Recently, I listened to a call-in radio show featuring reactions to proposed amendments to assisted-dying legislation. An oft repeated view was that people should be able to decide when they’ve had enough suffering. While the focus was clearly on individuals diagnosed with terminal illness and in physical pain, one caller noted the unacknowledged ‘mental suffering’ which often accompanies severe illness. Mental suffering, related to illness or not, is often neglected or negated, and can elicit feelings of shame and self-blame. Buddhists believe in the ‘8 Sufferings’, four of which (birth, old age, sickness and death) cannot be avoided; the other four, getting what you don’t want, not getting what you want, getting what you want but not being able to hold on to it, and pervasive suffering, can be influenced by our state of mind. If you are experiencing mental suffering in any form, a Clinical Counsellor can help.

Sophia Sorensen, BBA, MA, RCC

www.sorensenproctor.com