the reason for someone to be suicidal.
For the most part to me, suicide is just a reflection of the world an individual lives in and, unlike fairytales, most people are powerless and cannot reasonably or at all, affect whatever causes them to be suicidal which leads to feeling hopeless, helpless and trapped.
Of course, you can also be suicidal for none of the reasons above, maybe you feel you dont fit in or belong or you dont feel understood on a deeper level or you feel you have no purpose etc. Just living in and of itself is enough reason to feel suicidal.
I`ll end this by saying the answer to your question is a resounding yes, you can be suicidal but not depressed.

 

[Forever Sleep]

This is literally from my own very brief experience being diagnosed with mild-moderate depression by my GP years ago and watching one or two YouTube videos... so- no expert by any means but-

I believe depression is diagnosed when there are a certain number of symptoms present. In my experience- they get you to fill out a questionnaire similar to the one below... It can supposedly give you a diagnosis now- if you're interested...

Patient health questionnaire

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is an easy-to-use patient questionnaire for screening, diagnosing, monitoring and measuring the severity of depression.

patient.info

You can probably see that thoughts of harming yourself (or others- yikes!) alone won't give you a diagnosis of depression. But that plus a disinterest in things that used to make you happy, a change in sleeping and/ or eating patterns etc. MAY land you with a diagnosis of depression. I imagine the majority of people here would be diagnosed with it- whether they agreed with that or not...

 

[sayire]

if you add "for long" at the end of your question, then I would say I doubt that will be the case in vast majority of suicidal people.

I was suicidal first before the situation lasted for a long time and depression caught up.

So I would add in majority of long term suicidality depression would be present, but surely one can be suicidal without must have to be depressed.

 

[TDF]

Thank you everyone for your responses! That's really comforting to hear.

I dunno, I'm just so far gone I really want to ctb but I can't I have to wait for some legal processes to through etc etc, but in the meantime I'm just dying. But at the same time I'm really scared when the time comes I will lack the courage or talk myself out of ctb. I hahe a lot of logical and sound reasons, but I don't think I always feel very depressed, mostly I just feel nothing and want it to be over.

This was all brought on by some very evil circumstances, but prior to this I don't think I was that depressed.

So I dunno sometimes I feel like I'm stupid for wanting to ctb, I don't even feel that bad sometimes, but all my reasoning always lead to the same thing.

A serious existential crisis could make you suicidal, even if you are not suffering from any mental illnesses.

That is definitely me lol

Absolutely. I saw an article just recently that discussed this and a large proportion of suicidal people don't have mental health problems at all. Suicide can be a perfectly rational decision. Although often it's not, it can be impulsive and driven by all kinds of distorted thinking. But not in all cases, for certain.

That is what I am trying to do. I carefully write down and rewrite all the reasons for and against living. All the ones against living are all speak to me as very real, all the pros for living just look like fairy tale things that I once believed but now I am too tainted / broken / lost all hope and they all seem just not real, or cannot be permanent, cannot be trusted. I just don't feel safe anymore and now come to think of it I don't know why I felt safe at all in the first place. Everything is poisoned with one brush

But a lot of times I don't always feel that aching pain or that depressed

Hm i take that back I do feel terrible lol, it just comes and goes

 

[Huggs]

Absolutely. I've read some of the other replies on here and they explain it pretty well but might as well throw my agreement in too.
Many people are in inescapable situations and extreme physical pain.

 

[Jolene79]

Definitely, I wasn't depressed I just had undiagnosed chronic physical pain leaving me practically bedbound and in despair. I got treated like I had depression though.

I don't understand why this happens. I have so many health problems and pain off the scale. When you read through the list of things I have and all the associated problems, why on earth do people talk about your upset or sadness as if it's caused by some separate issue