Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, an estimated 5% of adults suffer from depression.
According to the World Health Organization, more women are affected by depression than men. While mild, moderate, and severe depression can be treated effectively, the sad truth is, that depression can lead to suicide.
In a shocking turn of events, 28-year-old Zoraya ter Beek, a Dutch woman from a small village near the German border, has made the heartbreaking decision to end her life due to her ongoing battle with severe depression, autism, and borderline personality disorder.
Despite being physically healthy, Ter Beek has been struggling with her mental health for years, ultimately leading her to choose euthanasia as a way out.
Having once dreamed of becoming a psychiatrist, she has faced an uphill battle with her mental health issues. After countless treatments and therapies, her doctors have informed her that there is no hope for improvement.
Feeling trapped and hopeless, she bravely decided to end her suffering.
Despite being in a loving relationship with her 40-year-old boyfriend and living with two beloved cats, Ter Beek has reached a point where she can no longer bear the weight of her mental anguish.
In her own words, she said, “I was always very clear that if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this anymore,” reported “The Free Press”.
As her final act, she has decided to be euthanised on May 28, with plans to be cremated.
She shared that she did not want to burden her partner with tending to a grave, and instead, she sees her urn as her new home.
This decision, while difficult and sombre, is a reflection of the immense pain and suffering that individuals battling mental health issues may endure.
She is just one of the growing number of people in the West who have decided to die rather than continue living in pain that, unlike a terminal illness, could be treated.
More people are deciding to end their lives while suffering from a slew of other mental health problems like depression or anxiety amplified by economic uncertainty, climate change, social media and other issues, “The Free Press” reported.
Stef Groenewoud, a health care ethicist at Theological University Kampen, in the Netherlands, told the publication that they are seeing euthanasia as some kind of acceptable option brought to the table by physicians, by psychiatrists from a time when it was the ultimate last resort.
“I see the phenomenon, especially in people with psychiatric diseases, and especially young people with psychiatric disorders, where the health care professional seems to give up on them more easily than before,” she added.
A doctor will first give her a sedative, followed by a drug that will stop her heart. Her boyfriend will be at her side until the end.
“The doctor really takes her time. It is not that they walk in and say, ‘Lay down, please!’ Most of the time it is first a cup of coffee to settle the nerves and create a soft atmosphere,” she said.
“Then she asks if I am ready. I will take my place on the couch. She will once again ask if I am sure, and she will start up the procedure and wish me a good journey. Or, in my case, a nice nap, because I hate it if people say, ‘Safe journey.’ I’m not going anywhere.”
Ter Beek, who does not have much family, said her boyfriend will scatter her ashes in “a nice spot in the woods” that they have picked out.
“I’m a little afraid of dying because it’s the ultimate unknown,” she said.
“We don’t really know what’s next — or is there nothing? That’s the scary part.”
The Netherlands became the first country in the world to make assisted suicide legal in 2001. Since then, it’s become an increasingly popular option.
Despite the ban in South Africa, the reality is that it is different elsewhere, prompting individuals like Carol de Swardt to seek solace in countries with more lenient laws.
Carol de Swart, 63, from George in the Western Cape, died by assisted suicide earlier this year (January 31) after leaving her home to go to Switzerland after painfully suffering from skin cancer, which worsened after she lost her leg due to excessive radiation treatment
In 2022, there were 8 720 euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands — representing roughly 5% of all the country’s deaths and up from 4% from the year prior, according to Dutch media.