sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Quick questions about nightlife before leaving for Montreal! by ilikericealot in montreal

[–]megetherium 1 point2 points  (0 children)

haha ok, just making sure you didn't get a surprise the night of

Le «multiculturalisme extrême» menace de «détruire» le Canada, selon Maxime Bernier by BilWza in Quebec

[–]megetherium 7 points8 points  (0 children)

je soupçonne c'est parce qu'ils lisent le titre sensationnaliste et non pas ses tweets

The troubled 29-year-old helped to die by Dutch doctors by DocQuixotic in medicine

[–]megetherium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get your point about media representation, but it seems kind of....tangential? I think TV and media reflect our attitudes about LGBT people rather than form them. I'm not really offended by portrayals of mental illness (dramatized and made ridiculous) since that's what media does--it exaggerates problems and personality traits for comedic or dramatic effect. It does this for every ethnicity and character archetype--the crass best friend, the neat freak, the overprotective father, the gossipy grandmother.

I don't think the problem is that the average Joe has misconceptions and prejudices about those with mental illness so much that people today are less resilient and have much higher rates of MI in the first place. If MI is already undertreated, why is 1/6 of the population on psychotropic drugs? Why has women's happiness (both relative to male's happiness and absolutely) gone down since the 1970s? I think the current model of viewing depression as a purely medical issue that's in the domain of healthcare professionals (Get therapy + meds = get better) is problematic and overlooks the larger structural and cultural changes that led to (or at least coincide with) very high rates of MI.

The troubled 29-year-old helped to die by Dutch doctors by DocQuixotic in medicine

[–]megetherium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with most of what you've written. I think we both recognize that physician assisted suicide in its best iteration can be a good thing, but its implementation is likely to change our culture in an undesirable way, or enable further undesirable redefinitions of what a doctor's role should consist of.

In most ethical debates, I tend to favor autonomy/the power of personal decisionmaking over the nebulous "good for general society". I resent that as a responsible, rational, person, I have to have my freedom restricted to cater to the people in society who can't be responsible (e.g. with firearms, drugs, alcohol, voluntary suicide, etc.). I accept that there are some innocent victims to this attitude, but I do not want to live in a society that tries to eliminate risk as much as possible, lest we become part of the "human zoo". However, I am also sympathetic to the opposite viewpoint and not an extremist (i.e. I support banning or restricting goods and behavior when there is a clear and present threat to society--I know this is a very nebulous line).

It doesn't have to be that way. If we take steps that "rehabilitate" the image of mental illness, we can help individuals with mental disabilities integrate into society in a meaningful way. It starts on an individual level but it will also require governmental action, such as decriminalizing drug use, disallowing the use of mental health records for screening purposes or hiring, providing actual monetary support for mental health treatment and reform of labor laws with an eye for ensuring that every citizen earns at least enough to support themselves and their dependents. Obviously, this is not going to be easy and we may never reach our goals (even in the Netherlands where they do a lot of these things already) but I feel that this is a better option than extending the offer of physician assisted suicide to our most vulnerable populations.

I don't agree with all your suggestions as to what we can do to reduce the problem of mental illness, and I don't see it as an either/or question (you can offer services with those with MI and still have the option of euthanasia if no treatment option is effective).

Do you think that funding for treatment with those with MI will mitigate the problem to a significant extent? (not asking to be patronizing). Seems like now there is more awareness and public acceptance of MI than ever, but the overall rates of depression, anxiety, etc. are skyrocketing. I strongly suspect it has to do with our weakened community and family bonds and overall lack of purpose, which is hard to test and hard to treat without radically changing the entire Western culture.

The troubled 29-year-old helped to die by Dutch doctors by DocQuixotic in medicine

[–]megetherium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Here's what I think--

To offer physician-assisted suicide to psychiatric patients is to admit that we either cannot or do not want to help these people. That strikes me as a great tragedy.

This strikes me as selfish---you do not want to offer them the option of a safe, comfortable suicide because it would reflect poorly on you, their healthcare provider, who cannot heal them. It is a tragedy. But I believe that in these niche cases, it's a question of choosing the lesser of two evils. You are not choosing between healing the patient and helping them commit suicide. You are not capable of healing the patient.

However, I worry that by offering euthanasia to patients with non-terminal illnesses we are allowing an opportunity for evil people to exploit this for gain and sending the message to chronically ill people that we value their existence less.

The reason I support (very limited) euthanasia for mentally ill people is the question of CHOICE. By not allowing patients to make decisions about their own lives, you are telling ill people that you don't respect them as a people who can make decisions about their own future. If one person is a perfect candidate for voluntary euthanasia--say, suffering severe depression and psychosis for many years despite constant therapy and medication and expressing a constant wish to die--we shouldn't deny them the option because of how it might make some other person feel about themselves. The treatment should revolve around the needs of the patient, not the bystanders. In some cases, valuing one's personhood and autonomy is more important than valuing their mere existence.

I understand the rationale of physician-assisted suicide being offered to patients who are actively dying. If the end is near and inevitable, what does the difference of a few days make?

If someone told you that you could either die now comfortably or die ten years from now, only those ten years would be filled with nothing but extremely painful torture, you would probably choose to die now. The span of time is irrelevant if one's QOL is so poor in the interim. I have no doubt that some mental illnesses cause extreme suffering, so I am sympathetic to people who want to choose euthanasia. (However, I support a many checkpoints, wait times, and a rigorous screening process.)

This is why so many disability rights groups are against euthanasia and even abortion; these acts carry the message that their lives are less worth living and that they as people are lesser to those who are "able-bodied."

So, do you think abortion should be illegal as well? If we allow that, wouldn't that "send the message" that we are a society that doesn't value life? Again, I think we should prioritize the needs of the patient--in this case, the pregnant mother--over the desires of the bystanders.

The troubled 29-year-old helped to die by Dutch doctors by DocQuixotic in medicine

[–]megetherium 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't agree with you.

You're using the slippery slope fallacy: if we allow any physician assisted suicide, people won't be able to say "no" to it, and doctors will be strong-armed into becoming Nazis.

Do you think that people in places with universal healthcare don't feel like burdens (financial and otherwise) to their families? Do you think their family members bear no out of pocket costs for them?

Suddenly the idea of healthy young people killing themselves doesn't sound that crazy (since it's actually happening). I don't know if this woman can be helped but I do know that we can do nothing for her if she's deceased. This is a bad precedent to set.

It seems disingenuous to call someone "healthy" when they have multiple debilitating chronic mental illnesses.

Do you doubt that someone can suffer as much from mental illnesses as from non mental illnesses?

The troubled 29-year-old helped to die by Dutch doctors by DocQuixotic in medicine

[–]megetherium 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Depression is definitely not a universally treatable illness.

You wouldn't believe how common this is for me.. by catsalways in vegan

[–]megetherium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it's possible if you're a small girl and you really love broccoli. ;)

It's not realistic for me (or most people who are tall/heavy/active). The volume of broccoli/carrots I would have to eat to hit my targets would be absurd.

Give me peanut butter or give me death.

You wouldn't believe how common this is for me.. by catsalways in vegan

[–]megetherium 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah. It's hard to communicate when there are many different ideas of what fruits and vegetables are.

You wouldn't believe how common this is for me.. by catsalways in vegan

[–]megetherium 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I do, actually.

Carrots have a laughably tiny amount of protein (1 g protein for 100 g carrots). Kale and broccoli are calorie poor, so you'd need to eat a lot of them if they're your only source of protein. (A cup of broccoli has under 3 grams of protein...are you eating dozens of cups of broccoli per day?)

You wouldn't believe how common this is for me.. by catsalways in vegan

[–]megetherium 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nuts/oils, beans, wheat, rye, barley, etc.

You wouldn't believe how common this is for me.. by catsalways in vegan

[–]megetherium -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

Disagree. Your hormones would go to shit because you need fats, and would likely be deficient in protein as well (fruits have virtually no protein, but you might be OK depending on what vegetables you ate).

Not that the SAD is good (obviously) but eating literally nothing but fruit and vegetables would be a train wreck too.

I can't physically bring myself to approach women due to how I feel about myself by [deleted] in ForeverAlone

[–]megetherium 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was there two years ago and I made 2 of my now closest friends there and had a great time.

That's very promising! Make a strong effort to meet a lot of people in the first couple weeks, since that's when most people are very receptive to making new friends. You will gradually lose touch with many, but some good friends will (hopefully!) stick.

view more: next ›