This indeeds covers the topic rather in-depth and fairly. It also hits close to home. One of my closest friends suffers from ME/CFS. He used to be a super fit, athletic guy who ride motorcycles...
This indeeds covers the topic rather in-depth and fairly.
It also hits close to home.
One of my closest friends suffers from ME/CFS. He used to be a super fit, athletic guy who ride motorcycles cross country and rock climb and was ready to start a PhD in chemistry after working at a national lab. Then his condition rendered him extremely fatigued and confined to his bed all the time — too tired to even speak or type at length.
He's expressed interest in dying to me. Though it is my hope and wish that he'll someday recover.
But I do believe in the value of MAID to allow people to die with dignity. I have a friend whose grandma who in the face of terminal cancer chose euthanasia over endless treatments. She had a farewell party with her family and afterwards passed peacefully (with assistance).
I think that it's one of our species' greatest conceits that everything has a one true solution or answer. But I think that some things are simply intractable.
The fundamental crux of the problem of MAID for mental illnesses, as mentioned by this article, is this catch 22:
Mental illness makes us no longer "us" and robs us of some to all of our autonomy and lucidity.
We believe that autonomy and lucidity should be requisite for choosing to die.
What remains, I think, are the sensibility and philosophy of contemporary society and culture.
Despite the National Post being a rather Conservative and often politically divisive paper, I actually found this article by them to be the best I have read on the subject so far, covering this...
Despite the National Post being a rather Conservative and often politically divisive paper, I actually found this article by them to be the best I have read on the subject so far, covering this incredibly contentious and ethically complex topic in-depth and incredibly fairly.
And even though Tildes is generally a pretty decent place to discuss such topics, I am still wary of posting this here... so I would kindly ask that everyone treat this topic with the care, compassion, and honest consideration that it deserves. And if you can't be bothered to read the article in full, please don't comment. Hot takes on this subject are not appreciated.
I'm actually really curious how to properly navigate this. Psychology and psychiatry's biggest weaknesses are the reliance on self-reporting for treatment. A good psychologist or psychiatrist will...
I'm actually really curious how to properly navigate this. Psychology and psychiatry's biggest weaknesses are the reliance on self-reporting for treatment. A good psychologist or psychiatrist will find ways to circumvent a questionable narrative (it's even part of their training in mental health treatment AFAIK), but it's also impossible to know all of what's going on in a patient's head unless they somehow broadcast it, either by the doctor pulling it, or the patient offering it in some way.
As somebody who has dealt with depression for a good chunk of my life, one of the most helpful things I ever heard was in a psychology class, where my professor (an active clinician) described mental illness as closer to a "conventional" disease or an injury: It's there, it sucks, and it's an abnormal state. It isn't you, and it isn't your fault, and there is treatment for it. I also think this sort of thinking helps inform the point at the end of the article:
That approach “absolves the psychiatrist from the unreasonable task of making highly accurate prognostic claims,” they write. It moves from “this will never get better,” to, “everything has been tried.”
I assume any assisted death plan would have to be made with a treatment professional similarly to this point, not strictly for diagnostic purposes, but simply because it ought to be a last effort after doing everything, and nothing working. The huge call for a lot of patients is eliminating suicidality from one of the reasons for wanting MAID, which would probably require input from a psychiatric or psychological professional one has developed a long working relationship with.
Speaking as someone who was suicidal for quite some time, and struggles with mental health to this day... (25 years later) Everyone who wants to die should be eligible. Some should have a longer...
Speaking as someone who was suicidal for quite some time, and struggles with mental health to this day... (25 years later)
Everyone who wants to die should be eligible. Some should have a longer waiting period than others. I'd say, broadly speaking, 5 years minimum. If nothing helps you by then....you're probably already about to checkout anyhow.
This indeeds covers the topic rather in-depth and fairly.
It also hits close to home.
One of my closest friends suffers from ME/CFS. He used to be a super fit, athletic guy who ride motorcycles cross country and rock climb and was ready to start a PhD in chemistry after working at a national lab. Then his condition rendered him extremely fatigued and confined to his bed all the time — too tired to even speak or type at length.
He's expressed interest in dying to me. Though it is my hope and wish that he'll someday recover.
But I do believe in the value of MAID to allow people to die with dignity. I have a friend whose grandma who in the face of terminal cancer chose euthanasia over endless treatments. She had a farewell party with her family and afterwards passed peacefully (with assistance).
I think that it's one of our species' greatest conceits that everything has a one true solution or answer. But I think that some things are simply intractable.
The fundamental crux of the problem of MAID for mental illnesses, as mentioned by this article, is this catch 22:
What remains, I think, are the sensibility and philosophy of contemporary society and culture.
Despite the National Post being a rather Conservative and often politically divisive paper, I actually found this article by them to be the best I have read on the subject so far, covering this incredibly contentious and ethically complex topic in-depth and incredibly fairly.
And even though Tildes is generally a pretty decent place to discuss such topics, I am still wary of posting this here... so I would kindly ask that everyone treat this topic with the care, compassion, and honest consideration that it deserves. And if you can't be bothered to read the article in full, please don't comment. Hot takes on this subject are not appreciated.
I'm actually really curious how to properly navigate this. Psychology and psychiatry's biggest weaknesses are the reliance on self-reporting for treatment. A good psychologist or psychiatrist will find ways to circumvent a questionable narrative (it's even part of their training in mental health treatment AFAIK), but it's also impossible to know all of what's going on in a patient's head unless they somehow broadcast it, either by the doctor pulling it, or the patient offering it in some way.
As somebody who has dealt with depression for a good chunk of my life, one of the most helpful things I ever heard was in a psychology class, where my professor (an active clinician) described mental illness as closer to a "conventional" disease or an injury: It's there, it sucks, and it's an abnormal state. It isn't you, and it isn't your fault, and there is treatment for it. I also think this sort of thinking helps inform the point at the end of the article:
I assume any assisted death plan would have to be made with a treatment professional similarly to this point, not strictly for diagnostic purposes, but simply because it ought to be a last effort after doing everything, and nothing working. The huge call for a lot of patients is eliminating suicidality from one of the reasons for wanting MAID, which would probably require input from a psychiatric or psychological professional one has developed a long working relationship with.
Speaking as someone who was suicidal for quite some time, and struggles with mental health to this day... (25 years later)
Everyone who wants to die should be eligible. Some should have a longer waiting period than others. I'd say, broadly speaking, 5 years minimum. If nothing helps you by then....you're probably already about to checkout anyhow.