You may or may not know what MAID stands for, but it’s Medical Assistance In Dying. Meaning instead of committing suicide you can petition the government to provide medical assistance in passing away. Examples of which include fatal diseases, where the prognosis is about as black as you can get.
The government has now made it clear that they won’t support a MAID application simply because of mental illness only. There must be a clause or loophole here, as Alzheimer’s and dementia are basically mental diseases. To my knowledge the government will still support those.
There are numerous health reasons though, where quality of life gets worse, and there is absolutely no chance for the situation to change. Basically you’re going to experience a painful death as one cancer, disease or disorder takes over your body. Then MAID is a good option.
Quebec leads the entire world as far as deaths by medical assistance, closing in on 8%. So of all deaths per year 8 out of 100 are due to someone opting out, making the decision to end their lives through suicide. Don’t quote me, but globally it’s just under 5%. That’s close to the actual percentage, but like I said don’t quote me. Who knows if the news program I was watching was accurate or not.
MAID saves a person from suffering terrible end of days. I’ve always told Mrs. K that this is the way I want to go in the event someone else has to intervene to get me through day to day. Who wants to end up being pushed around in a wheelchair your remaining days, not knowing one person from the next.
It could be called Suicide Done Right. MAID sounds like someone is cleaning your house, tidying up your life like there’s some chance for survival. That sounds too soft and cushy, the maids are coming.
I can’t decide if this is a good idea, eliminating MAID as an option for mental illness, or if it sucks. Not receiving any relief from the medical community and suffering relentless mental pain is still pain. I’ve tried nearly every anit-depressant going, my theory being my own treatment started way too late, my depression was already too deeply embedded.
Let’s face it, that’s all it is really, suicide done right. Instead of swallowing a handful of pills and lying in bed hoping it kills you, a doctor will administer the right dose to make certain it works. If you try it yourself there’s a chance you’re going to screw it up and lie in a comatose state, kept alive for 20 more years thanks to modern medicine.
Worse yet is losing your memory of all the beautiful things that happened in your life, and forgetting who people are, alive or dead . It doesn’t make any sense to live the last part of your life in terrible pain and suffering, with no chance of a cure or relief in sight. You’re only going to get worse..
Here’s the thing though, if you’re going to deny MAID for purely psychological disorders, then give us more help. In help I’m meaning have enough psychiatrists so there isn’t a 1 or 2 year wait to see someone.
Seems politicians don’t understand, or care, that having to wait that long to get professional help is criminal. Many of us suffering from chronic depression are in need of immediate help, but that’s what we have to do, wait.
Either that you work with your family physician and both try your best to find a plan that will help ease the torment. One drug after another. Psychotherapy, group sessions, you name it.
That’s what we’ve been doing, Dr. A and myself, following a roadmap of what drugs to try, in order. This was recommended by a psychiatrist I saw last summer of 2025. Two whole visits, then pass the buck back to your family physician.
“Start with this one for 2-3 months and if that doesn’t work move to plan B.”
I’m now on drug Number 4, Plan D as it were. We’ve switched to Rexulti in place of Abilify, less side effects I’m told. We’ll see.
The dose was just increased after 2 months, going from 1mg daily to 2mg. Double your pleasure, double your fun, no? ( I’m showing my age with the double mint twins.) The jury is still out on whether this will help or not, but the side effect of being constantly hungry has certainly showed up.
I hadn’t been taking any anti-depressants for the last 9 months, they don’t work. But I had gotten so far down over the summer I called Doctor A and simply said, “I need help.”
Why? Because I slid down into a deep hole and was exhausted trying to claw my way back up. Of course when it gets that bad my mind gets stuck on the solution, and when the suicidal ideations kick in it’s time to scream louder.
“I can end all this pain, but I’m not ready. Yet.”
But what about those that see no other course of action than taking their own life.
If the government wants to deny us this last step in finding peace, then commit the funds to get everyone more help in the way of immediate access to psychiatrists. And short term hospitalization. A hotline number just won’t cut it. As I said earlier, not to do so is criminal.