Well I'm of two opinions, people who have depression so bad that they literally sink to rock bottom, and that rock bottom is so low that they feel they need to commit suicide, that's a problem. The reason I see it that way is because some of those people do come out of their depressions and have highs in their life where they are happy. They may even have children or so forth. The problem is what can you really do for these people, antidepressents don't work, all they do is make you into this zombie, either that or it levels you out so much that you literally are indifferent to everything around you. You're not rock bottom low, but you never hit those highs either. Not like I have personal experience from it, but listened to what others have said regarding the subject. I mean, what's the point living life when you're just apathetic all the time, you're never depressed, but you're never happy either because the meds take that away from you. I know some people find ways to cope, some struggle with it all their lives. We cannot cure it. We have different classes of drugs, but you can run through all those and not like the effects, or the side effects. Sexual dysfunction being among some of the worst. But those people have it hard, because they may have a partner, and children, and they have to muddle through the best they know how and suffer through the lows.
Where I see it differently is if you literally have nothing to live for, something terrible has happened to you, maybe you lost one or several family members, all your family are gone, or something where you don't have anyone to talk to. I can see it then. The thing is, I don't believe just talking to someone is going to solve the problem, it may stay your attempt to commit suicide this time, but you probably will reach this point again unless the underlying situation changes, you make friends, or something.
At any rate, I don't think suicide should be illegal, I don't think the government has the right to tell you that you cannot end your life, as long as you do it in such a way that doesn't risk hurting other people. And even then, what can they really do, toss you in jail, good luck if you carried it off successfully. But what if you want to have it done by a doctor, what if you don't want to just swallow a whole bottle of pills, but you actually want to have a medical professional attend you while they help you end your life. I think you should have that option, but then we get into the whole realm of mental competency. Do these mental health professionals really know enough to tell you that you're not competent, is the DSM5 really a suitable guide. I don't know the answers to those questions, but its gray, very gray areas here. Now you need legislation that lists all these conditions about what does and what does not form a case for physician assisted suicide. It gets overly complicated and full of bureaucracy and red tape.
Onto the selfishness thing, well obviously, if I was contemplating this, I wouldn't tell anyone and would just do it if I felt the need so strongly. If I was elderly and had children, I'd make the choice and they'd just have to accept it. I respect others' who feel this way, which may be my grandpa in a bit to be honest. He's not doing well, and the doctors have no idea what the issue is. Last year, he was hospitalized for nearly three months. He was having problems before this, now its the same, if not worse, because in addition to all that, he has rapidly lost his memory. He'll forget conversations that took place 10 minutes ago, he came over one time and forgot that we have a cat. Apart from this, he never feels well. He may have two good days a week. Now, if he said he wanted to die, I would be in full support of that, and yes, it would cause me hardship, and I don't want to see him die, but I am aware that he is suffering, and I'd rather see him leave this world with whatever mental and physical faculties he has left, than to see him live another 10 years, suffering all the while. I know this thing is problematic for families, but they often think of themselves first, and their ailing family member second, and its hard to break that cycle. It's so emotional for them, but here's the thing, this is the time when they need you the most, you have to be strong in this time, you can grieve and break down later, but now, they need you. If it's a parent, remember, they gave you what you needed all your life, and even when they were hard on you, they did it to ensure your success in life. So you've always gotten what you needed from them, but now they need you. (Obviously I know there are a lot of bad parents out there, but I'm being abstract here so go with it).
The person doesn't have to be elderly either, it can be someone who has a progressive illness, who is going to die anyway, the illness is starting to really set in now, they're really feeling the limitations. They did a lot of living while the symptoms weren't that bad, but now they really can't do much. Or, they are just starting to feel the effects, and don't want to live another 10 years not being able to do anything. In those cases, I can see someone wanting to die. They lived while they could, they don't want to be bound in a wheelchair. That I can see being really hard for the family, I can see them not really understanding it. They would question why this person wants to die now, when they can still have life even in a wheelchair, they can still do things. They can get an electric wheelchair if their condition prevents them from operating a manual one. Me personally, I can see that there is still some life to be had even in a wheelchair. You could try to raise funds for research into the condition you have, you could overcome the barriers and find new ways to live. Maybe if you found the right partner, you could go and climb Mt. Everest, who knows. But my point is, even though I see both sides of this one, that person has a choice to make, and even if it was someone in my family, I couldn't fault them for making the choice to end their life, no matter what it did to me.
Facts with Tom MacDonald, Adam Calhoun, and Dax
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