Self-poisoning patients admitted to hospital were studied for persistence of psychiatric symptoms over a 3-month period & evaluated at 3 points in time with the General Health Questionnaire & the Present State Examination. Symptoms were identified which had a high or low prevalence at follow-up. GHQ & PSE scores correlated at 0.8. The implication of the study are discussed, particularly the earlier need for out-patient help in those who had a moderate or high number of symptoms intially.