The recent assisted suicide of a multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer in Switzerland has started an important debate on the "dark side" of the condition, the MS Society of Ireland's national conference in Cork heard over the weekend.
British psychiatrist Dr Alexander Burnfield, who was diagnosed with MS 40 years ago, said healthcare professionals have a tendency to focus on the physical side of the illness, with little emphasis on the emotional and psychological implications.
"It is good to be open about the dark side of MS. Each person with MS who has those (suicidal) sorts of thoughts, feelings and ideas should be given the opportunity to talk about it properly and in-depth to make sure that there isn't some kind of treatment that could help them.
"One of the sad things about people with MS is that we are subject to severe depression. One survey in 1991 showed that people with MS are 7.5 times more likely to commit suicide than people who don't have the condition."
He said there was always going to be a situation where people with extreme forms of MS or any illness would make a decision to end their lives.
However, he was keen to emphasise that the vast majority of MS sufferers have the ability to live relatively normal lives.
The conference was told the most common misconceptions are that people with MS cannot work and that individuals with the condition are wheelchair-bound. Many people have relatively mild MS, readily cope with their condition and never develop severe disabilities.
Dr Burnfield also spoke of the importance of support services for sufferers, including specialised MS nurses who travel to patients' homes to treat them or discuss emotional issues.
It is estimated 6,000 people are living with MS in Ireland.