After surgery, most patients have improved mental health, but there may be a small increase in the risk of suicide. This is why patients are required to have a mental health screening before surgery.

People affected by severe obesity who are seeking weight loss surgery are more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety and to have lower self-esteem and overall quality of life than someone who has normal weight. Weight loss surgery results in significant improvement in mental health for the majority of patients. However, studies have found a small but significant increase in suicide following weight loss surgery. In some cases, these may have been patients with undiagnosed mental disorders, and in others, patients may have experienced major life stressors that can increase the risk for suicide, but in rare cases, the suicides are unexplained. For this reason, comprehensive bariatric programs require psychological evaluations prior to weight loss surgery. Many programs have therapists available for patient counseling after surgery. In addition, if a patient sees a psychologist or psychiatrist before surgery, they should continue seeing them after surgery.