VERY sad as I reflect on this story about a girl in her 20s who was recently allowed to choose physician-assisted suicide for what the Dutch Euthanasia Commission deemed ‘incurable’ post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. This girl had been sexually abused as a child and had developed severe anorexia nervosa, depression, and PTSD.
Like the author in the post below, I am not judging the girl or her actions. I know the power of hopelessness and despair experienced over a long period of time. But also like the author in this post, I want to testify to the power of HOPE and the truth that nothing is impossible (until we believe it is so)….and there is the rub…holding onto faith…believing…hoping…in the face of ??
Faith, hope and love, Paul says, but the greatest of these is LOVE. I reckon that’s because it enables the other two.
I wonder if this girl had some loving connections in her world. I imagine she did and I say this with respect because I know that when we believe a lie so deeply (eg., that we are unlovable/ undeserving/ unworthy) it can make it almost impossible for the love and nurture around us to “get in”. This was my experience with anorexia. Mum and Dad loved me. I couldn’t receive their love – it ricocheted off me like it was hitting impenetrable mesh – because I’d bought into the ‘perfection’ lie so completely…a process the ED solution perpetuates and makes worse. It took repeated encounters with love, grace and truth (human and divine) to break the lie and recover my life.
So if this finds you feeling hopeless or despairing I pray you have people around you that can show you what love looks like – both human and divine – and that you could experience this love – and that you could again hope and believe…nothing is impossible.
You might like to check out my Podcast “Going deeper to fight the lies and despair’ (https://itunes.apple.com/…/illuminating-anore…/id1088765000…)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/i-could-have-been-that-gi_b…