This discussion is now closed.
Check out other Related discussions
What is your view on assisted suicide (euthanasia) for mental illness?
[video="youtube;SWWkUzkfJ4M"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWWkUzkfJ4M[/video]
I just finished watching this, it is about 24 year old girl who was physically well but mentally ill with depression and wished for doctors to end her life.
I honestly don't know how I feel. On one hand it is so disgustingly unfair to deny someone peace and make them suffer, on the other hand my heart says to rid someone of life is always somewhat evil and who knows what the future holds? Perhaps better drugs or different circumstances in life that make coping with the illness a little easier.
Personally I feel very conflicted
. What is your view?
I just finished watching this, it is about 24 year old girl who was physically well but mentally ill with depression and wished for doctors to end her life.
I honestly don't know how I feel. On one hand it is so disgustingly unfair to deny someone peace and make them suffer, on the other hand my heart says to rid someone of life is always somewhat evil and who knows what the future holds? Perhaps better drugs or different circumstances in life that make coping with the illness a little easier.
Personally I feel very conflicted
. What is your view?Scroll to see replies
Original post by AllegedCattle
LEGALISE IT NOW! 
Could you expand on that? please
No, mental health illnesses like depression can be eased/overcome. There's no need for Euthanasia, they're not terminally ill/vegetable.
Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes
Could you expand on that? please
If I want to die because my illness is unbearable I don't need the government to make the choice of no for me!
As someone who suffers from anxiety and has suffered from severe depression in the past, I say no. There's always a better way out of the situation with the right treatment. Granted, it might take a long time to find something that works for you, but to cut your life short before you've tried everything is just a total waste tbh. Who knows what the future holds. At one point in my life I didn't see how things would get any better and I was pretty much ready to give up, but things did get better.
How in the world suicide is still illegal is beyond me, but yeh nothing against assisted suicide.
Some people need help to do it.
Some people need help to do it.
(edited 7 years ago)
Surely the human right to life should also include the right not to live?
It's sad, and there is often light at the end of the tunnel for depression, but for others there is not. It is far kinder to help someone die humanely than have to do themselves and suffer...
It's sad, and there is often light at the end of the tunnel for depression, but for others there is not. It is far kinder to help someone die humanely than have to do themselves and suffer...
I feel conflicted on the subject too. I fully support euthanasia for physical conditions if the person is of sound mind to make the decision and no one is pressuring them into it but when it comes to mental health, I'm hazy on my opinion on it.
I agree that extreme mental health conditions can cause as much distress as any physical condition that would lead someone to consider euthanasia but mental health conditions can cloud your judgement and alter your perspective more than most physical conditions in my opinion and I'd be wary to take someone's word as what they were honestly feeling and it's not just the condition talking, if they said they requested euthanasia for a mental health problem but then that makes me feel conflicted as I see mental health just as important as physical health and I wouldn't be as wary if someone with a physical problem requested it so it goes around in a loop of conflict.
I know there aren't cures for some mental health conditions and sometimes even treating some conditions can do more harm than good to the wellbeing of the sufferer but we've came a long way in developing mental health treatments but still have a way to go. If someone has tried all the treatments available and their suffering is too much to bear then I do think it is their choice to die but I would have to be absolutely sure they were in sound mind and 'lucid' when making that choice and I think it would be hard to determine that in someone with a such a severe mental health problem that would lead to even considering euthanasia.
I can see why people would be for and against it. I think I'm more leaning towards for as long as there were proper safeguards involved and the proper treatment was tried before hand and there was a very high guarantee that this was the person talking and not the illness. Don't know how doctors could determine that tbh though but they will know more about the field than me.
Posted from TSR Mobile
I agree that extreme mental health conditions can cause as much distress as any physical condition that would lead someone to consider euthanasia but mental health conditions can cloud your judgement and alter your perspective more than most physical conditions in my opinion and I'd be wary to take someone's word as what they were honestly feeling and it's not just the condition talking, if they said they requested euthanasia for a mental health problem but then that makes me feel conflicted as I see mental health just as important as physical health and I wouldn't be as wary if someone with a physical problem requested it so it goes around in a loop of conflict.
I know there aren't cures for some mental health conditions and sometimes even treating some conditions can do more harm than good to the wellbeing of the sufferer but we've came a long way in developing mental health treatments but still have a way to go. If someone has tried all the treatments available and their suffering is too much to bear then I do think it is their choice to die but I would have to be absolutely sure they were in sound mind and 'lucid' when making that choice and I think it would be hard to determine that in someone with a such a severe mental health problem that would lead to even considering euthanasia.
I can see why people would be for and against it. I think I'm more leaning towards for as long as there were proper safeguards involved and the proper treatment was tried before hand and there was a very high guarantee that this was the person talking and not the illness. Don't know how doctors could determine that tbh though but they will know more about the field than me.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Anonymous
As someone who suffers from anxiety and has suffered from severe depression in the past, I say no. There's always a better way out of the situation with the right treatment. Granted, it might take a long time to find something that works for you, but to cut your life short before you've tried everything is just a total waste tbh. Who knows what the future holds. At one point in my life I didn't see how things would get any better and I was pretty much ready to give up, but things did get better.
I agree, I have had a similar experience of depression and am a sufferer of anxiety. There were moments in the past my perspective of death was one of peace and serenity (just like going to bed was), but now the reality of not waking up hits me quite hard because my situation has improved a lot since. When you're in that place you really, no matter how hard you try, you really cannot see very far into the future and you exist on little to none hope so I can see why death is a viable option, at the time.
The thing is, although I speak from some experience, the severity of the situation can vary which is why my opinion is so conflicted on this, thankfully for me the situation improved but others may never experience that.
Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes
[video="youtube;SWWkUzkfJ4M"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWWkUzkfJ4M[/video]
I just finished watching this, it is about 24 year old girl who was physically well but mentally ill with depression and wished for doctors to end her life.
I honestly don't know how I feel. On one hand it is so disgustingly unfair to deny someone peace and make them suffer, on the other hand my heart says to rid someone of life is always somewhat evil and who knows what the future holds? Perhaps better drugs or different circumstances in life that make coping with the illness a little easier.
Personally I feel very conflicted. What is your view?
I just finished watching this, it is about 24 year old girl who was physically well but mentally ill with depression and wished for doctors to end her life.
I honestly don't know how I feel. On one hand it is so disgustingly unfair to deny someone peace and make them suffer, on the other hand my heart says to rid someone of life is always somewhat evil and who knows what the future holds? Perhaps better drugs or different circumstances in life that make coping with the illness a little easier.
Personally I feel very conflicted
. What is your view?I disagree with this sorry!
I think it should be accessible for those with mental illness but only after a certain amount of time and preparation. So you couldn't have someone applying and dying within a week. It would be a very long process after a long checklist of medical and therapeutic interventions had been carried out.
Original post by john2054
I disagree with this sorry!
Which part? Legalising it?
as far as i can tell the word 'assisted' suicide came into the limelight for people who couldnt physically do it.
so therefore having an 'assisted suicide' for someone who is physically able seems a bit counterintuitive tbh regardless of the ethic considerations.
People who are desperate enough to want an assisted suicide and are physically able to probably wouldnt need an assisted one in the first place given the fact they could quite easily do it themselves and that these things are often done more on the spur of the moment and usually in secret.
so therefore having an 'assisted suicide' for someone who is physically able seems a bit counterintuitive tbh regardless of the ethic considerations.
People who are desperate enough to want an assisted suicide and are physically able to probably wouldnt need an assisted one in the first place given the fact they could quite easily do it themselves and that these things are often done more on the spur of the moment and usually in secret.
She's physically capable right? Capable enough to not need the approval of some doctor's committee before actually doing something???
Don't get me wrong - she should not do anything and the fact that she hasn't tells us that there's actually more to her story than she says - its rarely as simple as 'I want to die lets do it'. But she could if she really wanted. Just saying.
Don't get me wrong - she should not do anything and the fact that she hasn't tells us that there's actually more to her story than she says - its rarely as simple as 'I want to die lets do it'. But she could if she really wanted. Just saying.
Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes
Which part? Legalising it?
I don't agree with assisted suicide for exactly the same reasons i don't agree with electro convulsive therapy. The same issues apply, about consent etc. It is too likely to be abused by the medical fraternity, if legalized!
Original post by Anonymous
She's physically capable right? Capable enough to not need the approval of some doctor's committee before actually doing something???
Don't get me wrong - she should not do anything and the fact that she hasn't tells us that there's actually more to her story than she says - its rarely as simple as 'I want to die lets do it'. But she could if she really wanted. Just saying.
Don't get me wrong - she should not do anything and the fact that she hasn't tells us that there's actually more to her story than she says - its rarely as simple as 'I want to die lets do it'. But she could if she really wanted. Just saying.
That is what I thought too tbh. There must be more to it.
Definite no. People with mental illnesses will ofc want to end their life since they aren't thinking straight.
Imagine all the people who have got through depression, anxiety etc. when they thought they would never be able to. If this was legal, those same people may not have been alive today.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Imagine all the people who have got through depression, anxiety etc. when they thought they would never be able to. If this was legal, those same people may not have been alive today.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Absolutely not. You die when God means for you to die, you do not take matters into your own hands.
I support this.
Mental illness can be just as awful to suffer from as physical illnesses. I don't think anyone on TSR has the experience of the very worse of mental illnesses - I'm talking in and out of psych hospitals for decades, ECT, super high doses of antipsychotics, severe self-harm, tardive dyskinesia - it's not a way for anyone to live. In a way I think how dare people try to force a person in that position to keep going with promises of "future cures/light at the end of the tunnel". We haven't seen much progress in treating severe mental illness in decades since the advent of typical antipsychotics. Yes there was atypical antipsychotics but they don't "cure" people and have horrible side effects, particularly at high doses not to mention tardive dyskinesia, brain shrinkage, and diabetes.
Mental illness can be just as awful to suffer from as physical illnesses. I don't think anyone on TSR has the experience of the very worse of mental illnesses - I'm talking in and out of psych hospitals for decades, ECT, super high doses of antipsychotics, severe self-harm, tardive dyskinesia - it's not a way for anyone to live. In a way I think how dare people try to force a person in that position to keep going with promises of "future cures/light at the end of the tunnel". We haven't seen much progress in treating severe mental illness in decades since the advent of typical antipsychotics. Yes there was atypical antipsychotics but they don't "cure" people and have horrible side effects, particularly at high doses not to mention tardive dyskinesia, brain shrinkage, and diabetes.
I think euthanasia should be legal for everyone who is deemed mentally competent to make such a decision. The issue with mental health disorders complicates things and I'm honestly not sure how professionals should be expected to ensure that somebody is making a rational decision about ending their life but I do still think it should be possible. You'd definitely need to have safeguards in place to stop people from taking rash instantaneous decisions, e.g. possibly requiring a series of assessments over a significant period of time for it to be allowed to go ahead.
