Do people who cut friends off during a depressive episode ever think about the impact later?

Why do you ask, OP? Have you yourself been ghosted? I would imagine it’s another thing to add to the list of guilt-inducing regrets people carry when they experience poor mental health. I’m sure some never give it a second thought, but I’d imagine few are so blithe.

People in depressive episodes are usually not employing rational thought processes and therefore the 'bigger picture' or 'later on' isn't something that crosses their mind. They're often just surviving one hour to the next.

If you think they're lacking foresight on how the absences impact friendship, I'd suggest you're lacking understanding and/or empathy on mental illness.

When I was in my blackest of episodes I could not fathom the need to live. What was the point? Nothing but effort and misery which I could so easily just avoid altogether. Easy peasy. People told me I should go to the GP. I told them that they needed to wake up to reality. I was unwell.

But what do you mean by ‘think back on it’, exactly? Do you mean people who literally never contact their former friends again after a depressive episode where they didn’t contact them for months or years, but once they feel better they feel it’s too late?

Yes, I thought I didn’t deserve my friend and she was better off with friends better than I could be to her.

I've never ghosted due to depression, but have ghosted due to my health being poor.

No, I don't think about it or regret it now. I didn't think about it at the time either. If I ghosted in the first place, I wasn't thinking "I am ghosting this person", I didn't think at all. Life, bad health etc, was taking over. I just didn't think about them. I can acknowledge now that I definitely have done this, but thats about it.

I don't regret it because I didn't exactly choose it. When your health is shite, your health is shite. These people weren't being a support, life and bad health was happening, I didn't have the time or energy to cater to their feelings.

In fact I find it somewhat offensive that other people think I should be considering their feelings during a time where my body and mind were crumbling... They obviously weren't considering mine, or even at all concerned that I was struggling so much, else I probably wouldn't have been in a position to forget their existence. They'd have been there, supporting. Not just wanting my attention.

I imagine it's much the same for depression. It's not a pointed ghosting, and there's no reason to feel bad about it... And if that former friend thinks you should feel bad about it, that's probably why they were too much effort to keep on whilst you were struggling in the first place.

When I get like that my confidence is at rock bottom and feel that it would be arrogant to assume they care whether I'm around or not

Do you mean people who are depressed and cut friends off? Or people who cut friends off because they (the friend) is depressed and therefore not up to doing much/as fun to be around?

My friends deal with it. I do return. If they feel unable to deal with periodic absences, which have at times been lengthy, then we’re not suited. For my longtime friends, the friendship is worth it overall.

IME OP these people tend to be quite self absorbed to be ghosting without a courtesy note, even if it crosses their mind they'll be thinking about how it might make them feel bad to get back in touch or they'll get back in touch but it's cos they're concerned about how it makes them look - either way it's about them not you!