L
Living sucks
Forced out of life before I wanted to leave
- Mar 27, 2020
- 3,143
Do you own stock in SN?One thing I would seek to clarify is Dr Nitschke's statement from the podcast that:
"In fact [SN is] a fairly happy hypoxia because of the fact that there's no accumulation of carbon dioxide...in this instant nitrite brings about a happy hypoxic death".
I think this has the risk of possibly being misinterpreted by both listeners there and members here. I will note that I am addressing this statement on face value and haven't listened to earlier podcasts where he says he has discussed 'happy hypoxia' previously.
Hypoxia from accumulation of carbon dioxide, such as that caused by suffocation, is distressing and 'unhappy' due to increasing carbon dioxide levels being what triggers our feelings of oxygen starvation and survival instinct.
Hypoxia from the methemoglobinemia caused by SN does not involve increasing carbon dioxide levels and so does not trigger any survival instinct. It is not distressing, and could be more accurately described as 'neutral'.
I think that describing the hypoxia from SN as 'happy' is potentially a little misleading, in that most people would equate a happy death as being from something that actually creates feelings of happiness or euphoria, such as opioids or cannabis. A death not involving either extreme of distress or euphoria would best be regarded as neutral, or perhaps even that contentious term 'peaceful'.
Note that this isn't just semantics. Especially on the forum, a minor misunderstanding of the intention behind a term can quickly spiral into cliques and arguments.
(this truly is a joke, which I don't joke ever)