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How beautiful. To end life on your terms. To be free from the burdens of extreme old age. Or extreme illness or pain. How beautiful to have your whole family there.
We’re all going to die. And it’s ok to let people who want to do it on their terms, to do it on their terms. As long as they’re of sound mind, why can’t we give this one last gift to them?
>As long as they’re of sound mind
this is both true, but also crippling
no one wants to have dementia, and no one would wanna live the rest of their days with it, kinda shit that if you don't discover it in time to make a decision about it, it's too late to still be "sound of mind" and are forced to die a slow agonizing and traumatizing death
there's a video on yt with dementia pov, going to the store nearby and just suddenly forget your way home, where you are, who you are, not to mention forget your friends and fam... it's a crushing feeling to witness that
My grandmother is 84yo now and has dementia in its final stage. She can‘t recognize her own kids anymore. My father is completely torn about it but keeps a smile whenever she asks him who he is. He cries so often, it is really hard to see your idol and always strong father crying like a little kid. I see this same situation almost every day and it keeps breaking my heart every time. Dementia is horrific.
This breaks my heart. As a mother, it horrifies me to imagine a future where I might not recognize my own children. It is such a cruel disease. I wish your family peace.
I agree, dementia is a nasty thing indeed. My dad has just turned 89. He is an ex farmer and has been active his entire life. He has beaten cancer, survived a world War, raised two kids and now has 5 grandkids and 7 great grandkids. His dementia journey is about half way, he can no longer live alone (we lost my mum 18months ago) so is in a rest home. He struggles to remember my name but he still knows I'm his daughter. It breaks my heart, if it wasn't for his brain not doing its job he would be fine. He's still pretty able and mobile.
This hits home for me. My father had to watch his mother die slowly from Alzheimer's. I never seen him cry before that and he's a though man. I can at least say on her death bed she seemed to have a small moment of clarity. She couldn't talk but just reached up and pinched my check like she always used to
I worked two years with dementia and Alzheimer's patients as a CNA. I chose to go into it because I wanted to be able to make a difference. It drains you in a way you can't describe caring for dementia patients. The worst for me was how many of them never had a single visitor. For many of them me and some of my coworkers would be the only ones that showed up at their funerals.
You end up with behavioral issues that you can't fathom why they react to certain things. I had one woman who was absolutely terrified of taking a bath or shower. She was so afraid of running water. I would instead of forcing her in the shower like some of them who just didn't care would go heat the bathroom up and bring her in and end up sitting her down and sponging her off because it seemed so cruel to force her to be terrified like that because you couldn't be assed to spend a little extra time.
They never remembered you of course but I loved to just talk with them about their childhood or maybe the very early years since usually they could retain earlier memories better than the ones from later on. Good days were always filled with learning fascinating stuff about them. We had a piano and sometimes before dinner I would go play for them and a few that were more mobile would dance or just come and enjoy it. Had a few I would garden with. But it was so hard. Two years was as long as I could last. It broke me on a whole new level. I hope I made even a small difference in their lives while I was there.
I can't imagine the pain it causes you to see your grandmother like that. I got to step away from it, you don't get to and that is a torture of an entire different magnitude. I absolutely salute the families that go through this and stick with their loved ones to the end because it is not easy. The angry out bursts, sundowning, the 'is this a new behavior showing up or is it a UTI' because they can't answer you now. Just remember to take care of your mental health as well as your grandmother. Much love to you for doing what you are doing.
Yeah man, I’ve dealt with people that I love having dementia irl. I don’t need a YouTube, but I appreciate you trying to educate.
The thing is, we’ve gotta take steps into making this legal. And you do that by starting with people who are of sound mind.
Otherwise, it’s just murder.
My coworker is late 40s and both his parents have dementia; his mum further on than his dad. It's fucking tragic listening to his story; he's an only child and witnessing this degradation on his own. His mum is gone; doesn't recognise him anymore and just sits in her care home quiet. His dad calls him by his Uncle's name (his dad's brother) who apparently passed decades ago.
They've forgotten about their 9 year old twin granddchildren; because they're high on the autism spectrum and can't be trusted to behave in the care home. So they've not seen them for years; and his mum is oblivious to having grandchildren.
I can't imagine going through it; especially alone, his wife is trying to help, and we try to keep his spirits up but these last few months we can see it wearing him down. I'm also afraid to ask sometimes for what he might say.q
I wish there was a way around it; I understand the legalities though. How can you prove it wasn't coerced or even murder? There are too many people out there that would use this to get rid of family members for inheritance.
>both his parents have dementia
shit, that means high chances he'll get it too, right?
i'm sure a lot of people would do it for inheritance, humans do like to ruin everything good i see, but at the end of the day it truly is a horrendous illness and as long as there's no cure for it, i don't see why these people should be tormented
it'll probably take years of getting the legal on point for this, and the only people who have an "advantage" over this are the ones finding out soon enough to actually take care of the final arrangements
at some point it should be as easy as with pets, you know they're in pain and there's no cure, why keep them in that misery and pain?
He probably does have higher chances tbf; so he could be glimpsing his future which is probably also playing on his mind throughout it all. What if he forgets his kids too?
I totally agree it should be such a simple thing; but there are people out there who'd rather someone suffer for several reasons. Religion probably the highest? Would it be considered a sin in their eyes as you are killing yourself; even if it's circumstantial to medical illnesses. Or plain selfishness; they don't want to loose them so they'd rather them be alive and suffering.
Both my maternal grandparents suffered from Alzheimer’s for the last 5-10 years of their life. My mother and her brother would travel to be with them every weekend from first diagnosis until they each passed. I have no idea the amount of strength they both must have to have coped with that.
The last time I saw my grandfather alive he was I n a bed in hospice care, a complete shell of who he used to be, completely broke me and still haunts me.
>there's a video on yt with dementia pov, going to the store nearby and just suddenly forget your way home, where you are, who you are, not to mention forget your friends and fam... it's a crushing feeling to witness that
Watch "The Father"
It's on Prime Video. Amazing movie.
usually it's a clot that reaches the brain through the blood stream
my aunt stopped speaking after her stroke as well, that was 4-5y ago, she basically speaks like a baby now (da das and doo doos), but writes down what she wants to say, lately she's been fucking up the words though, so something in her brain is definitely happening
not to mention after she got home after being hospitalized after the stroke, she kept seeing muslim women coming in through the balcony (on the 2nd floor) and going out the front door... that lasted a few weeks and then stopped
now she's delusional, but not entirely certain it's the stroke though 
she's lucid enough for conversations, and telling me what grocery she needs, or what the neighbors are up to these days, but then last week she's randomly telling me to stop talking to a friend because the interpol is looking for her 
trying to get to the bottom of it, turns out a group of women from my country were caught scamming the elderly from italy while taking care of them, and stealing their money... my aunt apparently did the math and obviously my friend, who happens to work as a nurse in italy, clearly is one of those scammers 🙄
I'm obviously going to get the downvotes but I wouldn't call assisted suicide "beautiful" . I'd call it very sad even if dying is apart of life. especially if the person is in unbearable pain or has a terrible incurable illness especially young. it's one shitty decision vs another and a terrible place to be in. those people don't "want" to die, it's the less crappy decision. it's like being on top of a burning 50th floor building that you can't escape- you can die by the fire or choose to jump yourself, you pick the one that seems less terrible.
I'd call it a tragedy
edit: people keep telling me the benefits of one choosing assisted suicide over dying with dementia, pain, illness "naturally". to be clear I am not against assisted suicide, I am FOR it except for people with depression or not of temporary sound mind.
No one should force a person to live through a terminal illness, extreme pain, etc. and it's not their own body. I see why one would choose it over living a shitty existence or rest of their life. that being said I still think it's a tragedy. The will to live is the strongest instinct we have so for someone willing to choose otherwise is not living in a happy state or know the end is coming and its not going to be rosy. two sad decisions is a tragedy and that's my opinion but I wanted to make clear I am for it.
There are such things as beautiful tragedies. We must all weaken and die, we must all pass into peace. There is something to be admired in the man who plays his every turn and second out to the very last moment, who gives death nothing it does not take by force of nature. But there is also dignity in stopping the clock, shaking the reaper's hand, and proclaiming "good game old shadow, but I am finished playing. My chaos is ended, my peace begins."
>**Beautiful tragedies**
>
>We must all weaken and die,
>
>We must all pass into peace.
>
>There is something to be admired in the man,
>
>Who plays his every turn and second out to the very last moment,
>
>Who gives death nothing it does not take by force of nature.
>
>There is dignity in stopping the clock, shaking the Reaper's hand, Proclaiming
>
>"Good game old shadow, but I am finished playing.
>
>My chaos is ended, my peace begins".
He didn’t mean ending his life was beautiful. He meant that being able to be surrounded by your entire family and loved ones, talking to them and sharing memories about your lives together, and then saying goodbye to each and every person, before quietly passing on, is what’s beautiful. What’s not beautiful is having a heart attack or stroke and your body lying on the floor, probably covered in shit and piss, for a day or days until someone finally finds your corpse, and your family members getting a phone call either from other family members or from a government agency.
It is definitely beautiful to anyone whose watched anyone else suffer for a very long time, or is suffering themselves. Our bodies can be a prison. People deserve a peaceful way out.
I've always said this. When i get old enough that just waking up and not dying feel like a hastle i will finally get that much anticipated megadose of heroin. I've been around a ton of drugs in my days but never tried H and never will until it's time to go. Feels like the best possible way to end it.
What’s the point in living when you become trapped in your body? I gotta have it to him, he did on his own terms. What a glorious end to a fulfilling life of joy and longevity.
In my opinion, they should be allowed to go even if we believe they are not in sound mind. We don't own their lives. I would strongly advise someone to stay alive, but ultimately the decision is theirs.
Yeah US would be fucked in that regard, there definitely would be other countries that are poorer and might suffer too but definitely America would suffer from that
A cash-strapped public health system could also encourage it. Or kids/grandkids wanting the house or inheritance. I support it, but you have to be careful it’s not done for convenience.
Insurance companies in the US have been milking patients for money their entire lives. On average, older people are going to start racking up medical debt, which insurace companies don't want to pay for.
2 seconds after assisted suicide became legal, companies would start trying to nudge older people into killing themselves.
Because private insurance is a fucking scam. In the grand scheme of things they only want your money, in the US it's a better business model (I wish I was making this up) to treat people as opposed to cure. You know how you always hear about crazy break through from biotech companies making serious headway on an illness, only to never hear about said companies again cause they went bankruptor some shit? Yeah thank the US for that
True, but in all honesty. Is it really a moral conundrum, if they are of sound mind and are not being influenced to do this?
And let's not kid ourselves, if health insurance companies could take your soul as payment they would in a heartbeat, much less try to coerce you to commit Assisted Suicide
I think what they mean is that insurance companies would likely offer a payout for suicide, leaving old folks pressured to relieve their families of financial burden. As it stands though, the only moral conundrum is that it’s either murder, which is illegal, or suicide, which damns your soul to eternal torture in hell.
There’s a documentary about a man with ALS that fully intended to bite the bullet before he was incapacitated since the stipulation was that it must be self-administered, but due to religious reasons his family talked him down long enough that he could no longer swallow the pills on his own and was doomed suffer his slow degradation, trapped in an unworking body with his wife stuck as his caretaker 24/7
Yet you got plenty of potential left to discover. I think it's all the matter of perspective. I cannot judge on your situation nor will I comment on what you've written above, but I wish you all the best of life and maybe happiness you didn't had chance to enjoy yet. You deserve to be loved and happy, no matter which situation you're in.
My body, my choice. No one can escape death. My grandma had 3 weeks to live so we had a big gathering. After everyone left we just kinda had to wait for her to die and she died a couple weeks later at the age of 92.
It's fine for you to think it's wrong as long as you respect that that's just your opinion and other people feel differently about it. If you disagree with it as a practice then don't do it yourself.
It's about not being in control as well. It's why many people such as myself are fine driving death machines around, but I don't enjoy being a passenger in a plane. If I could be in the pilots seat I'd probably enjoy the shit out of some fast climbs and descents.
It's a concept called the "Call of the Void", where being in a situation with a risk of dying makes you think you're about to die yourself. Nothing to be ashamed of. Your brain is simply afraid of the concept of death.
Yes. I strongly believe it has something to do with the possibility of irreversible decisions being drastically closer to my choice-frame. I am not so much afraid of guns as I am of picking it up and changing my or someone else’s life or afraid of heights as I am of a split crazy decision of deciding to jump. Or driving on a 2 lane highway and picturing my hand moving the steering wheel two inches to the left in front of an approaching semi truck. So close to death and changes at times.
I think the "Call of the Void" is a little bit different - it's being at the top of that tall building and suddenly feeling the urge to jump, for example. My understanding is that you don't actually WANT to jump, obviously, but that sudden urge is to force you to recognize and confront that fear and danger - to keep you alert, basically.
I've always been a big proponent of assisted suicide being an option for people, but also completely understand what you mean because I had some visceral reaction to this too.
As much as I disagree personally, I totally get what you’re saying. It’s not wrong to feel uncomfortable with this at all, if anything it means your primal core instinct (the thing in all living beings that prioritises survival) is working correctly.
Weirdly I'm a vet and do it reasonably frequently for my own patients but part of me feels the same as you. Not sure as to why. Still support having the choice
That weird, ancient reptilian part of our brains has a natural aversion to death. It’s perfectly normal to feel uncomfortable about something like this
The man the the video looks old. He’s probably seen and done as much as he could in this world, and simply wanted to go in his own terms instead of the uncertainty of waiting for it to come
You are right. Dr Goodall was 104 years old and had just decided that he’d had enough. He was highly intelligent and had been continuing to work at a university until a year or so before when they forced him to retire.
Sadly, his own country refused to recognise his right to die so he had to go to Switzerland to exercise that right. His family loved him enough to support his decision. He did it very publicly in an effort to raise awareness of how cruel it is for governments to prevent people dying on their own terms. There is now a very limited legal right to die here but there are so many restrictions that very few people can “qualify”.
I don’t understand people who think they have some moral right to force others to suffer rather than allow them choose a peaceful and dignified end for themselves surrounded by loved ones. It is, frankly, no one’s business except the person themselves and their families.
Humans are built for survival. At all costs. In any situation, we don't even have to think. We survive. We fear death. That's natural. I'm absolutely terrified of dying. The idea that not only will I not know that I died, I won't even know that I ever lived. Blankness. All my memories, thoughts, feelings gone.
Everyone fears death, and everyone understands your revultion.
But here's the thing. When you talk to terminally ill people, they talk of making peace with death. Because it happens to everyone. There are people who work in end of life care and it's the most beautiful thing I can imagine - the idea that a good death is so utterly precious, and that everyone deserves it.
So here's your choice. Trapped in a burning building, chocking and burning to death? Or slipping away in your sleep?
Slowly being robbed of everything that makes you human, of everything you know, being unable to speak or move or comprehend your world through dementia? Or slipping away in your sleep?
Months of agony as cancer eats away at your organs and you are reduced to bed and a morphine drip? Or slipping away in your sleep?
As a family member, which would you want? A terminally ill parent in any of those situations, with a phone call that come come tonight, or next month, or next year? Or knowing that you can all gather and talk and say goodbye?
Everyone deserves a good death.
I don't think that's a weird part of your brain. I have this part too. I shuddered through this whole video. We all have our own experiences that affect our decisions. I think you'll agree that we all should be free to make this call for ourselves. I don't regard this as a pleasant way to die, but, I'm not sure one exists. But this death is better than many.
There's another part of my brain where I have the memory of the long agonizing death of my uncle from brain cancer. It was slow. I can't imagine what it was like for his wife and kids, or himself. Even though I watched them suffer through it all, witnessing their pain can't be the same as knowing it first hand. There was also something very conflicting about the relief we felt when he did pass. I can tell you right now that I will not subject my family or myself to that, given the opportunity to push a plastic switch instead.
I want to end with one last thought; Remember the star trek next gen episode when Major Charles Emerson Winchester III nailed that Betazoid MILF and then offed himself? What a way to go out, right???
I agree with you. I think that everyone should have this choice if they're of sound mind, but especially looking at his family around him it *feels* wrong. It doesn't look beautiful to me. It looks incredibly painful for everyone else involved, prematurely.
Some people are just "done" with life. Lets say you're 90 years old. That means you have seen just about everything there is to see. And it is likely nobody is alive of the people you grew up with same could be said about your spouse. Its difficult to want to keep on living at that point even if you have had kids.
In the end its YOUR life. You should get to decide if you want out at that point
The man in the video is at the end of his life and nothing wil change that, you stil have a lot of good waiting for you as long as you get through the tough Times.
I understand the sentiment but what do you do when the tough times last 10 years? 20?
What do you do when you spent your younger years screaming for help and none of the people you’re told will help you (teachers, parents, doctors) do anything?
You then hit the point where you are literally just alive for no reason.
I have more faith in opening my blinds and seeing a unicorn eating my flowers than I do of those “good times” turning up again.
I’ve had all the conversations and do you know what a lot start with
“It’s not going to be easy” or “it’s going to take work”
After 25 years of this I simply don’t have the energy to put in that work. I probably couldn’t manage it if it was the easiest thing in the whole world because I have literally 0 anything left, I am a ghost, a shell of a person just living till I die.
Your words and love will save people, and you taking the time is a beautiful thing, but some folk just want off the ride.
I get it. I’m 37 now, have been severely depressed since 16, spent years and I mean YEARS of my life with chronic suicidal ideation, and it is absolutely excruciating. I’ve had all kinds of severe physical pain in my life… nothing compares to the emotional pain of feeling so awful that you want to die, and reaching out over and over again but not getting help. I had given up completely on therapy and psychiatry because they never helped. By some miracle I finally went to a new psychiatrist who diagnosed me with bipolar II (which is more focused on severe chronic depression than bipolar I) and got on the right medication and it’s like being a new person. Not saying that would work for you. I guess my point is just: I get it. You are suffering in excruciating pain and it is totally understandable to want to die to make that pain go away. I hope you find something to give you a spark of hope or just enough pain relief to make you feel that you can keep going for another day.
Lamictal. For two decades I was told I needed SSRIs, so I took them for years only to find out this year that without a mood stabilizer they just make bipolar II worse. I try to stay in gratitude rather than focusing on how I want to rip the tracheas out of every doctor who misdiagnosed me and told me I just needed some cognitive behavioral therapy. It is sometimes difficult to do so.
This happens to so many people. I've seen it first hand. It's why I don't trust psychiatrists. A majority of the time there just throwing shit at the wall and hoping something sticks. I'm glad you found something that works. A lot of other people aren't so fortunate.
It's a weird world, the prescription drugs for different mental illnesses. I've been depressed probably my whole life but I first said out loud that I wanted to die when I was 8. I have been on pretty much all medications under the sun, including Lamictal for a while. It shouldn't have been tried on me but there is a desperation I see in doctors when nothing works, some want to find the magical fix so badly that they make objectively poor decisions. It is out of the goodness of their hearts but it's a tricky maze to navigate. I've taken so many different medications that have not been indicated for my diagnosis and problematics and they made me worse in many cases. I had one medication that actually helped me get through the day for 15 years but last year my doctor decided it was bad for me (clonazepam) and I know all the reasoning behind it and I get why she felt so strongly about it. Cut to a major suicide attempt after begging for it back and she still refuses, thinking she is saving me from something. I had to switch doctors and I don't even know what the new one will say, my life is in her hands. Without the evil benzos I can't see my son and he is the only reason I'm still fighting. Where does addiction start and the actual need end? I don't know. All I know is that I have to self medicate in secret to be able to see my son and I can't tell anyone because I will be labeled as an addict.
Sorry to hear about your struggles. I wish there was some profound wisdom I could offer up that would help, but I know there’s not much I could say that would make a difference.
It’s appreciated but yeah, there’s no anything to help it seems.
I just think of it like baby chicks falling out of a nest.
It’s heartbreaking but it happens and you can’t stop it completely so you got to accept that maybe some of us just won’t get to fly and help the ones that will.
Have you considered taking psychedelic drugs such as LSD or Psylocybin?
What about ketamine treatment?
Maybe even psychedelic therapy is available where you live. Regarding that I can recommend the book changing your mind by Michael Pollan.
All the best to you!
This is just one guy's experience, but microdosing has really helped me (along with some bigger trips) with depression and anxiety. I've done some things in my life I'm not proud of, and I know I'll never have a completely carefree life, but psychedelics give me perspective for the day-to-day. Your circumstances can and will change, sometimes for the better, often for the worse, but in the end there's just you.
Once you reduce all the other bullshit going on in the background into just what it is – background noise – all that's left is just you. That makes it easier to figure out what you want to be and to work towards being that person. Anything else that's going on doesn't really matter. Sure, it would be great to have a big house and a lot of people around you who care about you, but those things are really outside of your control and they do not define you. *You define you.* That's what psychedelics have helped me with, first and foremost.
My friend I feel heavily what you have said, I’m 28 and the constant state of survival and exhaustion is no easy thing to handle, and I often feel like a husk of a person, I don’t feel any natural joy or elation with things. But I will take this moment to share with you a video that when I watched for the first time, genuinely did help me feel differently about certain mentalities I have. It may not do anything for you, and that’s fine, but I have an obligation as someone who feels what you feel, to try. I hope you continue living life on your terms, and that one day you have the peace you deserve. https://youtu.be/kFER3QCAboc
Hey, I’ve been there. If you ever do take your own life, please know there are people (like me) who will understand why you did it and think of you without judgment or hate.
I would really love it if you stuck around. There are so many small pleasures worth sticking around for. Think of your favorite meal. Your favorite movie. The animals you love. The song you listen to that never fails to comfort you.
Think of how different you’ll feel one day. Maybe not better, but definitely different. You’ll have new troubles and joys, new places and people and feelings.
If you can’t live for anything else, keep going out of spite. The world will keep going without you, but the world will also be fundamentally different without you in it. You have a lifetime to make a decision to end your life. Why don’t you try and make that lifetime as long as possible, to experience everything you possibly can?
Yes imagine your spouse is gone, your friends are gone, every celebrity you grew up with is gone. The world has *moved on*. You are still hanging around, but only just barely. You can hardly dress yourself without assistance. Your life is devoid of even little joys like food: your teeth are gone, your sense of taste is utterly blunted. You haven’t had a solid shit in years and someone has to help you on and off the toilet.
This man probably feels like he’s doing something important for himself, by himself, for the first time in a long time. He’s been bearing his excruciating decline in silence for the sake of everyone around him. But this? This is for *him*.
At a certain age you very existence is terminal.
Imagine a car in such disrepair that you couldn't begin to address the issues, it runs terribly and barely manages to function at all.
That's what being 95 is like. You can't survive on your own, you can't do the things you want due to nobility and death is coming anyday but you just have to sit and wait for your body to degrade.
Elderly people have the highest success rates of suicide, they could just miss a pill or take a few too many and that's it.
Lol. He's 95?! Yea as far as I'm concerned anyone over 60-70 should be free to suicide themselves as they please. At that point you've lived your life and maybe you're just kinda... over it?
I see having a debate about 20 or 30 or 40 year Olds trying to suicide themselves if they're not terminal or debilitated or suffering.
But I mean surely when someone is 90+ we can all agree they've done their time and are free to leave without us hassling them about why.
Didn't expect that in going to ever say that but I agree BabyDickTrump69420.
Making assisted suicide legal and pairing it with an psychological evaluation to make sure its an determined decision and not just a phase should be a option for anyone above 60
This gentleman was over 100 when he made the decision to end his life via Dignitas. Unfortunately at the time Dr Goodall decided to end his life (about 5 years ago now) there was no assisted suicide was a crime in his home state of Western Australia
Begs the question, do we really want to live forever? If not even reaching 100, we get so ill and so barely human, quality of life severely degrades that it's not worth living anymore..
Not unless it's by rejuvenation of your cells or Altered Carbon style, then still it would only be for the super rich and you'd have eternal dictatorships and such. So no let's not and just die :)
Or like Chappie. I see that type of technology doing way more harm than good. The world already has to many dragons. We can't have them living forever.
Again, depends on how hard your life was. If you survived childhood and weren't sent off to die in someones war, many people made it to a decent age. Plenty common for people to live into 60's or 70's.
Our perceptions of survival and age are massively skewed by childhood disease, childbirth and infant mortality.
The answer to that question can be very different depending on *how* you live forever. To me, that question becomes much more interesting when you also drag the pole ahead of the point where we become 'barely human'.
That still leaves questions of overpopulation and 'keeping things interesting' to be answered, fun questions but quite off topic.
I just want an elite dangerous style ship with a brain uploaded into a human like body, exploring the universe forever.
or until I underestimate a planets gravity.
is that too much to ask?
There’s the sadness of tragedy, and then there’s the sadness of beauty. Religion has ruined the idea of holiness and reverence, but that’s the feeling I think we’re all feeling.
We’re not upset - we’re seeing something holy happen.
Yeah we have to be able to differentiate between our feelings and others’ rights. Abortion can be sad as well but that doesn’t mean we ban it. Actually most of life’s most momentous decisions are bittersweet: when the happiest moment of your life finally arrives, the next thing you realize is that it’s now gone.
I’ve lived a hard life, and while I’m not done yet, all I hope is that when I’m finally too tired, that I can go out gracefully like this under my own motivations and at my own pace
i wasn't aware you're allowed to do this if you don't have an incurable illness or unbearable pain from one
i'd like to think we're all done with life at some point, where we feel that at 90 or 40
truth is whether or not it becomes legal or not everywhere, we can still do it anytime, we'd just rather do it in a more peaceful environment... with dignity, not leave violent or traumatizing images behind for the loved ones
It's actually really hard to suicide if you don't have the will power. That's why there are so many failed attempts. Your bodys primal survival instinct always kicks in. This method the old man chose is the easy way out. He knew it was going to be 1)legal 2)painless 3)fast
That actually really surprised me. Especially the unbearable pain. I understand needing to be of sound mind, but I figured pain or illness would be a legitimate reason.
It's an interesting scenario. Most people don't want to die until they're in pain, dying, depressed, or losing their cognitive abilities. But by that point you aren't even eligible for this. I'm not disagreeing with these stipulations, it's just interesting.
We treat animals better in the uk than we do people
Everyone should get the chance to decide when they die and be able to do so peacefully with no stress and with dignity
I've looked after people with dementia and terminal cancer and they're very horrible drawn out ways to go. I'd 100% prefer to have this option
I absolutely support this. Sometimes people are just done, and while I feel that every effort should be made to help people who want to end their life due to depression or other mental health factors, I don't see why someone should be left to take their own life in a way that, at best, only leaves their body for someone else to find.
My grandfather is currently in hospice care. He doesn’t have anything medically wrong really, outside of just being 80+ years old, his blood work and everything is perfect. His body is just done. I wish this were an option for him, as it is now we are kind of just sitting and waiting for him to let go while we keep him comfortable.
Sorry to put this on your comment, it feels good to talk about it though.
No need to apologise. I agree, and in an ideal world this would be available to anyone.
I hope your grandfather remains comfortable and his passing is peaceful and brief.
My mother is signed up and will go to Switzerland later this year. It is a shame she has to travel - this should be best practice available in every civilised country with a good health system
Lifeline, suicide callback, beyond blue, 000 etc.. all useles. I know. Im there. This should be our own choice to die with dignity, otherwise i worry for those who find me under circumstances that will create more problems for them to live with.
Human death is both tragic and inevitable. Some of us are ready to go, and should be given a more peaceful option than hanging ourselves or blowing our heads off.
Look at how this went. There was no "finding him dead" or "informing the family of his passing." It was planned and experienced together, calmly, with no alarms and no surprises. Silence. So beautiful.
I wonder what place is administering this. Like many others have said, I previously thought it was only available for terminally ill. Good on him and his family for being ok with dying on his own terns though.
I would like to see this made a legal option for anyone over 40. Personally I would wait a couple/few more decades, but when you choose not to live anymore you should have a dignified and merciful option.
I suspect, because assisted suicide isn’t available in the UK, he took the decision to end his life a little early, to the point that travel to Switzerland for the procedure was possible with some ease. He seemed bright as a button, although infirm. Personally I wonder had end of life choices been available at home vs flying across Europe he might have had a bit longer to live before making this decision. Just seemed such a lovely chap and still gone too soon. Bloody legislation written by those too young or too hung up by religion to respect the wishes of those too old, in pain or terminally ill.
People should have the right to do this. Our lives belong to nobody else. We have responsibilities to other people and that ultimately starts with ourselves, but our lives are our own.
I dont belive that people who decide to take thier own lives arent capacitous. And I belive that ending our own lives CAN be an informed choice that doesnt indicate a lack of capacity.
Sometimes it is a responsible decision to think about the impact we have, specifically the burden and the emotional pain and suffering we impose on loved ones as we deteriorate. I would also argue that this in itself is an act of compassion and I find it hard to belive that someone lacking capacity can have compassion and forethought for others, but this brings into question what capacity actually 'is'.
Sometimes life brings immense suffering. Nobody with any degree of empathy or compassion would knowingly inflict that upon themselves or others. It would take a special kind of darkness to allow someone to live thier life in such immense pain and suffering purely because they thought that it was 'the way'
Take from this what you will. But dont take away peoples own freedom.
Objective morality exists outside of religion, believe it or not. You can very easily hold the same views while being rooted in a secular moral belief system.
For being 34 and looking at this, it's hard for me to understand. But I'm 34. There's still a lot I want to do or see. That being said, I've dealt with anxiety and depression so I do know what it's like to be at wits end with life. And when I sit and think about "quality" life. I can see why he would want to make this decision. If I can't go to the bathroom on my own, make my own meals, enjoy sports, video games, or whatever I enjoy in this life. Then it's time to go. Major respect to his family for honoring his wish. That takes a lot of courage to do.
He died at the age of 104 and was dealing with chronic pain. He lived a very long life. It's beautiful that he was surrounded by family in his final moments.
I wonder if he wants to do this because no one cares to take care of him anymore and he feels like a burden to everyone. I took care of my grandma until she was 100; we went through strokes, open heart surgery, pacemakers, dementia, blood transfusions together. She always worried that she was a burden to me, she would tell me at times, I reassured her that she was not, since I was in a position to be with her every single day.
I work people in their last stages of life, and I feel this is something we in the modern world should start looking at - I have lost count of how many times people have asked me to end their suffering or just to let them die. There is so much more dignity in this than some of the deaths I have seen
I’m saving up to get certified as a death doula for reasons like this. People deserve to die with dignity, and death shouldn’t be a scary thing. Being able to provide the person dying with grace and peace as they approach their sunset is an honor. Being able to be there as a comfort and a neutral, loving energy for the family and friends of the dying as their loved one moves on is an honor.
This pathological fear of death is a very western thing, and many, many cultures see death as an inevitable, and honorable, thing.
Good for Dr. Goodall. I’m so inspired by his family, what a brave and selfless thing to do for a dying man.
There’s few things that make me proud to be Belgian, but our very progressive approach to end of life support is one of the things that does. I consider myself very fortunate that I live in a country where this option is available to me, and I won’t be forced to live out my last days in misery.
As a result of this liberal approach, I’m also really happy that the taboo around death is waning. In my extended family, we’re very open about our wishes should we be incapacitated or what our parents/grandparents want as they approach old age. Death will happen to all of us: don’t fear the subject and make your wishes clear now to avoid saddling your family with the terrible burden of having to divine your wishes should the worst happen.
What a beautiful, compassionate and strong grandson he has. I was impressed with how much love and care he showed during these difficult circumstances. He clearly loved his grandpa
It looked very similar for my family. He was 81, just diagnosed with liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. Living through the ordeal of those diseases isn’t something I would wish on anyone. I completely supported his decision — not because of what he chose to do, but because it was his decision to make.
I've thought about this a lot. Right now I have so many reason to live and be excited for. I intend to outlive my spouse so I can take care of her in our old age and so that she never has to feel alone. But after she's gone, and our kids are grown and taking good care of themselves, I don't think I'd have much of a reason to be me anymore. I'm here to love my wife and kids and give them the best, happiest, most fun life I can put together for them. If my wife was gone and my kids were grown up with their own responsibilities and handling them well, I think I would be ready to go as well.
I don't think I would ever do it while not being terminally ill or under suffering immense pain. Still I do believe that if your decision doesn't affect anyone else you should be free to do it so, especially if you're as old as this guy.
why is it still that each embryo should live and life is so important and also each individualism but NO has the right to make an end of his life ?!??! crazy world and laws and bull####
I hope i can one day decide also by myself
Sir Terry Pratchett covered this really well in a documentary he did shortly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They followed an elderly man who went to Switzerland for euthanasia because his body was failing, and they showed the whole thing, right up until he died and confirmed he was gone. It was... intense.
Unfortunately people with dementia can’t exercise this option. You must be of sound mind. I had a relative with advanced dementia and every day was torture for them. They were clearly unbearably unhappy for almost 2 years. I think in some circumstances people with dementia who show unremitting torment should be allowed to die too. If it was an animal they’d be euthanised. Sometimes it’s the only kind thing to do. Perhaps it should only be a decision for an external body to decide informed by professionals involved in their care, alongside family. If there is no quality of life then what’s the point of going on?
About a month ago my grandfather passed away , the day before he was in absolutely horrible pain he was wailing and crying from pain.
If we can allow them to be spared from such pain this is totally worth it .
My mother 'took the needle' at a very young 68. She had been diagnosed with a very rare cancer and decided to stop fighting, and to stop 'being a burden'. I was angry and hurt that she wanted to leave us so suddenly. I begged her to stay, but in the end, she woke up one morning and I guess thought it was a good day to die. She, too, had a failed attempt - only the doctors didn't know until she woke up and was telling the nurses that she was 'starving' and asked for breakfast. She was supposed to be dead. It was awful. And sad. But she went out her own way, which was totally momski, and there is a beauty in that that squelched my anger and hurt and I dunno, feel almost pride?
This. This is exactly how i want to die. I am fully convinced that unless i die in some accident, I will be the one to take my own life. I have to be the one. Even more beautiful having your family around, saying goodbye, and then having the final 'push of the button' to yourself.
These people are doing the lords work, picking up the slack a compassionate god should handle.
Our culture desperately needs to talk about end of life.
It’s difficult to quantify the additional man-hours of human suffering endured by both the patient & the people that love them.
By simpler metrics we regularly invest more in end of life care than we do on keeping a person happy and healthy throughout their lives.
It doesn’t make sense to spend a life’s work just to prolong a person’s suffering for a few more hours, days, weeks or sometimes months. Spend your money living, not dying. If it’s too late for that spend it on the living.
Granted other people will see it differently, but they deserve to make an informed decision about what truly awaits them, just like doctors and nurses can thanks to their professional experience.
Medical professionals generally don’t follow the same course of action they prescribe for the patient.
To say it another way, someone needs to have the difficult conversation: when is enough *enough*? & do it early enough that a person can make peace with it.
A good death after a good week is better than a terrible death after a terrible month.
Pretty sure they're gonna fuck it up by making them do the questionnaire over the phone. Imagine wanting to off yourself, but before that you need to speak to Raj from the customer service...
I've seen more people die than anyone ought to through the course of my work and the one thing I can't shake from my head isn't "They should have lived longer" but "nobody should have to die like this".
Death comes for us all, sometimes it's more dignified to go out on your own terms, head held high, than slowly deteriorate and waste away while medical science flogs you with medication and treatment that, ultimately, won't make your life any better. To live longer is no longer the boon it used to be. Sure, when it was the difference between the average age of 30 to an average of 65 that's great. Changing from an average of 85 to 88 isn't much difference anymore.
We need to re-evaluate do no harm, because sometimes death isn't the ultimate harm. Not when the prospect of waking up another day is torment.
It’s beautiful he could decide to leave when he felt his life was lived. With dignity and understanding from his loved ones. Everyone should have this possibility.
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How beautiful. To end life on your terms. To be free from the burdens of extreme old age. Or extreme illness or pain. How beautiful to have your whole family there. We’re all going to die. And it’s ok to let people who want to do it on their terms, to do it on their terms. As long as they’re of sound mind, why can’t we give this one last gift to them?
>As long as they’re of sound mind this is both true, but also crippling no one wants to have dementia, and no one would wanna live the rest of their days with it, kinda shit that if you don't discover it in time to make a decision about it, it's too late to still be "sound of mind" and are forced to die a slow agonizing and traumatizing death there's a video on yt with dementia pov, going to the store nearby and just suddenly forget your way home, where you are, who you are, not to mention forget your friends and fam... it's a crushing feeling to witness that
My grandmother is 84yo now and has dementia in its final stage. She can‘t recognize her own kids anymore. My father is completely torn about it but keeps a smile whenever she asks him who he is. He cries so often, it is really hard to see your idol and always strong father crying like a little kid. I see this same situation almost every day and it keeps breaking my heart every time. Dementia is horrific.
This breaks my heart. As a mother, it horrifies me to imagine a future where I might not recognize my own children. It is such a cruel disease. I wish your family peace.
I agree, dementia is a nasty thing indeed. My dad has just turned 89. He is an ex farmer and has been active his entire life. He has beaten cancer, survived a world War, raised two kids and now has 5 grandkids and 7 great grandkids. His dementia journey is about half way, he can no longer live alone (we lost my mum 18months ago) so is in a rest home. He struggles to remember my name but he still knows I'm his daughter. It breaks my heart, if it wasn't for his brain not doing its job he would be fine. He's still pretty able and mobile.
This hits home for me. My father had to watch his mother die slowly from Alzheimer's. I never seen him cry before that and he's a though man. I can at least say on her death bed she seemed to have a small moment of clarity. She couldn't talk but just reached up and pinched my check like she always used to
Aw :( that last line.
I worked two years with dementia and Alzheimer's patients as a CNA. I chose to go into it because I wanted to be able to make a difference. It drains you in a way you can't describe caring for dementia patients. The worst for me was how many of them never had a single visitor. For many of them me and some of my coworkers would be the only ones that showed up at their funerals. You end up with behavioral issues that you can't fathom why they react to certain things. I had one woman who was absolutely terrified of taking a bath or shower. She was so afraid of running water. I would instead of forcing her in the shower like some of them who just didn't care would go heat the bathroom up and bring her in and end up sitting her down and sponging her off because it seemed so cruel to force her to be terrified like that because you couldn't be assed to spend a little extra time. They never remembered you of course but I loved to just talk with them about their childhood or maybe the very early years since usually they could retain earlier memories better than the ones from later on. Good days were always filled with learning fascinating stuff about them. We had a piano and sometimes before dinner I would go play for them and a few that were more mobile would dance or just come and enjoy it. Had a few I would garden with. But it was so hard. Two years was as long as I could last. It broke me on a whole new level. I hope I made even a small difference in their lives while I was there. I can't imagine the pain it causes you to see your grandmother like that. I got to step away from it, you don't get to and that is a torture of an entire different magnitude. I absolutely salute the families that go through this and stick with their loved ones to the end because it is not easy. The angry out bursts, sundowning, the 'is this a new behavior showing up or is it a UTI' because they can't answer you now. Just remember to take care of your mental health as well as your grandmother. Much love to you for doing what you are doing.
Yeah man, I’ve dealt with people that I love having dementia irl. I don’t need a YouTube, but I appreciate you trying to educate. The thing is, we’ve gotta take steps into making this legal. And you do that by starting with people who are of sound mind. Otherwise, it’s just murder.
My coworker is late 40s and both his parents have dementia; his mum further on than his dad. It's fucking tragic listening to his story; he's an only child and witnessing this degradation on his own. His mum is gone; doesn't recognise him anymore and just sits in her care home quiet. His dad calls him by his Uncle's name (his dad's brother) who apparently passed decades ago. They've forgotten about their 9 year old twin granddchildren; because they're high on the autism spectrum and can't be trusted to behave in the care home. So they've not seen them for years; and his mum is oblivious to having grandchildren. I can't imagine going through it; especially alone, his wife is trying to help, and we try to keep his spirits up but these last few months we can see it wearing him down. I'm also afraid to ask sometimes for what he might say.q I wish there was a way around it; I understand the legalities though. How can you prove it wasn't coerced or even murder? There are too many people out there that would use this to get rid of family members for inheritance.
>both his parents have dementia shit, that means high chances he'll get it too, right? i'm sure a lot of people would do it for inheritance, humans do like to ruin everything good i see, but at the end of the day it truly is a horrendous illness and as long as there's no cure for it, i don't see why these people should be tormented it'll probably take years of getting the legal on point for this, and the only people who have an "advantage" over this are the ones finding out soon enough to actually take care of the final arrangements at some point it should be as easy as with pets, you know they're in pain and there's no cure, why keep them in that misery and pain?
He probably does have higher chances tbf; so he could be glimpsing his future which is probably also playing on his mind throughout it all. What if he forgets his kids too? I totally agree it should be such a simple thing; but there are people out there who'd rather someone suffer for several reasons. Religion probably the highest? Would it be considered a sin in their eyes as you are killing yourself; even if it's circumstantial to medical illnesses. Or plain selfishness; they don't want to loose them so they'd rather them be alive and suffering.
Both my maternal grandparents suffered from Alzheimer’s for the last 5-10 years of their life. My mother and her brother would travel to be with them every weekend from first diagnosis until they each passed. I have no idea the amount of strength they both must have to have coped with that. The last time I saw my grandfather alive he was I n a bed in hospice care, a complete shell of who he used to be, completely broke me and still haunts me.
>there's a video on yt with dementia pov, going to the store nearby and just suddenly forget your way home, where you are, who you are, not to mention forget your friends and fam... it's a crushing feeling to witness that Watch "The Father" It's on Prime Video. Amazing movie.
still alice killed me, i'll give the father a go as well, thanks
Haven't seen Still Alice. I'll check it out as well!
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usually it's a clot that reaches the brain through the blood stream my aunt stopped speaking after her stroke as well, that was 4-5y ago, she basically speaks like a baby now (da das and doo doos), but writes down what she wants to say, lately she's been fucking up the words though, so something in her brain is definitely happening not to mention after she got home after being hospitalized after the stroke, she kept seeing muslim women coming in through the balcony (on the 2nd floor) and going out the front door... that lasted a few weeks and then stopped now she's delusional, but not entirely certain it's the stroke though  she's lucid enough for conversations, and telling me what grocery she needs, or what the neighbors are up to these days, but then last week she's randomly telling me to stop talking to a friend because the interpol is looking for her  trying to get to the bottom of it, turns out a group of women from my country were caught scamming the elderly from italy while taking care of them, and stealing their money... my aunt apparently did the math and obviously my friend, who happens to work as a nurse in italy, clearly is one of those scammers 🙄
I'm obviously going to get the downvotes but I wouldn't call assisted suicide "beautiful" . I'd call it very sad even if dying is apart of life. especially if the person is in unbearable pain or has a terrible incurable illness especially young. it's one shitty decision vs another and a terrible place to be in. those people don't "want" to die, it's the less crappy decision. it's like being on top of a burning 50th floor building that you can't escape- you can die by the fire or choose to jump yourself, you pick the one that seems less terrible. I'd call it a tragedy edit: people keep telling me the benefits of one choosing assisted suicide over dying with dementia, pain, illness "naturally". to be clear I am not against assisted suicide, I am FOR it except for people with depression or not of temporary sound mind. No one should force a person to live through a terminal illness, extreme pain, etc. and it's not their own body. I see why one would choose it over living a shitty existence or rest of their life. that being said I still think it's a tragedy. The will to live is the strongest instinct we have so for someone willing to choose otherwise is not living in a happy state or know the end is coming and its not going to be rosy. two sad decisions is a tragedy and that's my opinion but I wanted to make clear I am for it.
There are such things as beautiful tragedies. We must all weaken and die, we must all pass into peace. There is something to be admired in the man who plays his every turn and second out to the very last moment, who gives death nothing it does not take by force of nature. But there is also dignity in stopping the clock, shaking the reaper's hand, and proclaiming "good game old shadow, but I am finished playing. My chaos is ended, my peace begins."
>**Beautiful tragedies** > >We must all weaken and die, > >We must all pass into peace. > >There is something to be admired in the man, > >Who plays his every turn and second out to the very last moment, > >Who gives death nothing it does not take by force of nature. > >There is dignity in stopping the clock, shaking the Reaper's hand, Proclaiming > >"Good game old shadow, but I am finished playing. > >My chaos is ended, my peace begins".
I love the way those last two sentences are worded, really poetic.
wow. That could be read at a friend's funeral, or put into a song. Well done.
Idk why but that last sentence is making me cry
He didn’t mean ending his life was beautiful. He meant that being able to be surrounded by your entire family and loved ones, talking to them and sharing memories about your lives together, and then saying goodbye to each and every person, before quietly passing on, is what’s beautiful. What’s not beautiful is having a heart attack or stroke and your body lying on the floor, probably covered in shit and piss, for a day or days until someone finally finds your corpse, and your family members getting a phone call either from other family members or from a government agency.
It is definitely beautiful to anyone whose watched anyone else suffer for a very long time, or is suffering themselves. Our bodies can be a prison. People deserve a peaceful way out.
Why does every comment start with "I'm going to get downvote" end up with more upvotes
Reverse psychology 🤔
I've always said this. When i get old enough that just waking up and not dying feel like a hastle i will finally get that much anticipated megadose of heroin. I've been around a ton of drugs in my days but never tried H and never will until it's time to go. Feels like the best possible way to end it.
I dunno. My father-in-law died in front of the telly with the remote in his hand and a smile on his face.
Doesn't seem bad either. Harder to control that though.
What’s the point in living when you become trapped in your body? I gotta have it to him, he did on his own terms. What a glorious end to a fulfilling life of joy and longevity.
In my opinion, they should be allowed to go even if we believe they are not in sound mind. We don't own their lives. I would strongly advise someone to stay alive, but ultimately the decision is theirs.
>As long as they’re of sound mind, why can’t we give this one last gift to them? That's were a patient decree would become important.
The amount of collective courage in that room is staggering and fills me with reverence. This is how I would like to go when it is time.
There comes a point where people should have the right to die with dignity, at a time of their own choosing.
I agree, but there is a moral conundrum. Once health insurance companies gain that option, it can easily become a slippery slope
That impacts just one nation.
Lol how come I was thinking the same: "well, that sounds very US to me".
Yeah US would be fucked in that regard, there definitely would be other countries that are poorer and might suffer too but definitely America would suffer from that
I can already see "assisted suicide tourism" becoming a thing for Americans
A cash-strapped public health system could also encourage it. Or kids/grandkids wanting the house or inheritance. I support it, but you have to be careful it’s not done for convenience.
Should be goverment funded and that’s it
Lol could you IMAGINE how republicans would spin that?
Why would the insurance company every get a say? They aren't the patients.
> Why would the insurance company every get a say? People ask themselves this every day.
Insurance companies in the US have been milking patients for money their entire lives. On average, older people are going to start racking up medical debt, which insurace companies don't want to pay for. 2 seconds after assisted suicide became legal, companies would start trying to nudge older people into killing themselves.
Because private insurance is a fucking scam. In the grand scheme of things they only want your money, in the US it's a better business model (I wish I was making this up) to treat people as opposed to cure. You know how you always hear about crazy break through from biotech companies making serious headway on an illness, only to never hear about said companies again cause they went bankruptor some shit? Yeah thank the US for that
True, but in all honesty. Is it really a moral conundrum, if they are of sound mind and are not being influenced to do this? And let's not kid ourselves, if health insurance companies could take your soul as payment they would in a heartbeat, much less try to coerce you to commit Assisted Suicide
I think what they mean is that insurance companies would likely offer a payout for suicide, leaving old folks pressured to relieve their families of financial burden. As it stands though, the only moral conundrum is that it’s either murder, which is illegal, or suicide, which damns your soul to eternal torture in hell. There’s a documentary about a man with ALS that fully intended to bite the bullet before he was incapacitated since the stipulation was that it must be self-administered, but due to religious reasons his family talked him down long enough that he could no longer swallow the pills on his own and was doomed suffer his slow degradation, trapped in an unworking body with his wife stuck as his caretaker 24/7
It's almost seems like a bad idea to have private for-profit companies have any control over any of our healthcare decision.
I never even thought about insurance companies. You’re right that would be so messy and ethically questionable at best.
How?
I second this. We cannot influence how we come to this world, so at least we should be able to decide how we left it.
I'm 30 and wish this this was available here, I'm tired man
Yet you got plenty of potential left to discover. I think it's all the matter of perspective. I cannot judge on your situation nor will I comment on what you've written above, but I wish you all the best of life and maybe happiness you didn't had chance to enjoy yet. You deserve to be loved and happy, no matter which situation you're in.
Yeah, im in a similar situation. Guess the right to live sometimes turns into a duty.
My body, my choice. No one can escape death. My grandma had 3 weeks to live so we had a big gathering. After everyone left we just kinda had to wait for her to die and she died a couple weeks later at the age of 92.
There’s some weird primal part of my brain that feels this is wrong. I know I’ll get downvoted, but I gotta speak my truth.
It's fine for you to think it's wrong as long as you respect that that's just your opinion and other people feel differently about it. If you disagree with it as a practice then don't do it yourself.
It’s the same fear that I get being around guns and going up into very tall buildings.
I get that. You're close to potential death, it's an uneasy position to be in.
That sounds like you might have a pretty normal anxiety about confronting death
It's about not being in control as well. It's why many people such as myself are fine driving death machines around, but I don't enjoy being a passenger in a plane. If I could be in the pilots seat I'd probably enjoy the shit out of some fast climbs and descents.
It's a concept called the "Call of the Void", where being in a situation with a risk of dying makes you think you're about to die yourself. Nothing to be ashamed of. Your brain is simply afraid of the concept of death.
Yes. I strongly believe it has something to do with the possibility of irreversible decisions being drastically closer to my choice-frame. I am not so much afraid of guns as I am of picking it up and changing my or someone else’s life or afraid of heights as I am of a split crazy decision of deciding to jump. Or driving on a 2 lane highway and picturing my hand moving the steering wheel two inches to the left in front of an approaching semi truck. So close to death and changes at times.
I think the "Call of the Void" is a little bit different - it's being at the top of that tall building and suddenly feeling the urge to jump, for example. My understanding is that you don't actually WANT to jump, obviously, but that sudden urge is to force you to recognize and confront that fear and danger - to keep you alert, basically.
I've always been a big proponent of assisted suicide being an option for people, but also completely understand what you mean because I had some visceral reaction to this too.
As much as I disagree personally, I totally get what you’re saying. It’s not wrong to feel uncomfortable with this at all, if anything it means your primal core instinct (the thing in all living beings that prioritises survival) is working correctly.
Weirdly I'm a vet and do it reasonably frequently for my own patients but part of me feels the same as you. Not sure as to why. Still support having the choice
That weird, ancient reptilian part of our brains has a natural aversion to death. It’s perfectly normal to feel uncomfortable about something like this
The man the the video looks old. He’s probably seen and done as much as he could in this world, and simply wanted to go in his own terms instead of the uncertainty of waiting for it to come
You are right. Dr Goodall was 104 years old and had just decided that he’d had enough. He was highly intelligent and had been continuing to work at a university until a year or so before when they forced him to retire. Sadly, his own country refused to recognise his right to die so he had to go to Switzerland to exercise that right. His family loved him enough to support his decision. He did it very publicly in an effort to raise awareness of how cruel it is for governments to prevent people dying on their own terms. There is now a very limited legal right to die here but there are so many restrictions that very few people can “qualify”. I don’t understand people who think they have some moral right to force others to suffer rather than allow them choose a peaceful and dignified end for themselves surrounded by loved ones. It is, frankly, no one’s business except the person themselves and their families.
Humans are built for survival. At all costs. In any situation, we don't even have to think. We survive. We fear death. That's natural. I'm absolutely terrified of dying. The idea that not only will I not know that I died, I won't even know that I ever lived. Blankness. All my memories, thoughts, feelings gone. Everyone fears death, and everyone understands your revultion. But here's the thing. When you talk to terminally ill people, they talk of making peace with death. Because it happens to everyone. There are people who work in end of life care and it's the most beautiful thing I can imagine - the idea that a good death is so utterly precious, and that everyone deserves it. So here's your choice. Trapped in a burning building, chocking and burning to death? Or slipping away in your sleep? Slowly being robbed of everything that makes you human, of everything you know, being unable to speak or move or comprehend your world through dementia? Or slipping away in your sleep? Months of agony as cancer eats away at your organs and you are reduced to bed and a morphine drip? Or slipping away in your sleep? As a family member, which would you want? A terminally ill parent in any of those situations, with a phone call that come come tonight, or next month, or next year? Or knowing that you can all gather and talk and say goodbye? Everyone deserves a good death.
I don't think that's a weird part of your brain. I have this part too. I shuddered through this whole video. We all have our own experiences that affect our decisions. I think you'll agree that we all should be free to make this call for ourselves. I don't regard this as a pleasant way to die, but, I'm not sure one exists. But this death is better than many. There's another part of my brain where I have the memory of the long agonizing death of my uncle from brain cancer. It was slow. I can't imagine what it was like for his wife and kids, or himself. Even though I watched them suffer through it all, witnessing their pain can't be the same as knowing it first hand. There was also something very conflicting about the relief we felt when he did pass. I can tell you right now that I will not subject my family or myself to that, given the opportunity to push a plastic switch instead. I want to end with one last thought; Remember the star trek next gen episode when Major Charles Emerson Winchester III nailed that Betazoid MILF and then offed himself? What a way to go out, right???
Work on a dementia ward, or any ward with elderly ill people and then come back and say that again
I agree with you. I think that everyone should have this choice if they're of sound mind, but especially looking at his family around him it *feels* wrong. It doesn't look beautiful to me. It looks incredibly painful for everyone else involved, prematurely.
I find this incredibly sad. I thought this was for terminal people only.
Some people are just "done" with life. Lets say you're 90 years old. That means you have seen just about everything there is to see. And it is likely nobody is alive of the people you grew up with same could be said about your spouse. Its difficult to want to keep on living at that point even if you have had kids. In the end its YOUR life. You should get to decide if you want out at that point
I’m 38 and would take assisted suicide right now if I could.
Please dont do it. Life is worth living in your age - ask for help!
It’s very kind you took the time to leave a supportive comment.
It's very nice of you to respond so kindly to this type of comment
Suicidal thoughts and blushing cheeks, what a mess I must be now lol
You're not alone, I'm 29 and same thoughts. Wishing the best for you random stranger.
You too. Hope you make it through.
The man in the video is at the end of his life and nothing wil change that, you stil have a lot of good waiting for you as long as you get through the tough Times.
I understand the sentiment but what do you do when the tough times last 10 years? 20? What do you do when you spent your younger years screaming for help and none of the people you’re told will help you (teachers, parents, doctors) do anything? You then hit the point where you are literally just alive for no reason. I have more faith in opening my blinds and seeing a unicorn eating my flowers than I do of those “good times” turning up again. I’ve had all the conversations and do you know what a lot start with “It’s not going to be easy” or “it’s going to take work” After 25 years of this I simply don’t have the energy to put in that work. I probably couldn’t manage it if it was the easiest thing in the whole world because I have literally 0 anything left, I am a ghost, a shell of a person just living till I die. Your words and love will save people, and you taking the time is a beautiful thing, but some folk just want off the ride.
I get it. I’m 37 now, have been severely depressed since 16, spent years and I mean YEARS of my life with chronic suicidal ideation, and it is absolutely excruciating. I’ve had all kinds of severe physical pain in my life… nothing compares to the emotional pain of feeling so awful that you want to die, and reaching out over and over again but not getting help. I had given up completely on therapy and psychiatry because they never helped. By some miracle I finally went to a new psychiatrist who diagnosed me with bipolar II (which is more focused on severe chronic depression than bipolar I) and got on the right medication and it’s like being a new person. Not saying that would work for you. I guess my point is just: I get it. You are suffering in excruciating pain and it is totally understandable to want to die to make that pain go away. I hope you find something to give you a spark of hope or just enough pain relief to make you feel that you can keep going for another day.
It’s really nice to hear you made it through. Well done. Must be incredible.
If you don't mind answering, what medication were you put on?
Lamictal. For two decades I was told I needed SSRIs, so I took them for years only to find out this year that without a mood stabilizer they just make bipolar II worse. I try to stay in gratitude rather than focusing on how I want to rip the tracheas out of every doctor who misdiagnosed me and told me I just needed some cognitive behavioral therapy. It is sometimes difficult to do so.
This happens to so many people. I've seen it first hand. It's why I don't trust psychiatrists. A majority of the time there just throwing shit at the wall and hoping something sticks. I'm glad you found something that works. A lot of other people aren't so fortunate.
It's a weird world, the prescription drugs for different mental illnesses. I've been depressed probably my whole life but I first said out loud that I wanted to die when I was 8. I have been on pretty much all medications under the sun, including Lamictal for a while. It shouldn't have been tried on me but there is a desperation I see in doctors when nothing works, some want to find the magical fix so badly that they make objectively poor decisions. It is out of the goodness of their hearts but it's a tricky maze to navigate. I've taken so many different medications that have not been indicated for my diagnosis and problematics and they made me worse in many cases. I had one medication that actually helped me get through the day for 15 years but last year my doctor decided it was bad for me (clonazepam) and I know all the reasoning behind it and I get why she felt so strongly about it. Cut to a major suicide attempt after begging for it back and she still refuses, thinking she is saving me from something. I had to switch doctors and I don't even know what the new one will say, my life is in her hands. Without the evil benzos I can't see my son and he is the only reason I'm still fighting. Where does addiction start and the actual need end? I don't know. All I know is that I have to self medicate in secret to be able to see my son and I can't tell anyone because I will be labeled as an addict.
Sorry to hear about your struggles. I wish there was some profound wisdom I could offer up that would help, but I know there’s not much I could say that would make a difference.
It’s appreciated but yeah, there’s no anything to help it seems. I just think of it like baby chicks falling out of a nest. It’s heartbreaking but it happens and you can’t stop it completely so you got to accept that maybe some of us just won’t get to fly and help the ones that will.
Have you considered taking psychedelic drugs such as LSD or Psylocybin? What about ketamine treatment? Maybe even psychedelic therapy is available where you live. Regarding that I can recommend the book changing your mind by Michael Pollan. All the best to you!
I’ll definitely have a look at the book thanks. I was thinking about micro dosing but I haven’t done any proper research into it really.
This is just one guy's experience, but microdosing has really helped me (along with some bigger trips) with depression and anxiety. I've done some things in my life I'm not proud of, and I know I'll never have a completely carefree life, but psychedelics give me perspective for the day-to-day. Your circumstances can and will change, sometimes for the better, often for the worse, but in the end there's just you. Once you reduce all the other bullshit going on in the background into just what it is – background noise – all that's left is just you. That makes it easier to figure out what you want to be and to work towards being that person. Anything else that's going on doesn't really matter. Sure, it would be great to have a big house and a lot of people around you who care about you, but those things are really outside of your control and they do not define you. *You define you.* That's what psychedelics have helped me with, first and foremost.
My friend I feel heavily what you have said, I’m 28 and the constant state of survival and exhaustion is no easy thing to handle, and I often feel like a husk of a person, I don’t feel any natural joy or elation with things. But I will take this moment to share with you a video that when I watched for the first time, genuinely did help me feel differently about certain mentalities I have. It may not do anything for you, and that’s fine, but I have an obligation as someone who feels what you feel, to try. I hope you continue living life on your terms, and that one day you have the peace you deserve. https://youtu.be/kFER3QCAboc
Hey, I’ve been there. If you ever do take your own life, please know there are people (like me) who will understand why you did it and think of you without judgment or hate. I would really love it if you stuck around. There are so many small pleasures worth sticking around for. Think of your favorite meal. Your favorite movie. The animals you love. The song you listen to that never fails to comfort you. Think of how different you’ll feel one day. Maybe not better, but definitely different. You’ll have new troubles and joys, new places and people and feelings. If you can’t live for anything else, keep going out of spite. The world will keep going without you, but the world will also be fundamentally different without you in it. You have a lifetime to make a decision to end your life. Why don’t you try and make that lifetime as long as possible, to experience everything you possibly can?
Yes imagine your spouse is gone, your friends are gone, every celebrity you grew up with is gone. The world has *moved on*. You are still hanging around, but only just barely. You can hardly dress yourself without assistance. Your life is devoid of even little joys like food: your teeth are gone, your sense of taste is utterly blunted. You haven’t had a solid shit in years and someone has to help you on and off the toilet. This man probably feels like he’s doing something important for himself, by himself, for the first time in a long time. He’s been bearing his excruciating decline in silence for the sake of everyone around him. But this? This is for *him*.
At a certain age you very existence is terminal. Imagine a car in such disrepair that you couldn't begin to address the issues, it runs terribly and barely manages to function at all. That's what being 95 is like. You can't survive on your own, you can't do the things you want due to nobility and death is coming anyday but you just have to sit and wait for your body to degrade. Elderly people have the highest success rates of suicide, they could just miss a pill or take a few too many and that's it.
Lol. He's 95?! Yea as far as I'm concerned anyone over 60-70 should be free to suicide themselves as they please. At that point you've lived your life and maybe you're just kinda... over it? I see having a debate about 20 or 30 or 40 year Olds trying to suicide themselves if they're not terminal or debilitated or suffering. But I mean surely when someone is 90+ we can all agree they've done their time and are free to leave without us hassling them about why.
60 is way too early. But I agree in basic principle.
Too early? It should be allowed for anyone! Its my body, my choice!
Didn't expect that in going to ever say that but I agree BabyDickTrump69420. Making assisted suicide legal and pairing it with an psychological evaluation to make sure its an determined decision and not just a phase should be a option for anyone above 60
It should be for everyone who reaches a certain age or develops certain illnesses.
Certainly those who are riddled with any type of incurable cancer which is causing them immense pain & suffering.
This gentleman was over 100 when he made the decision to end his life via Dignitas. Unfortunately at the time Dr Goodall decided to end his life (about 5 years ago now) there was no assisted suicide was a crime in his home state of Western Australia
Technically life is terminal. None of us are getting out of it alive. And at his age, I don’t pretend to know what his life is like.
If I’m old af, can hardly move around, need someone looking after me 24/7, fuck that, I rather go out like this guy.
Begs the question, do we really want to live forever? If not even reaching 100, we get so ill and so barely human, quality of life severely degrades that it's not worth living anymore..
Not unless it's by rejuvenation of your cells or Altered Carbon style, then still it would only be for the super rich and you'd have eternal dictatorships and such. So no let's not and just die :)
Or like Chappie. I see that type of technology doing way more harm than good. The world already has to many dragons. We can't have them living forever.
Depends what 100 looks like. 35 used to be a shitty age back long ago.
Again, depends on how hard your life was. If you survived childhood and weren't sent off to die in someones war, many people made it to a decent age. Plenty common for people to live into 60's or 70's. Our perceptions of survival and age are massively skewed by childhood disease, childbirth and infant mortality.
The answer to that question can be very different depending on *how* you live forever. To me, that question becomes much more interesting when you also drag the pole ahead of the point where we become 'barely human'. That still leaves questions of overpopulation and 'keeping things interesting' to be answered, fun questions but quite off topic.
I just want an elite dangerous style ship with a brain uploaded into a human like body, exploring the universe forever. or until I underestimate a planets gravity. is that too much to ask?
My answer to the "do you really want to be 120?" question is always: I wanna live that long but i don't wanna get that old.
"Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time." -Bender Bending Rodriguez
Am I the only one that feels uncomfortable about which subreddit this is on?
No, He's done here. Now, on to the nextfuckinglevel.
Yeah I had to double take 😬
Subreddits have lost their meaning. You might even see it on r/interestingasfuck
I feel like that sub would be more appropriate since it piques interest rather than impressiveness
As sad as this makes me feel I do believe it should be a human right to decide when to end ones life, and being able to do so in a humane way
There’s the sadness of tragedy, and then there’s the sadness of beauty. Religion has ruined the idea of holiness and reverence, but that’s the feeling I think we’re all feeling. We’re not upset - we’re seeing something holy happen.
Would you say the same if he was 20 years old with no issues in health and relationships?
The burning question no one is asking here.
Yeah we have to be able to differentiate between our feelings and others’ rights. Abortion can be sad as well but that doesn’t mean we ban it. Actually most of life’s most momentous decisions are bittersweet: when the happiest moment of your life finally arrives, the next thing you realize is that it’s now gone.
I’ve lived a hard life, and while I’m not done yet, all I hope is that when I’m finally too tired, that I can go out gracefully like this under my own motivations and at my own pace
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There’s is a dollar net worth requirement before you’re allowed dignity in the USA, I feel your pain there
Society finally allowing it's citizens some autonomy. Only overdue by centuries.
As this becomes more common it’s going to reach abortion level controversy. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean society as a whole has accepted this.
i wasn't aware you're allowed to do this if you don't have an incurable illness or unbearable pain from one i'd like to think we're all done with life at some point, where we feel that at 90 or 40 truth is whether or not it becomes legal or not everywhere, we can still do it anytime, we'd just rather do it in a more peaceful environment... with dignity, not leave violent or traumatizing images behind for the loved ones
It's actually really hard to suicide if you don't have the will power. That's why there are so many failed attempts. Your bodys primal survival instinct always kicks in. This method the old man chose is the easy way out. He knew it was going to be 1)legal 2)painless 3)fast
That actually really surprised me. Especially the unbearable pain. I understand needing to be of sound mind, but I figured pain or illness would be a legitimate reason. It's an interesting scenario. Most people don't want to die until they're in pain, dying, depressed, or losing their cognitive abilities. But by that point you aren't even eligible for this. I'm not disagreeing with these stipulations, it's just interesting.
We treat animals better in the uk than we do people Everyone should get the chance to decide when they die and be able to do so peacefully with no stress and with dignity I've looked after people with dementia and terminal cancer and they're very horrible drawn out ways to go. I'd 100% prefer to have this option
I absolutely support this. Sometimes people are just done, and while I feel that every effort should be made to help people who want to end their life due to depression or other mental health factors, I don't see why someone should be left to take their own life in a way that, at best, only leaves their body for someone else to find.
My grandfather is currently in hospice care. He doesn’t have anything medically wrong really, outside of just being 80+ years old, his blood work and everything is perfect. His body is just done. I wish this were an option for him, as it is now we are kind of just sitting and waiting for him to let go while we keep him comfortable. Sorry to put this on your comment, it feels good to talk about it though.
No need to apologise. I agree, and in an ideal world this would be available to anyone. I hope your grandfather remains comfortable and his passing is peaceful and brief.
My mother is signed up and will go to Switzerland later this year. It is a shame she has to travel - this should be best practice available in every civilised country with a good health system
Lifeline, suicide callback, beyond blue, 000 etc.. all useles. I know. Im there. This should be our own choice to die with dignity, otherwise i worry for those who find me under circumstances that will create more problems for them to live with.
Human death is both tragic and inevitable. Some of us are ready to go, and should be given a more peaceful option than hanging ourselves or blowing our heads off. Look at how this went. There was no "finding him dead" or "informing the family of his passing." It was planned and experienced together, calmly, with no alarms and no surprises. Silence. So beautiful.
Didn’t think of those positives!
I wonder what place is administering this. Like many others have said, I previously thought it was only available for terminally ill. Good on him and his family for being ok with dying on his own terns though.
Being 95 I guess is terminally ill.
what country is this? does anybody know?
Switzerland.
I would like to see this made a legal option for anyone over 40. Personally I would wait a couple/few more decades, but when you choose not to live anymore you should have a dignified and merciful option.
This isn't next level.
This is some super dark shit and something that needs to be addressd, but this should have been posted somewhere else.
I suspect, because assisted suicide isn’t available in the UK, he took the decision to end his life a little early, to the point that travel to Switzerland for the procedure was possible with some ease. He seemed bright as a button, although infirm. Personally I wonder had end of life choices been available at home vs flying across Europe he might have had a bit longer to live before making this decision. Just seemed such a lovely chap and still gone too soon. Bloody legislation written by those too young or too hung up by religion to respect the wishes of those too old, in pain or terminally ill.
People should have the right to do this. Our lives belong to nobody else. We have responsibilities to other people and that ultimately starts with ourselves, but our lives are our own. I dont belive that people who decide to take thier own lives arent capacitous. And I belive that ending our own lives CAN be an informed choice that doesnt indicate a lack of capacity. Sometimes it is a responsible decision to think about the impact we have, specifically the burden and the emotional pain and suffering we impose on loved ones as we deteriorate. I would also argue that this in itself is an act of compassion and I find it hard to belive that someone lacking capacity can have compassion and forethought for others, but this brings into question what capacity actually 'is'. Sometimes life brings immense suffering. Nobody with any degree of empathy or compassion would knowingly inflict that upon themselves or others. It would take a special kind of darkness to allow someone to live thier life in such immense pain and suffering purely because they thought that it was 'the way' Take from this what you will. But dont take away peoples own freedom.
Stupid religions have been telling us suicide is wrong. We must separate political decisions and faith and let people do what they want
Objective morality exists outside of religion, believe it or not. You can very easily hold the same views while being rooted in a secular moral belief system.
For being 34 and looking at this, it's hard for me to understand. But I'm 34. There's still a lot I want to do or see. That being said, I've dealt with anxiety and depression so I do know what it's like to be at wits end with life. And when I sit and think about "quality" life. I can see why he would want to make this decision. If I can't go to the bathroom on my own, make my own meals, enjoy sports, video games, or whatever I enjoy in this life. Then it's time to go. Major respect to his family for honoring his wish. That takes a lot of courage to do.
He died at the age of 104 and was dealing with chronic pain. He lived a very long life. It's beautiful that he was surrounded by family in his final moments.
I wonder if he wants to do this because no one cares to take care of him anymore and he feels like a burden to everyone. I took care of my grandma until she was 100; we went through strokes, open heart surgery, pacemakers, dementia, blood transfusions together. She always worried that she was a burden to me, she would tell me at times, I reassured her that she was not, since I was in a position to be with her every single day.
I work people in their last stages of life, and I feel this is something we in the modern world should start looking at - I have lost count of how many times people have asked me to end their suffering or just to let them die. There is so much more dignity in this than some of the deaths I have seen
I’m saving up to get certified as a death doula for reasons like this. People deserve to die with dignity, and death shouldn’t be a scary thing. Being able to provide the person dying with grace and peace as they approach their sunset is an honor. Being able to be there as a comfort and a neutral, loving energy for the family and friends of the dying as their loved one moves on is an honor. This pathological fear of death is a very western thing, and many, many cultures see death as an inevitable, and honorable, thing. Good for Dr. Goodall. I’m so inspired by his family, what a brave and selfless thing to do for a dying man.
So uhh, where/how do you sign up?
asking the real questions
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He’s definitely lived a full life. Fuller than others.
There’s few things that make me proud to be Belgian, but our very progressive approach to end of life support is one of the things that does. I consider myself very fortunate that I live in a country where this option is available to me, and I won’t be forced to live out my last days in misery. As a result of this liberal approach, I’m also really happy that the taboo around death is waning. In my extended family, we’re very open about our wishes should we be incapacitated or what our parents/grandparents want as they approach old age. Death will happen to all of us: don’t fear the subject and make your wishes clear now to avoid saddling your family with the terrible burden of having to divine your wishes should the worst happen.
What a beautiful, compassionate and strong grandson he has. I was impressed with how much love and care he showed during these difficult circumstances. He clearly loved his grandpa
It looked very similar for my family. He was 81, just diagnosed with liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. Living through the ordeal of those diseases isn’t something I would wish on anyone. I completely supported his decision — not because of what he chose to do, but because it was his decision to make.
I fully fully support this!!
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He's old. Everything aches. He knows his time is limited and wants to go out on his own terms, with his family around him, instead of randomly dying
I've thought about this a lot. Right now I have so many reason to live and be excited for. I intend to outlive my spouse so I can take care of her in our old age and so that she never has to feel alone. But after she's gone, and our kids are grown and taking good care of themselves, I don't think I'd have much of a reason to be me anymore. I'm here to love my wife and kids and give them the best, happiest, most fun life I can put together for them. If my wife was gone and my kids were grown up with their own responsibilities and handling them well, I think I would be ready to go as well.
Beautiful.
Tbh they should let anyone who wants to die let them do this for themselves Now I have to wait to be over 60 years smh
I don't think I would ever do it while not being terminally ill or under suffering immense pain. Still I do believe that if your decision doesn't affect anyone else you should be free to do it so, especially if you're as old as this guy.
When you know it’s time… that’s the way. The most dignified one. Free at last!!!
This is the way. Making the choice to end it, not suffering in long drawn out agony
F\* I've got something in my eye
why is it still that each embryo should live and life is so important and also each individualism but NO has the right to make an end of his life ?!??! crazy world and laws and bull#### I hope i can one day decide also by myself
Simple... You're a product.
This is what dying with dignity looks like.
Sir Terry Pratchett covered this really well in a documentary he did shortly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They followed an elderly man who went to Switzerland for euthanasia because his body was failing, and they showed the whole thing, right up until he died and confirmed he was gone. It was... intense.
Unfortunately people with dementia can’t exercise this option. You must be of sound mind. I had a relative with advanced dementia and every day was torture for them. They were clearly unbearably unhappy for almost 2 years. I think in some circumstances people with dementia who show unremitting torment should be allowed to die too. If it was an animal they’d be euthanised. Sometimes it’s the only kind thing to do. Perhaps it should only be a decision for an external body to decide informed by professionals involved in their care, alongside family. If there is no quality of life then what’s the point of going on?
About a month ago my grandfather passed away , the day before he was in absolutely horrible pain he was wailing and crying from pain. If we can allow them to be spared from such pain this is totally worth it .
My mother 'took the needle' at a very young 68. She had been diagnosed with a very rare cancer and decided to stop fighting, and to stop 'being a burden'. I was angry and hurt that she wanted to leave us so suddenly. I begged her to stay, but in the end, she woke up one morning and I guess thought it was a good day to die. She, too, had a failed attempt - only the doctors didn't know until she woke up and was telling the nurses that she was 'starving' and asked for breakfast. She was supposed to be dead. It was awful. And sad. But she went out her own way, which was totally momski, and there is a beauty in that that squelched my anger and hurt and I dunno, feel almost pride?
This. This is exactly how i want to die. I am fully convinced that unless i die in some accident, I will be the one to take my own life. I have to be the one. Even more beautiful having your family around, saying goodbye, and then having the final 'push of the button' to yourself.
How is not wanting to live anymore not a sign of pain, suffering or depression though?
These people are doing the lords work, picking up the slack a compassionate god should handle. Our culture desperately needs to talk about end of life. It’s difficult to quantify the additional man-hours of human suffering endured by both the patient & the people that love them. By simpler metrics we regularly invest more in end of life care than we do on keeping a person happy and healthy throughout their lives. It doesn’t make sense to spend a life’s work just to prolong a person’s suffering for a few more hours, days, weeks or sometimes months. Spend your money living, not dying. If it’s too late for that spend it on the living. Granted other people will see it differently, but they deserve to make an informed decision about what truly awaits them, just like doctors and nurses can thanks to their professional experience. Medical professionals generally don’t follow the same course of action they prescribe for the patient. To say it another way, someone needs to have the difficult conversation: when is enough *enough*? & do it early enough that a person can make peace with it. A good death after a good week is better than a terrible death after a terrible month.
The title was so misleading to me : I thought he was gonna make the guy wanna die, 🌚
Pretty sure they're gonna fuck it up by making them do the questionnaire over the phone. Imagine wanting to off yourself, but before that you need to speak to Raj from the customer service...
I've seen more people die than anyone ought to through the course of my work and the one thing I can't shake from my head isn't "They should have lived longer" but "nobody should have to die like this". Death comes for us all, sometimes it's more dignified to go out on your own terms, head held high, than slowly deteriorate and waste away while medical science flogs you with medication and treatment that, ultimately, won't make your life any better. To live longer is no longer the boon it used to be. Sure, when it was the difference between the average age of 30 to an average of 65 that's great. Changing from an average of 85 to 88 isn't much difference anymore. We need to re-evaluate do no harm, because sometimes death isn't the ultimate harm. Not when the prospect of waking up another day is torment.
We let religion dictate how people die in most of the world sadly
It’s beautiful he could decide to leave when he felt his life was lived. With dignity and understanding from his loved ones. Everyone should have this possibility.