An empirical study on the "cathartic effect" of attempted suicide

A cathartic effect of attempted suicide has been suggested, but few data are available to validate the concept. In this study we report on the relation between presuicidal and postsuicidal mood conditions in a group of 25 hospitalized suicide attempters and 50 control patients who were depressed but not suicidal. A significant decrease in depression was demonstrated to occur in the suicidal patients within a few days of hospitalization. This was not the case in depressed patients without prior suicide attempts. The drop in depression ratings can, therefore, be attributed to the suicide attempt. Possible explanatory factors are discussed. These findings indicate that the diagnosis of a suicide attempt in the absence of depression can only be reliably made on the basis of data pertaining to the presuicidal mood condition.