What are the dangers of untreated depression? As the saying goes, “A small hole not mended is a big hole of five feet”, which means that everything should be paid attention to early, and if the necessary measures are not taken to stop things before they get worse, the consequences may be very serious. This is also true when it comes to depression, which is a mental illness with the highest incidence today, and it is very common in the general population to suffer from depression, but the harm of depression is obvious, and some people will choose to commit suicide if they are serious. So, what are the hazards of not treating depression in time? 1, depression without treatment will add difficulty to the treatment and prognosis. If the patient does not treat the newly discovered depression and delays the disease, it may become chronic and prolonged, and when the family finds out or the patient himself realizes the importance of treatment, it will be more difficult to carry out treatment, and the prognosis is not very satisfactory, and repeated episodes may be prolonged for life. 2, depression without treatment will affect the quality of life. If depression is not treated in time, the most obvious consequence is that depressive symptoms deepen step by step. For example, there will be persistent insomnia, headaches and other symptoms of plant nerve dysfunction, and the patient’s attention, thinking ability will rapidly decline, unable to work and interpersonal communication, and even lose the ability to take care of themselves, resulting in persistent impairment of social function, seriously affecting the patient’s quality of life. 3, depression without treatment will also bring the consequences of suicide to patients. The most terrible consequence of depression for individuals is suicide. According to statistics, 2/3 of depressed patients have suicidal ideation, and about 10% of depressed patients will commit suicide. Major depression is associated with a high mortality rate, with up to 15% of patients dying by suicide. People with major depression recover completely (about 2/3 of patients), or only partially or not at all (about 1/3 of patients). There are many people who have had a single major depressive episode preceded by the presence of depressed affective symptoms. 4. Poor adherence to treatment as well as taking up more medical resources. If depression is not treated in time, the patient’s ability to recognize the disease gradually decreases or even disappears, the patient’s purpose and meaning of treatment is not clear, the demand for treatment is not strong and the confidence to cure the disease is lost, which will lead to poor compliance with treatment, the disease tends to be chronic and recurrent, and takes up more medical resources of the country. 5. Increase the mortality rate of other physical diseases such as stroke, diabetes and coronary heart disease. These diseases are closely related to the state of mental health, depression is not treated in time, the body’s immunity decreases, increasing the frequency of attacks and mortality of the above-mentioned physical diseases.