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Suicide: To those afflicted, it can be so painful that suicide seems the only means of escape; one of every four or five untreated bipolar individuals actually does commit suicide. (Goodwin FK and Jamison KR. 1990. Manic-Depressive Illness. New York: NY. Oxford University Press). If we also take into consideration the suicides that occur during major depressive episodes, the rates rise to 20% to 35% of all deaths by suicide. (Angst et al. 1999. Suicide risk in patients with major depressive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60(Suppl.2):57-62). |