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Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive illness of the brain that causes extreme changes in mood and energy levels.
British-Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko. (Instagram/ Joseph Awuah-Darko)
British-Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko, 28, has chosen euthanasia over living with bipolar disorder. Joseph, who has documented his decades-long battle with mental health on social media, moved to the Netherlands to legally end his life due to the unbearable pain of living with bipolar disorder.
He is currently waiting for approval for euthanasia, which could take up to four years. In the meantime, Awuah-Darko has started “The Last Supper Project,” where he shares his story with strangers over dinner.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive illness of the brain that causes extreme changes in mood and energy levels.
In an emotional Instagram video posted in December, Joseph said, “I am bipolar and I moved to the Netherlands to legally end my life.” Sharing his struggles with the mental illness, he said that he wakes up every day in “severe pain”, which led him to opt for a medically assisted death.
Joseph said that after five years of careful consideration, he made the difficult decision to request euthanasia and has since submitted a formal application to the Euthanasia Expert Centre in the Netherlands.
In his post on Instagram, Joseph said, “I am not saying that life (as a phenomenon) isn’t worth living. It ABSOLUTELY is. What I am saying is that the mental weight of MINE has become entirely unbearable. I am NOT special, like many people in their 20s; the constant burnout, the burden of debt, paralysing depression, the violent media cycle and the dystopian reality of AI …all weigh heavy. The reality I face of being bipolar exacerbates all this.”
Joseph announced that his book “Dear Artists” will be published in Spring this year, and he’s arranged for all royalties to go to a mental health charity.
“Now more than ever, the possibility of being humanely put to rest with dignity matters. I am at the beginning of this process and approved euthanasia has several stages. So I will still be alive when my book “DearArtists” is published in Spring next year. And I have arranged for all my royalties to be given to a mental health charity. I am also selling my entire collection of contemporary art and concluding other affairs. I’m ready to go home,” he posted in December 2024.
Joseph received mixed reactions after sharing his stories online. While some expressed that they respected his decision, others urged him to change his mind. He also received more than 100 messages from strangers inviting him to have dinner with them, which quickly inspired him to launch his worldwide dinner tour called ‘The Last Supper Project’.
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United Kingdom (UK)
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