Assisted Suicide

I recently read an article on assisted suicide. The article of course focused on physical ailments; specifically on degenerative illnesses.  I wondered as I read this article, how this topic pertains to mental health. The article argues that those individuals suffering with painful physical illnesses that will result in death should have the legal right to end their own lives. I wonder how as a society we define pain and how we conceive of emotional pain. I am not advocating for assisted suicide for those struggling with mental illness, but this article did encourage me to explore how we as a society understand both pain and mental illness.