Mental Health - Widower Experience (WX)

Conversations about Medical Aid in Dying are never abstract. They touch deeply personal experiences of illness, loss, fear, and the fundamental human desire for dignity at the end of life. For many patients facing terminal illness, the question is not about choosing death, but about how much suffering must be endured when medicine can no longer offer healing. This article does not seek to promote or normalize assisted dying, but rather to provide a clear, factual overview of how Medical Aid in Dying is regulated in parts of the United States—within strict legal boundaries and under carefully defined conditions. Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) allows terminally ill, mentally competent, and decision-capable adults to self-administer a prescription medication—either by ingesting it orally or by self-administered infusion—in order to end their life with dignity and without further suffering. All existing MAID laws in the United States are based on the model of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act...

Today is Anne Frank's birthday. If she was alive, she would be turning 95 years old. Anne Frank, known for her diary in which she documents her experiences as a Jewish girl during the Holocaust, continues to have immense significance today. She is not only the personified memory of the approximately six million Jews who died under National Socialism, but she also serves as a teacher for the current and future generations. Even today, Anne Frank represents the voice of the innocents who were silenced by war and persecution. We associate her documented everyday life in hiding with the cruelty of the Holocaust, which mostly took place behind the scenes of public life. She lived like any other young girl, filled with dreams and hopes - a normality that was brutally crushed by the abhorrent ideologies and actions of the Nazis. Her story reminds us to stand against all forms of racism, anti-Semitism, and intolerance. Despite her tragic fate, Anne Frank also portrays an inspiring resilien...

Nothing is more significant than having compassion of another person. not a job, not money, not knowledge, and most definitely not prestige. If we want to live with dignity, we need to care for one another, listening to one another, and showing or better having understanding. I think it is important to respect people's freedom - even when they choose to terminate their lives. I do not want, so many people won't to die of a severe illness while extremely high on medications and unable to move or speak. My Experiences I have witnessed people dying this way - ending ones life by high on morphine, which does not imply a short passing of hours but rather days, weeks, or months in which the person is immobile and unable to speak. If you believe that some individuals do not suffer from this approach, you are mistaken. Medicine focuses mostly on treating medical conditions, less on psychological issues (as physicians most often only see these aspects and see at their only responsibilit...

Suicides, considering suicides or dying with dignity and medical assisted in dying cover everyone from young to old, rich to poor. It cuts across religions, cultures, genders, income levels, and geography. The bandwidth of people, situations, reasons, side-effects and and and ...  There are no real shared similar and for sure not unique patterns from when the suicide is thought of to the point it is attempted. For some people, suicide is an impulsive response to life challenges, such as losing a loved one, a job, a setback, or another substantial challenge. In a number of cases, suicide ideation and thoughts grow over time, especially for someone with a mental health disorder like anxiety or depression and as well people with a life of suffering and walked through hell (pain and / or mental suffering). The burden of these conditions and challenges of life may lead them into thinking of suicide or dying in dignity. Whatever the process that leads to end one's life is, the effec...

Societies that does not respect human rights - diversity, women's rights, equity, inclusion, and equality - obstructs and disables themself.  Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).  And especially today I think of the bravery and courage of women in situations such as those in Afghanistan and Iran, asserting and calling for their human rights in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity, continues to inspire us. In these countries and others, women in all their diversity continue to prove that the quest for the recognition of human rights is universal, untiring and unstoppable. The Human Rights Day is an occasion to celebrate and thank everyone who is fighting and doing their best for this right - and especially those girls, women and men who tirelessly advocate for human rights, and people of all genders who defend women’s rights, LGBTQ+ right...

There are many forces that divide us in the world: politics, religion, beliefs to name just a few. What unites us is the desire to live with dignity. But not all political systems and religious beliefs give or allow everyone the identical, same or similar opportunities - so many people on our planet fight to ensure that they and their loved ones can have a dignified life and, ultimately, self-determined living until a dignified end. Dignity is one of the most important things to the human spirit. At least that is my firm believe, even if some religious and political views see it differently. Everyone has the right to lead a dignified life and to realize and try to unfold their potential and to find their personal joy of life and happiness. Young, old, rich, poor - anywhere in the world we all have the right to be treated with dignity. We treat others with dignity whenever we help other, stand up for a friend or recognize the qualities and talents that make each of us special. When thin...

 My wife could die in dignity one and a half year ago. "This is my way, my will and my decision," my wife has mention over and over again over the past few days before she passed away on her own will. And she said as well: "I love life, I only wish I could live it, but I'm trapped with everything I have in my body - a body that I can't move anymore, a body that only others can touch, move, wash, ... - it's so degrading to me"  And one of her last sentences were: "See you on the other side." In the following video, Esther used almost the same words: “This is my story, my journey and my choice,” “I love life, I just wish I could live it.” "See you on the other side." In October 2020, two-thirds of New Zealanders voted in a referendum to enact the End of Life Choice Act. However, it will still take around 12 months for the law to come into force in November 2021. Euthanasia has been legal in New Zealand since and people can apply for it,...

My guiding principles: You can only choose to a limited extent when you die and also only to a limited extent how you die. But YOU can decide HOW you live. And that will tell you how you don't want to live. Life and love can be so wonderful. Joy and pain can be that close And something new can always happen and you think you're in heaven. But if life has no more good moments, no surprises no quality for one and hope is only hope for hopes, you should be able to define how you can spend and enjoy the last few days and go with as little pain and suffering as possible. Quality of life and dignity The quality of life and the dignity of an individual person is a complex, unique, but as well changeable and adaptable in the course of a lifetime and in cases of changes and illness. Dignity and quality of life, there are a number of definitions and considerations in various areas of society, in faiths, religions, in laws and also in philosophy, but no general definition. Quality of life...

Helen O'Shaughnessey shares her touching and insightful experiences, on the importance of "end of life choice," in this 13 minute TEDx Talk.  Helen O'Shaughnessey worked as nurse and midwife. She is a  I a humanist and she believe that the greatest human right and the greatest human freedom is to be able to live and die according to one's own beliefs and desires. I like how she put her thoughts together and what she has to share regarding her experience and thought of dying with dignity: The importance of choice at end of life ...

" Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened " a quote by Theodor Seuss Geisel (American children's author, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator, and filmmaker) All too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Have you ever tried to hold on to a happy memory and thought so tightly that it hurt or almost made you hurt? People try so hard throughout their lives to hold on to memories of a happier time, almost to the point that that memory becomes a weight on their shoulders.  Every time we go back to that memory, the feelings of happiness and joy come back, if only for a moment, and then they go away, because life isn’t stuck in time. But of course this isn’t exactly the easiest thing to understand, so people get sad - and yes, they probably shed a tear or two… or three, or a hundred. It's OK and ...

As designer I am watching TED talks quite often and regularly - most often about design, creativity and everything which comes into play with it - but as well psychology. I have no idea why I missed this talk for so long. Today I listen to the TED talk of Beth Malone - and I love with how much love and feelings she honestly talked about her father, the situation and ways to deal with it. How my dad's dementia changed my idea of death (and life) - TED talk by Beth Malone With warmth and grace, Beth Malone tells the deeply personal story of her dad's struggle with frontotemporal lobe dementia, and how it changed how she thinks about death (and life). A moving talk about a daughter's love -- and of letting go and finding peace. I am standing in awe of Beth Malone - and everyone who shares honestly their thought - And I appreciate and I am grateful to everyone who is keeping and supporting these kind of open talks - talking about living and in worst case find your own ways ...

In many countries, there is a divisive public controversy over the moral, ethical, and legal issues of death with dignity. On the one hand, some people view 'death with dignity' as taking a life – murder – even though the person being “murdered” has little or no quality of life, they know this quality of life will get poorer, and they want to die with dignity, while they are still of a sane mind. Other people say that this sick and dying person has the right to choose to die with dignity, and that everyone has the self-determination, autonomy and dignity help-to-live and right-to-die - and that this freedom is a basic human right. First of all I want to stress that we must do anything and everything what we can do in order to improve others life, but we must not leave people alone - people who are in chronic pain, suffer pain, loosing abilities, loosing sovereignty and autonomy of their life. Yes, Our attention must be focused on life, and our efforts must be toward improving ...

Death is a natural - it is part of life - from my point of view a transition to a world beyond. Our medicine has developed very wide range of methods and options to keep people alive. But sometimes people are kept alive, where you can ask yourself, is that still a life? Therefore, everyone should draw up or ask someone else to put this will into a legally recognized /  accepted paper -  patient's provision, personal directive or advance health care directive and ideally additional documents - at an early stage. Everyone can and should decide for themselves what a dignified life is. You can and will find a huge number of templates - but none should simply be adopted - it's your life, your dignity, your way of living and as well not living anymore. But - without knowing every template - they will give you room for thoughts - your thoughts. So please, go through point by point. And Yes - I know it will be quite complex decisions to be made.  What about permanent bedridden?...

Assistance in Dying with Dignity There are different forms of assistance in dying. Passive euthanasia - Allowing to die by forgoing life-prolonging medical treatment or high-dose, life-shortening pain treatment, such as morphine (indirect euthanasia), are forms of euthanasia that a patient can make binding in a good living will.  Active euthanasia - Killing on demand, in which a doctor injects a lethal substance into the patient at his request is prohibited in Germany and in Switzerland.  Assisted suicide or suicide assistance (by physicians or others) with a self-determined end of life - is expressly permitted – and even declared a fundamental right by the Federal Constitutional Court. In contrast with the different forms of “euthanasia”, the decision-making process remains with the person (as outlined below) who wishes to end their own life. The patient decides on the end of their life and intentionally brings about his/her own death. In Germany and a few other countries, th...

Telling family, relatives and friends that one would like to die is not easy. And it is one of the most challenging, saddest and therefore most stressful tasks that you can imagine - but writing a letter to your partner, family and friends is helpful for really everyone - as it is the path to awareness and self-awareness. When it comes to dying - everyone wishes it would never happened to them.  My wife 'wrote' such an letter and explained why she want to die, want to die with dignity. As she was not anymore able to type it on her own - she did it together with her best girl friend - and they met exactly ten times to note it down - then her girl friend copied the letter out fair. The final version was 4 pages long. The first person (beside of myself) who read it was her mother. And really everyone was happy to hear, to read my wife's own words, her thoughts why she loved to live and what she loved - and to understand why her life is no life anymore - just existing - loosing...

When and why a person perceives their life as bearable or even successful, or when and why one would rather want to be dead, cannot generally defined or is  generally applicable or universally valid and true for each and everyone - the answer is unique - and that makes it complicate - but anyway decisions about dead or alive are and should be never easy. There are people, who have already killed themselves - who in the opinion of most other people, did not have the slightest reason for it - while on the other hand many seriously ill and severely disabled people fight tenaciously for their lives or for a better quality of life.  Obviously, whether a life is worth living depends not only on external, universal, or objective factors - not only I am a firm believer and fighter for individual attitudes, behavior and thinking how someone want to live their life but as well when they want to end it / pull the ripcord. Anyone whoever thought about themself, about their life, all ...

During my years as EMT paramedic, as medical orderly and even more since my wife fell ill, during the decade my wife and often talked about the question "what is 'life' "- and what defines life - what enriches one's own life. And when does twilight embrace the individual - where does the night begin? "To where does my life extend, and where does the night begin?" This is a line of a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke: "The Lover" / "Die Liebende" -  You will find the English and German poem at the end of this article How does the individual define this 'night' and to what extent each individual wants and can prepare himself internally and externally for it?! And it goes on - to which extent can and should dying be part of a self-determined life and whether the individual person takes  a assisted dying, assisted suicide regarding a self-determination dying into account is and should be up to the individual person. When making decision...

While I am getting older, I become more aware of the rarity of opportunities, the opportunity to enjoy, admire the uniqueness and exquisiteness of beauty, and to see the beauty among rubble / in the midst of the 'noise of everyday life'. With each advancing decade, nature’s beauty and the magnificence of life increasingly amazes me.  Maturation allows us to enjoy and appreciate the spring of life and the youth and to inventory the knowledge garnered from rainy and showery, from hot and dry summer times, and also great and joyful times reflecting upon adulthood’s long pull.  Ageing allows us to free ourselves from the strife and as well attempt, aspiration, and ambition of our younger self - but this is not to say that it is over when you are older. Thoughtfulness, reflectiveness and also respectful and appreciative self-doubt, self criticism nurtures the cherished milk of wisdom.  Every day is a good day - a good time to embrace learning at all stages of life.  Life ...