Listed below are some of the complications associated with clinical depression.
Suicidality – When left untreated, some severely depressed people may feel worthless, helpless and hopeless. When these linger on, thoughts about death eventually occur since with the feelings of hopelessness and despair they experience everyday, the idea of dying is a much better option. The progression of the illness worsens if no help comes and suicidal behavior and thoughts eventually follow.
Homicidal Behavior – This type of behavior is more of an exception rather than a rule among severely depressed people although it does really happen to some. Homicidal behavior in depressed people is highly plausible since depression can result in bad judgment that makes these people vulnerable to inflict harm on others.
Psychosis – Impairment in thinking and perception can be the result of clinical depression. It is not rare to hear of some depressed people who are afflicted with delusions and auditory hallucinations. A lot of these hallucinations are often about inappropriate commands which instruct the person to do dark actions like harming others or even oneself. Delusions can be as bizarre as thinking of himself as the King of the World or the Chosen Savior or one of paranoia.
Functional Impairment – The common symptoms of depressed people are the loss of interest and their lack of energy to do their regular activities. They stay in bed all day, always wanting to be left alone. They hardly work on their daily chores. They suffer from job loss and financial problems more often than not.
Relationship Problems – This is a logical consequence of their anti-social behavior and thought problems. Not all members of a depressed person’s family may fully appreciate what the depressed person is going through and this leads to arguments, name-calling and fights with parents, siblings, children or even spouses. The more estranged the person becomes from relatives, friends and family the worse his anti-social behavior becomes. It is incredulous to know that there are a lot of unsupportive children, parents and spouses in this world who are incapable of reaching out to a depressed relative.
Clinical depression is a really serious illness since it can lead to death. Ignoring it makes the illness worse and not addressing it is a very grave mistake.