Can severe depression kill within six months?

Can severe depression kill within six months?

A doctor has certified that a patient with severe depression has six months to live. The story, circulating on social media, reopens the debate over whether depression can be fatal beyond suicide. Death from depression has traditionally been linked to suicide, but a growing number of voices point to organ deterioration caused by chronic stress and hopelessness.

The 'dying of grief' syndrome

The concept of 'dying of grief' has scientific backing: prolonged stress raises cortisol, inflames the cardiovascular system and weakens the immune system. The medical literature documents cases of patients with severe depression who die within months with no apparent organic cause. The doctor in the thread reportedly went as far as putting a date on that degenerative process.

The risk of misdiagnosis

A well-known testimony recounts the case of a woman diagnosed with severe depression and medicated for months. What she actually had was a brain tumour. She died a year later, not from depression but from the undetected condition. The anecdote warns of a dangerous bias: labelling a neurological or physical problem as a mental disorder.

Euthanasia and mental health

Spain's Euthanasia Law includes psychological suffering as an admissible ground, but the practice is controversial. Some denounce that a patient with severe depression can access assisted dying without exhausting effective treatments, or that the system uses euthanasia as an escape route in the face of a lack of resources. The Association of Doctors warns of the risk of trivialising assisted death in mental health.

The uncomfortable question remains: how many depression diagnoses conceal other causes, and where is the limit of medicine when it comes to predicting death from hopelessness?