This is a hard topic for many people and even harder when they are put into the situation themselves. We can be so very forward thinking, progressive and accepting of all people and their choices, but sometimes when in the situation ourselves it’s harder than we think.

We often feel that our politics and ethics will shield us from feelings of hesitancy, shame, fear and guilt – but it isn’t always the way.

There are so many ways in which this can be seen with just some discussed below…

A woman has the right to have an abortion if they so choose. They have a right to decide what happens with their bodies and their futures. They can believe this wholeheartedly, but this doesn’t necessarily make it an easy thing to do. There can be feelings of guilt and sadness and regret, even if those around them are supportive and they know they have every right to do this. They can be told there is no need to feel guilty, but this can’t necessarily stop it from happening. A person can believe they have every right to love whom they choose. They can believe they can choose how they show their gender identity. People around them can be supportive of their gender identity and sexuality, but it can still be so so hard. They can believe that people can show their love and attraction and identity however they choose. They can support their friends and peers in this. But that doesn’t necessarily make it easy to do yourself. It can still be hard and scary. A person’s politics and the politics of those around them, can’t stop things feeling difficult for them and it shouldn’t have to. People’s feelings should be supported during these difficult times. Ethics can’t always make things easy and stop us experiencing these feelings when they happen in real life. ECT treatment for mental illness is something which can be useful for some people, it can be necessary to be okay, it has much evidence behind it and makes a difference to many people’s lives. You can know someone shouldn’t be ashamed of needing treatments like this. You can know that you shouldn’t feel ashamed - but sometimes you still do. It doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. You can know that no one should be judging you for this. They should be supporting you in this and in your recovery. But this knowledge doesn’t make it impossible to feel a sense of failing or self-consciousness when people find out this is what you need to be okay. Our knowledge and principles don’t always make it easy to do.

All the support in the world doesn’t stop things which haven’t always been accepted becoming easy to do and people should be supported through difficult periods of transition. Someone’s politics and their knowledge doesn’t stop things from being hard. We might not feel like we expect to feel these things because of our beliefs. We might not feel like we think we’re supposed to be feeling in these tough situations. But that is okay and everyone should be supported when finding things hard, even if it is something we have every right and reason to be doing.