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Assisted suicide for mental health?

Should assisted suicide be available for mental health patients?

  • Yes

    Votes: 25 30.1%
  • Sometimes/Depends

    Votes: 23 27.7%
  • No

    Votes: 28 33.7%
  • Not sure

    Votes: 7 8.4%

  • Total voters
    83

BRIAAAA

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Should assisted suicide be made available for those with mental disorders or diseases? (anything from depression to schizophrenia)

I personally think it should. There is no cure for depression (in my case), I still consider this illness to cause a life of misery. Those who suffer should have the option to opt out to me.
 

Selenadominates

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In your other thread, you said you are a woman of science and logic so I will put it this way.

Of people who attempt suicide and fail, only 10-15% of those people end up eventually dying by suicide. So you can assume those other 85-90% of people who attempted suicide and survived regretted doing so and didn't try again. With this information, it would be reasonable to assume that most people who attempted suicide and fail realize that they don't actually want to die. As someone who suffered from depression, hearing people say "it will get better" means absolutely nothing to me, so I know how you feel. But if you are the woman of science and logic that you claim to be, you have to understand that statistically speaking it is extremely plausible that it will get better for you, and later on in your life, you will look back and be thankful that you are still living.
 

BoujeeBae

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Go talk to a therapist OP. You need professional assistance and support.

I pray for your healing, I hope you feel better and have the will to live. :heart:
 

Eunoia

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I've been thinking about this for awhile. I don't have a concrete stance as of yet. I would be indecisive about it though. I always find something about life that makes me want to continue living. I hope you find that something as well OP ❤.
 

PennyProuds

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I don't think so, at least not below a certain age. There's still so much of life to experience when you're in your 20s, and you never know how the rest of your life will unfold.

There's no cure for depression yet. But every day they're finding new treatments and and ways of managing. Even if you're taking a medication that doesn't work for you, you can be tested to find medications that might be more effective. And I know a lot of people with persistent, treatment-resistant depression who've found success with ketamine infusions.

I know it's tiring carrying such a heavy burden for so long. I can promise you're not alone in this feeling, and it can feel so hard to see the brighter days ahead. Logically speaking, hope is an emotion that everyone experiences, even in small ways. You know intellectually that you've had good experiences and felt happiness in the past, logic stands to reason that those will happen again in the future.

Take care of yourself, OP, there are other ways you can be helped and end up on a path to happiness
 

Briix

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I hope one day micro dosing on shrooms can be legalized for the treatment of depression. It’s been shown to really put things in perspective and provide a better outlook on life for some people. Nobody should walk around sad and not able to see the beauty in life around us. I don’t agree with assisted suicide but more time and energy need to go into mental health treatment.
 

MrsSamCooke

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I voted, "Sometimes/Depends."

I did this because some people, when in a negative state of mind (common with mental illness, of course), aren't always lucid enough to make small decisions - let alone grandiose ones such as choosing to die, how and when. It is only because of this stipulation that I say this. Mental illness can be every bit as agonizing to suffer through as certain physical (and often terminal) illnesses. Therefore, some assessment ought to be done prior to green-lighting assisted euthanasia wanted on the basis of mental health disorders. Of course, regardless of that, a person still has the freedom to take their life unassisted.

There is a certain place (which I will leave nameless here) in a certain country (which I won't name here) that conducts a quick and painless euthanasia with the drug, phenobarbital served in a small glass of orange juice. This place welcomes not only those suffering from debilitating and/or terminal physical illnesses, but even those who suffer from mental heath issues and/or just a, 'general wariness of living.' However, they charge thousands for this 'service' and I often wonder how the deceaseds' friends and family don't face charges upon returning to their own country from this place.

My thoughts on suicide are 'unconventional' and always have been.

For one thing, I don't believe suicide to be either 'cowardly' or 'selfish.' I also don't like it when people guilt-trip those experiencing suicidal ideation in small, or big ways. I've been suicidal myself and this has never helped. Granted, some of them have seemed to mean well but are just clueless in what they're actually doing (i.e., the guilt-tripping). In the past, I've known of an impulsive urge where I felt like I could just do it in the flash of moments after what had been such a long time of suffering.

When I was younger and was suffering from a severe and debilitating mental illness, my mother took me down to the local hospital's ER where they called the mental health team. This woman showed up who both lectured and patronized me. She was quite inept and useless at her job. A further
demonstration of this ineptitude came when she handed me an 'anti-suicide' contract (yes, I'm serious). I was to sign and date it as an assurance that I would not kill myself until they got me into some therapy in the coming weeks. I asked her, "And what do you expect to be able to do to me if I break this absurd contract of yours?" There was no answer on her part, just a blank stare. Yeah, useless.

Mental illness and suicide have both had unfair stigmas placed upon them for far too long. When someone is suffering from terminal cancer, people place far less shame and guilt upon them when they want to be euthanized and it is their right to be. My best friend suffered from a serious, chronic autoimmune disorder which was gradually destroying her organs. Her parents supported her euthanasia whereupon she took an overdose of pain medication. She died at home with them at her side. She was 19. In fact, the 24th anniversary of her death is next week.

I was doing some online research (cannot recall what on now) awhile back when I somehow happened upon a young woman's obituary in a Louisiana newspaper. I appreciated how the person who authored the obituary wrote about her cause of death being that she'd 'lost her battle with mental illness.' What a compassionate and respectful way to state that this lovely, twenty-something woman had died by her own hand.

Often, people will say that things will 'get better.' I've been in states where life seems only to have gotten worse and for the longest time. Sometimes, sure, it has gotten better. Others just don't get it for the most part. What's on the outside doesn't tell the full story of what's going on, on the inside. We who have suffered - and continue to suffer - have not only read all the words of the story but we get to live the sad, painful, isolating, dark tale they tell day-in and day-out. We get told (repeatedly) by others there will be a 'happy ending' and then are left to wonder, 'Well, where the f**k is it?!'

If you ever want to PM me, OP, please feel welcome to anytime. I don't doubt I'm probably thousands of miles away from you but still, you're not alone. :roseAnd I would prefer that you don't 'lose your battle with mental illness' just yet - or...ever.
 
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Corgi

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Absolutely not. That's all I'll say because I know I can't rationalize with someone in this head space because I've been there.
 

mamuh

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In your other thread, you said you are a woman of science and logic so I will put it this way.

Of people who attempt suicide and fail, only 10-15% of those people end up eventually dying by suicide. So you can assume those other 85-90% of people who attempted suicide and survived regretted doing so and didn't try again. With this information, it would be reasonable to assume that most people who attempted suicide and fail realize that they don't actually want to die. As someone who suffered from depression, hearing people say "it will get better" means absolutely nothing to me, so I know how you feel. But if you are the woman of science and logic that you claim to be, you have to understand that statistically speaking it is extremely plausible that it will get better for you, and later on in your life, you will look back and be thankful that you are still living.
bravo, this is most well put answer ive seen to this enduring question. i wasn't aware of any hard figures on the % of people who attempt and fail who regretted it (though ive always known it was high, did not realize it was that high).
 

Bella Goth

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Absolutely. I wish it were a thing. I hate how stigmatized suicide is. People deserve to die when and how they choose.
 

Bella Goth

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In your other thread, you said you are a woman of science and logic so I will put it this way.

Of people who attempt suicide and fail, only 10-15% of those people end up eventually dying by suicide. So you can assume those other 85-90% of people who attempted suicide and survived regretted doing so and didn't try again. With this information, it would be reasonable to assume that most people who attempted suicide and fail realize that they don't actually want to die. As someone who suffered from depression, hearing people say "it will get better" means absolutely nothing to me, so I know how you feel. But if you are the woman of science and logic that you claim to be, you have to understand that statistically speaking it is extremely plausible that it will get better for you, and later on in your life, you will look back and be thankful that you are still living.
Or maybe they're afraid of failing again and the aftermath and shame that might come with it, so they just continue their depressed and sh!tty lives so that they don't inconvenience others with their death.

And it doesn't get better. It might get better for a while, but then it gets even worse eventually. It's a rollercoaster and some people just want off.
 

Writerdie18

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Should assisted suicide be made available for those with mental disorders or diseases? (anything from depression to schizophrenia)

I personally think it should. There is no cure for depression (in my case), I still consider this illness to cause a life of misery. Those who suffer should have the option to opt out to me.
There's actually a documentary on this topic that I watched a long time ago. I'll see if I can find and link it. From what I remember the girl (whose country allows assisted suicide for the clinically depressed) ended up not going through with it. But she said knowing she had the option made her feel a lot better.

ETA: Here it is.
 

BRIAAAA

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Or maybe they're afraid of failing again and the aftermath and shame that might come with it, so they just continue their depressed and sh!tty lives so that they don't inconvenience others with their death.

And it doesn't get better. It might get better for a while, but then it gets even worse eventually. It's a rollercoaster and some people just want off.
I feel this too. They don’t regret taking their lives, they regret messing it up because it most likely causes serious health issue. Possibly makes their lives worse.
 

Writerdie18

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For what it's worth, I do believe most people regret actually killing themselves. Of course we will never know, but having studied certain suicide cases closely, personally spoken to those who have attempted, and made my own attempts, I've come to the conclusion that most do regret it and would tell you so if they could. Many survivors certainly do. Sad case, but I remember once reading an article back when ingesting a certain poisonous seed from China was a trend. A young woman had done so and immediately regretted her decision, so she started calling out to her mother and told her what she had done. I believe the poison gave her a heart attack. Her mother could only hold her and cry as her daughter died in her arms while the paramedics were on their way. Having been there, I don't believe most people who kill themselves actually WANT to die. There are those rare few who are absolutely determined to leave because they truly hate life (like those who used to hang out in r/sanctionedsuicide before it was banned) but I think people like that, who are of sound mind and not plagued with mental illness, are very rare.
 

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I agree. People say " it's their life" for every dam thing else from hard drugs to prostitution, but we can't go on our own terms?
 

incogneato

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I’m allowed to choose how I love my life but not allowed to choose how to end it? It doesn’t make sense
 

LilCrabDip

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I think I wouldn’t feel anything
This. It’s not about feeling peace as much as it is about being released from the pain you feel on the daily. I believe it’s something people should be able to do if they really want to. But then again I struggle with many of the same thoughts
 

Briix

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I voted, "Sometimes/Depends."

I did this because some people, when in a negative state of mind (common with mental illness, of course), aren't always lucid enough to make small decisions - let alone grandiose ones such as choosing to die, how and when. It is only because of this stipulation that I say this. Mental illness can be every bit as agonizing to suffer through as certain physical (and often terminal) illnesses. Therefore, some assessment ought to be done prior to green-lighting assisted euthanasia wanted on the basis of mental health disorders. Of course, regardless of that, a person still has the freedom to take their life unassisted.

There is a certain place (which I will leave nameless here) in a certain country (which I won't name here) that conducts a quick and painless euthanasia with the drug, phenobarbital served in a small glass of orange juice. This place welcomes not only those suffering from debilitating and/or terminal physical illnesses, but even those who suffer from mental heath issues and/or just a, 'general wariness of living.' However, they charge thousands for this 'service' and I often wonder how the deceaseds' friends and family don't face charges upon returning to their own country from this place.

My thoughts on suicide are 'unconventional' and always have been.

For one thing, I don't believe suicide to be either 'cowardly' or 'selfish.' I also don't like it when people guilt-trip those experiencing suicidal ideation in small, or big ways. I've been suicidal myself and this has never helped. Granted, some of them have seemed to mean but are just clueless in what they're actually doing (i.e., the guilt-tripping). In the past, I've known of an impulsive urge where I felt like I could just do it in the flash of moments after what had been such a long time of suffering.

When I was younger and was suffering from a severe and debilitating mental illness, my mother took me down to the local hospital's ER where they called the mental health team. This woman showed up who both lectured and patronized me. She was quite inept and useless at her job. A further
demonstration of this ineptitude came when she handed me an 'anti-suicide' contract (yes, I'm serious). I was to sign and date it as an assurance that I would not kill myself until they got me into some therapy in the coming weeks. I asked her, "And what do you expect to be able to do to me if I break this absurd contract of yours?" There was no answer on her part, just a blank stare. Yeah, useless.

Mental illness and suicide have both had unfair stigmas placed upon them for far too long. When someone is suffering from terminal cancer, people place far less shame and guilt upon them when they want to be euthanized and it is their right to be. My best friend suffered from a serious, chronic autoimmune disorder which was gradually destroying her organs. Her parents supported her euthanasia whereupon she took an overdose of pain medication. She died at home with them at her side. She was 19. In fact, the 24th anniversary of her death is next week.

I was doing some online research (cannot recall what on now) awhile back when I somehow happened upon a young woman's obituary in a Louisiana newspaper. I appreciated how the person who authored the obituary wrote about her cause of death being that she'd 'lost her battle with mental illness.' What a compassionate and respectful way to state that this lovely, twenty-something woman had died by her own hand.

Often, people will say that things will 'get better.' I've been in states where life seems only to have gotten worse and for the longest time. Sometimes, sure, it has gotten better. Others just don't get it for the most part. What's on the outside doesn't tell the full story of what's going on, on the inside. We who have suffered - and continue to suffer - have not only read all the words of the story but we get to live the sad, painful, isolating, dark tale they tell day-in and day-out. We get told (repeatedly) by others there will be a 'happy ending' and then are left to wonder, 'Well, where the f**k is it?!'

If you ever want to PM me, OP, please feel welcome to anytime. I don't doubt I'm probably thousands of miles away from you but still, you're not alone. :roseAnd I would prefer that you don't 'lose your battle with mental illness' just yet - or...ever.
Wow. I actually feel the same as your post. I’ve never looked at suicide as cowardly or selfish, unless they took someone else’s life with them. Whenever this discussion comes up, I’m always looked at crazy. Eventually I just felt like maybe I just have an impaired mindset on suicide bc I often suffer from high functioning depression. To the average person I don’t come across as depressed, but I often don’t find the joy in life. Normal people who are not depressed see life as a precious gift. I believe this is how it should be. Others are happy and excited to just be alive. They’re optimistic about everything. For people like me, I have happy moments but they are often short lived. It’s never been just days of happiness and bliss just to be alive. Some people struggle everyday just to find some sort of happiness and it sucks. People who don’t suffer from mental health issues a lot of time just don’t understand the concept of being in pain or agony everyday from it. I hate when people tell me it’ll get better. Life itself never really gets better for me, I just keep learning and implementing different ways to cope. This is why answers will vary on this topic.
 

afrodite88

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I agree. People say " it's their life" for every dam thing else from hard drugs to prostitution, but we can't go on our own terms?

I agree with this. People spend so much time trying to end their lives anyway(drinking, drugs, sabotaging behavior)
 

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