Can a person become suicidal without being depressed?

My husband has always had low self esteem, difficulty concentrating and remembering things. He feels like an outsider in social situations.

When we have a disagreement, and he is responsible for something negative happening, he avoids taking responsibility and clams up. He won't talk for several hours and then becomes suicidal. Over the weekend he became suicidal when I was in the car riding with him, and I sort of figured this out in his silence, and became very afraid that he was going to crash the car with me in it.

On a day to day basis he seems fine. He doesn't seem to have other signs of depression. Can someone become suicidal and not be depressed? He's been working with a counselor on his low self-esteem issue and is going to try to get into see her today and/or get a referral to see a psychiatrist immediately.

I am just having a hard time understanding this and what is causing it. I am also afraid for him and for me, and our marriage. He was very much babied throughout his life by his parents and overly protected by them, he's never had to deal with disappointing someone or hurting someone's feelings. I don't know if it's choice/upbringing or an underlying mental health problem. Advice?

'Depressed' is a very general description of a person's mental-state but what makes you believe that your husband is not depressed? From what you have described he very much sounds depressed. He can still appear to be fine on a day-to-day basis and be depressed in the background.


The difficulty in concentrating and poor memory are two of the many symptoms of depression. I feel that there is an underlying difficulty with your husband however, one which the psychiatrist should be able to diagnose. It is paramount that your husband is honest with the psychiatrist though.


About the suicidal thoughts, my immediate reaction from reading your post was that he does not truly wish to kill himself. He is probably acting suicidal asa means to 'cry for help'. Many people do this: They flirt with the idea of suicide openly but they do not truly wish, nor will they, go through with the act.


Kevster

Jasper123 wrote:My husband has always had low self esteem, difficulty concentrating and remembering things. He feels like an outsider in social situations.

When we have a disagreement, and he is responsible for something negative happening, he avoids taking responsibility and clams up. He won't talk for several hours and then becomes suicidal. Over the weekend he became suicidal when I was in the car riding with him, and I sort of figured this out in his silence, and became very afraid that he was going to crash the car with me in it.

On a day to day basis he seems fine. He doesn't seem to have other signs of depression. Can someone become suicidal and not be depressed? He's been working with a counselor on his low self-esteem issue and is going to try to get into see her today and/or get a referral to see a psychiatrist immediately.

I am just having a hard time understanding this and what is causing it. I am also afraid for him and for me, and our marriage. He was very much babied throughout his life by his parents and overly protected by them, he's never had to deal with disappointing someone or hurting someone's feelings. I don't know if it's choice/upbringing or an underlying mental health problem. Advice?

ummmm.................. maybe if u beconme real angyr or something like that!