Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov-Dec;25(13-14):2106-2117.
doi: 10.1177/1359105318785450. Epub 2018 Jul 11.

Suicidal ideation in non-depressed individuals: The effects of a chronic, misunderstood illness

Andrew R Devendorf  1 , Stephanie L McManimen  1 , Leonard A Jason  1
Affiliations

Suicidal ideation in non-depressed individuals: The effects of a chronic, misunderstood illness

Andrew R Devendorf et al. J Health Psychol. 2020 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Chronic illness is a risk factor for suicide but is often explained with depression. Research has shown an increased suicide rate in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome, but specific risk factors have been unexplored. We qualitatively analyzed responses from 29 patients who endorsed suicidal ideation but did not meet depression criteria. Two themes were developed: (1) feeling trapped and (2) loss of self, loss of others, stigma and conflict. Myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome caused patients severe disability, restructured their lives, and inflicted serious pain. Participants emphasized that they were not depressed, but felt trapped by the lack of treatments available.

Keywords: chronic fatigue syndrome; chronic illness; myalgic encephalomyelitis; qualitative methods; quality of life; suicide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Adamowicz JL, Caikauskaite I and Friedberg F (2014) Defining recovery in chronic fatigue syndrome: A critical review. Quality of Life Research 23(9): 2407–2416. - PubMed
    1. Anderson VR, Jason LA, Hlavaty LE, et al. (2012) A review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Patient Education and Counseling 86(2): 147–155. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beck AT, Guth D, Steer RA, et al. (1997) Screening for major depression disorders in medical patients with the Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care. Behaviour Research and Therapy 35: 785–791. - PubMed
    1. Beverley DW (2005) Chronic fatigue syndrome in children. Current Pediatrics 15(3): 246–252.
    1. Breitbart W, Rosenfeld B, Pessin H, et al. (2000) Depression, hopelessness, and desire for hastened death in terminally ill patients with cancer. JAMA 284(22): 2907–2911. - PubMed

Publication types