Suicide in New Zealand
This country has second highest rate of youth suicide in the OECD and young, Maori men continue to be disproportionately represented in statistics.
This has to change. Would policies work? Is it our culture? Nearly twice as many people died from suicide last year than died in the national road toll. We need to start talking about why so many among us take their lives and what we can do to help them live.
Jo Booth Mon 11 Sep 2017 1:36PM
I saw with interest the recent National MP getting lambasted for daring to compare youth suicide with euthanasia. Interesting because I too see little difference between losing the will to carry on the struggle as a young person or loosing the will to fight another day of terminal illness. It seems to me to be the same issue. Thoughts?
ben cooney Mon 11 Sep 2017 1:42PM
I think its poles apart euthnasia is a tricky issue. But what it isnt and wont protect is someone with a mental illness life issues etc going "ok im going to kill my self and now that there is a law saying i csn die i will" " stardudst aka jacinda was quite clear on her position to which i agree. Euthnasia will be reserved for people with terminsl illnesses. Facilitated byvtwi doctors who will signsed death off... Suicide. Has its roots in many many areas. And is not comparable imo
Jo Booth Mon 11 Sep 2017 1:51PM
Either way results in one less human alive - by someone's hands - is there the suicide equivalent of palliative care? If a doctor could review a suicidal patient and agree they were justified in ending their life - would that make it any better?
ben cooney Mon 11 Sep 2017 9:06PM
I hear what you are saying. I dint think there will or. Or at least i hope there won't be a time that suicide is ok via paletive care. I think all though there are mega lapses and gaping holes in the mental hwsltg system that defiantly need to be fixed. There are also checks and balances for an individual who may be heading towards that end point.. With terminally ill people in hospise ib their last moments in life who are ib constant pain..they could gave the option if dignity.. Imagine your mum or dad in that scenario... Would u want to see them wasting away and suffering... Ugh its a tricky q
Colin England Mon 11 Sep 2017 10:14PM
Interesting because I too see little difference between losing the will to carry on the struggle as a young person or loosing the will to fight another day of terminal illness.
There's a huge difference.
- The young have a future - the elderly dying in pain don't.
- The young are generally healthy while the elderly is dying of old age.
- The young needs support to get over that which they see as an impassable object (It's psychological) while no amount of support will change the outcome for someone already dying of old age.
If a doctor could review a suicidal patient and agree they were justified in ending their life - would that make it any better?
That hasn't even been suggested. It's for people who are already dying and there's nothing that can be done for them.
Jo Booth Wed 13 Sep 2017 2:48PM
Yeah, I get that you wouldn't want to see a loved one suffer, but who am I to determine how much suffering a person can endure. For every person who has a limit, there's always someone who survived worse - so while euthanasia might be a solution, I don't like the idea of imposing my will over someone else, and for the self determination case (suicide) well we reckon we can talk people out of it... so same diff, right?
Jo Booth Wed 13 Sep 2017 2:42PM
I still don't see it. How can you find a solution to the youth case that isn't the same for the elderly case?
You might be facing a seemingly insurmountable obstacle (impending death / no reason to go on) but why can't we give the elderly support to get over the fact they're dying? If we can give it to the youth, how much more so would it work for someone who has seen all the life has thrown at them and given it one more day to date.
I'm assuming here that the elderly person is capable of making a decision.
Don't get me wrong here, as @suziedawson can attest, I tend to take a counter stance to explore the thinking, often to find a coherent rationale to to explain an idea to myself. I just don't get why we're killing off the old people. Aren't they already dying?
ben cooney · Fri 1 Sep 2017 11:49PM
It certainly is.... Its a sad sad inditement on our society... We have so many hidden presssures and issues to contend with from an early age.. As i raise my son i get reminded of them all over and over....