What a tragic story. I hope she and her family are at peace.
There are not a lot of things that make me proud to be Belgian, but our progressive stance on euthanasia is one of them. If we believe that human life is sacred and special, part of that should be accepting that people who are suffering should be able to end their life with peace and dignity.
Dat ze mag rusten in vrede. Veel sterkte aan de nabestaanden. Extremisme verwoest.
And then these terrorists throw a tantrum over glass boxes.
I knew the girl in question. The problem with over-medicating is very real. I know that she had a strong support network, but evidently it wasn’t enough. Knowing that, we can only guess what it must have felt like to her.
I do wish psychological care was more sophisticated and advanced. It doesn’t offer much besides activities to keep you busy, occasional one-on-ones with a therapist and lots of medication. And just hope things improve on their own. It very much feels like the whole system is still stuck in what they were doing many decades ago. The harmful methods have mostly been replaced, but on the other end, little has evolved or improved. That mindset of “take them out of society” that formed the original foundation of psychological care is still very present. I’m sure that for some people it’s necessary and/or beneficial, but my guess is that for many it invites getting stuck in negative thoughts when you have all the time in the world to think.
I’m a person with life long suicidal idiation. I first considered killing myself when I was 8. I’m 52 now- I never had the courage to go trough with it.
This story leaves me deeply uncomfortable. If I had known about this way out in the darkest hours of my life, I would have gladly accepted it.
Instead I found that killing oneself is damn hard. Self preservation is a powerful instinct, and also it is impossible to kill oneself without victimizing someone else.
I know nothing about this person, and what she suffered trough. But I know I’m still here and I still have all of my problems (which I now know are caused by a very late diagnosis of autism). I have good and bad days, the good days make it worth it. If I had been offered the same clean, legal, morally acceptable option this young woman was offered, I would not have these days.
I fully support the right to choose one’s way out when suffering is great and the outcome is hopeless. But euthenasia on the basis or mental suffering, I have a really hard time accepting that. Because mental suffering is not fatal in itself, even if it can cause an early death by self destructive behaviour. And I have very serious problems, but I have learned to manage them better with age. And I can only speak for myself, but I still feel, that many people metal illness can be helped and supported in other ways, and that people with mental illness are worth saving. It’s just that we live in a society that does not value us.
I was in the same psychiatric hospital as her, i only came a week or two after her discharge. My best friend was good friends with her, she went to say goodbye a month prior to her death.
I’ve seen her trying and trying and no therapy or medication made any drastic change.
7 comments
Read about it yesterday. Very sad story.
[Edit: the family reacted through their lawyer](https://www.dhnet.be/medias/television/2022/10/06/un-reportage-sur-une-victime-des-attentats-de-2016-ayant-ete-euthanasiee-choque-sa-famille-6NPJPMZT4BB3DGUPVELBYUSR4Y/). They say that the RTBF didn’t contact them before making their report, and that it contains “several fundamental errors” (they don’t specify which ones)
What a tragic story. I hope she and her family are at peace.
There are not a lot of things that make me proud to be Belgian, but our progressive stance on euthanasia is one of them. If we believe that human life is sacred and special, part of that should be accepting that people who are suffering should be able to end their life with peace and dignity.
Dat ze mag rusten in vrede. Veel sterkte aan de nabestaanden. Extremisme verwoest.
And then these terrorists throw a tantrum over glass boxes.
I knew the girl in question. The problem with over-medicating is very real. I know that she had a strong support network, but evidently it wasn’t enough. Knowing that, we can only guess what it must have felt like to her.
I do wish psychological care was more sophisticated and advanced. It doesn’t offer much besides activities to keep you busy, occasional one-on-ones with a therapist and lots of medication. And just hope things improve on their own. It very much feels like the whole system is still stuck in what they were doing many decades ago. The harmful methods have mostly been replaced, but on the other end, little has evolved or improved. That mindset of “take them out of society” that formed the original foundation of psychological care is still very present. I’m sure that for some people it’s necessary and/or beneficial, but my guess is that for many it invites getting stuck in negative thoughts when you have all the time in the world to think.
I’m a person with life long suicidal idiation. I first considered killing myself when I was 8. I’m 52 now- I never had the courage to go trough with it.
This story leaves me deeply uncomfortable. If I had known about this way out in the darkest hours of my life, I would have gladly accepted it.
Instead I found that killing oneself is damn hard. Self preservation is a powerful instinct, and also it is impossible to kill oneself without victimizing someone else.
I know nothing about this person, and what she suffered trough. But I know I’m still here and I still have all of my problems (which I now know are caused by a very late diagnosis of autism). I have good and bad days, the good days make it worth it. If I had been offered the same clean, legal, morally acceptable option this young woman was offered, I would not have these days.
I fully support the right to choose one’s way out when suffering is great and the outcome is hopeless. But euthenasia on the basis or mental suffering, I have a really hard time accepting that. Because mental suffering is not fatal in itself, even if it can cause an early death by self destructive behaviour. And I have very serious problems, but I have learned to manage them better with age. And I can only speak for myself, but I still feel, that many people metal illness can be helped and supported in other ways, and that people with mental illness are worth saving. It’s just that we live in a society that does not value us.
I was in the same psychiatric hospital as her, i only came a week or two after her discharge. My best friend was good friends with her, she went to say goodbye a month prior to her death.
I’ve seen her trying and trying and no therapy or medication made any drastic change.
I hope she rests in peace now.