The importance of discussing taboo subjects

I submitted the following article to the Your Thurrock website a couple of times in recent weeks but it hasn’t been posted so I thought I’d post it here.

When I was interviewed for the Grays Lives Project I was taken aback when Mr Casey said that he’d had complaints about my article on the euthanasia and assisted suicide debate.  It was the first I’d heard about any complaints despite the fact that it was posted on June 27, 2011.  Questions jumped into my head like ‘did the people who complained about the article actually read it’ and ‘don’t they think that important issues like that should be discussed’.

I came to the only conclusion that a sensible person could come to – the people who complained about the article really should get over themselves and stop being such snowflakes.

You probably think that I’m being unnecessarily harsh but the truth is that, despite the uncomfortable nature of euthanasia and assisted suicide, it is merely one of many subjects that are considered taboo and we shouldn’t as a responsible society ignore such subjects.

In relation to euthanasia, we already accept it happening in hospitals when people who would not have a good quality of life but would otherwise stay alive have their nutrients taken away by medical staff so that they may die.  The patients in such situations are usually not in a position to give their consent so are actually victims of involuntary euthanasia.  Another example of involuntary euthanasia are the elderly patients who are put on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) by doctors without their knowledge or consent.  The LCP is meant to be for terminally ill patients but one elderly gentleman was put on the LCP by a doctor after being admitted to hospital with a chest infection.  After it had been discovered, another doctor actually treated the patient and he went home all cured.  He would have been dead had the first doctor been left to consign the gentleman to the LCP and it would have been a case of involuntary euthanasia.

I won’t dwell on euthanasia but I feel that it’s important for the current discussion a brief recap of what society accepts without question and, more importantly, without discussion.

If we don’t discuss taboo subjects in a constructive way then truly terrible things can happen and society is complicit in every act, in every persecution, in every case of wilful ignorance.

Let us not forget that the #MeToo revolution that is taking place came after discussion was finally started over the sexual misconduct towards women in the film industry which was considered a taboo subject.  It then blossomed into a larger discussion about how women are treated in the workplace and elsewhere.  Where would the #MeToo revolution be if the topic had remained in the realm of the taboo?

If it wasn’t for the veil of secrecy in the corridors of the BBC and the consigning to the realm of taboo the subject of the actions of Jimmy Saville and others, it would be quite possibly still be happening now.  We need to discuss subjects like paedophilia so that we can come up with a proper response in prevention, treatment and punishment but that won’t happen if people take offense at the mere mention of the subject.

There are also the subjects like mental health and addiction that need to be openly and honestly discussed because of the amount of misinformation and ignorance about the subject.  Mental health is being discussed but the discussion is mostly led by celebrities who have access to better resources and treatments which gives the general public a very skewed picture of mental illness, leading to some very nasty comments about more disabled sufferers by ill-informed people.

Addiction is also seen in a rather one-sided way in the general population.  It is seen as a weakness, a physical dependence on whatever substance or activity triggers a particular individual but it also has a psychological aspect that many overlook.  Some people believe that, for instance, drug use and addiction causes mental health issues and that is true in some cases but people who take drugs or alcohol can actually be suffering from undiagnosed mental ill-health and are using such substances to self-medicate.

The areas of addiction and mental health intermingle but it’s not always easy to say which one came first.  Either one can be the cause or the effect and, until we have a full and frank discussion of these taboo subjects, mistakes will be made and the crime that can sometimes accompany addiction issues will continue to rise and the correct treatment will remain out of reach for those who need it.

There are many other subjects that are vaguely taboo but I will keep to a single subject that has been in the news lately – religion.  Some parents have apparently taken their children out of lessons involving the subject of Islam which shows a small-mindedness that stifles debate and merely stokes distrust and hatred between Christians and Muslims.  We really need to open up discussion of all the world’s religions so that everyone has a basic understanding of other religious belief systems which could lessen tensions between competing religions.  No one would be forced to read the complete holy books or teachings of the religions they don’t follow but learning the similarities between the different belief systems might be a good step towards acceptance.  Finding common ground might go some way to bringing peace in religious conflicts and, if people have a reasonable knowledge of the different religious beliefs, it might stop extremists from using perverted versions of religions to justify violence because potential followers will know the truth.

As a society we need to break down the taboos that stop us discussing important issues and getting real information and real options on those subjects we currently keep hidden.  We owe it to ourselves and future generations.

You can view the Grays Lives Project interview referred to in the article at http://www.yourthurrock.com/2018/12/23/grays-lives-project-myles-cook-depression-im-one-lucky-ones/

Some Christmas thoughts

Here’s a blog I submitted to Your Thurrock today.  I’m posting it here in case it isn’t posted on that site.

There is a fallacy that the suicide rate spikes at Christmastime but the truth is that a rise in suicides is a springtime phenomenon.  The reason for the Christmas fallacy is due to the fact that suicides around the Christmas and New Year period have always been deemed more newsworthy as they seem to jar with the notion of it being a time of joy and happiness.  How can a person possibly commit such a desperate act during a time when the milk of human kindness is supposed to overflow and everyone is supposed to be happy to be alive?

People, however, are less likely to take their own life at Christmas because many of them are surrounded by friends and family which gives them the emotional anchor to life that is needed to prevent such tragic acts.  This support mechanism may not be as readily available during the rest of the year and so Christmas becomes the shining beacon for the suicidal individual, a rock to cling on to when the long nights seem to call to their darkest fears and insecurities.

The problem with Christmas is that not everyone has the social network to provide the necessary emotional support.  People with mental health issues tend to be ostracised by society and become isolated from any kind of attachments.  They sit in their homes watching the people outside being happy and joyful and sink into despair.  It’s at Christmas that the need for individuals from the community to reach out to the emotionally and psychologically vulnerable is most keenly felt and would be most appreciated if only they would do so.

However, it’s not just the mentally unwell who could do with such kindness at Christmas and who may suffer.  Loneliness in an otherwise mentally healthy person can lead to a Christmastime malaise similar to a low grade depression and they could certainly benefit from the kindness of neighbours to help raise their spirits if there were any community-minded enough to reach out.

There are other groups who suffer at Christmas – the homeless, the poor – whose lives beyond the festive period are equally dark for misery knows no calendar, desperation knows no end.  Christmastime just makes their misery more pronounced and harsh as their lives gain a heightened sense of failure compared to those more fortunate than themselves, especially when their predicament is not of their own making but merely the result of the punitive actions of Fate or whatever hateful entity runs the Universe to the detriment of the nice and the benefit of the detestable.

It’s at Christmastime that those who follow the Christian faith should do more than pay lip service to their Church’s teachings and show some charity and compassion to those suffering rather than turning their heads in judgement while distributing gifts amongst their social network.  It’s at this time of year when Christian values should be foremost in the thoughts of adherents and compassion for those less fortunate be at its height.

Despite the myth of a festive spike, suicides happen at Christmastime because society has become hardened and judgemental towards those less fortunate and they then become isolated and sink into despair.  Even if it seems impossible to carry the sense of compassion towards our fellow human beings beyond this special time of year, surely we can make the effort to be kind and generous of spirit for the festive period, give those desperate, unhappy people some sense of hope to get them over the rough spot that the silly season represents.

Even better, why can’t we throw caution to the wind and actually make a commitment to being nicer to each other throughout the entire year, more compassionate and less judgemental?  Wouldn’t it be nice to give the whole world the Christmas present of a better, kinder society?

It’s a lovely dream.  I wonder if anyone is willing enough to make it come true?