Evidence indicates that major depression, schizophrenia and
personality disorder are associated with an increased risk of suicide.
Recent work suggests that anxiety is also associated with suicidal
thinking. Studies have shown that a significant proportion of people
with a major depression do not have suicidal thinking, and a significant
proportion of people with suicidal thinking do not have major
depression. Cases from the public record (Ernest Hemingway, Daniel
Cumerford, Sonia McMullen, Greg Wilton, Rebekah Lawrence,
Charmaine Dragan, Vicki Van Meter, Erin Berg, and Robert Enke) are
detailed. It is likely that women who kill their children and then
themselves, especially when there are no clear social stressors, have
suffered unrecognized mental disorder.