The will to live for many sick and dying Australians hangs upon a state of mind that can be treated, a leading Australian psychologist says. Source: The Catholic Leader.
David Kissane, chair of Palliative Care Research at the University of Notre Dame Australia, is also a cancer researcher with almost 40 years of experience in oncology and palliative care.
Professor Kissane recently presented his groundbreaking research into demoralisation, a contagious, but highly treatable state of low morale, at an annual address to the Australian Catholic University’s Plunkett Centre for Ethics.
Demoralisation is a state of mind marked by low morale, a loss of meaning, and a distorted view of the future.
Professor Kissane said everyone felt low morale from time to time.
He said if your football team lost, your morale might fall. Demoralisation was an extreme version of this.
“Demoralisation is a form of low morale and poor coping that develops in the setting of a stressful event,” he said.
“It could be cancer, job loss, being a refugee, or even imprisonment.”
Across 25 years of research and clinical studies, Professor Kissane has established a link between demoralisation and the wish to die.
Through numerous studies, he has found patients who are demoralised reported higher levels of hopelessness, pointlessness, and isolation – which could lead to suicidal thoughts.
Between one quarter to a third of patients with serious illness suffer the burden and distress of this mental state, causing a number to want to give up prematurely on life.
“It’s important to understand that demoralisation is not a fixed state,” Professor Kissane said.
“It’s a mindset that can be helped significantly with proper support and care.
“However, when it’s ignored, it can lead individuals to give up on life prematurely.”
Professor Kissane’s research has shown that demoralisation is three times more likely to lead to suicidal ideation than clinical depression.
FULL STORY
Demoralisation can reduce anyone’s will to live, but it is nowhere to be seen in VAD legislation (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
