24-year-old Belgian woman approved for euthanasia for mental illness.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Elien Vervaet

Elien Vervaet, a 24-year-old woman from Lokeren Belgium, has made it known on her social media that she has been approved for euthanasia after living with severe depression.

Nieuwsblad in Belgium reported on July 9 that:

Elien Vervaet told her story in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad at the end of last month. In it she said that she has died out after a severe depression that has been depriving her of all energy for six years. The reason for her depression was the entrance exam of a drama course that turned out to be too ambitious. “A year later I played in a play by Theater Antigone. That's where I felt how much I would like to do that. But the realization that I could never do it as a job made me very unhappy. And that feeling has remained,” she said.

The 24-year-old Lokerse, who had also made a podcast about her own euthanasia, described how everything in life felt like a task for her and said she had tried all possible therapies. Three years ago she requested euthanasia for unbearable psychological suffering, and her file was recently approved by two psychiatrists and a doctor from Vonkel, a center for end-of-life questions in Ghent. “It was a relief that the doctor said yes. Since then I've been saying goodbye. For many people that is strange: I will never see them again. That remains a strange thought, but it doesn't scare me off," she said in her conversation with this newspaper.

Vervaet's depression began with a challenging entrance exam, which is not uncommon, but her depression has lasted for many years.

Recently Richmond BC resident Karim Jessa, a member of the Pathways Clubhouse, stated that he opposes euthanasia for mental illness because if euthanasia had been an option when he was struggling with mental illness, he wouldn't be here today.

Jessa stated that there is hope for people living with mental illness and when he got the right help for his mental illness, he no longer wanted to die.