Journal of Demise and Bereavement - Term Paper Example

Name Tutor Course code Date Introduction Whether it is acknowledged or not, most people do fear death. As a result, death has emerged and remains to be a great misery since it has been identified as one among the central issues that, psychology, religion, philosophy as well as science, have wrestled originating from the initial stages of the human history. Death and Dying is among the most significant psychological studies in the late twentieth century. Studies reveal that although, dying has been considered as the natural part in human existence, the American culture is very distinctive in the extent at which death is perceived as their taboo topic. Instead of having some open discussions, people tend the consider death as a much feared enemy ought to be defeated through the use of modern medicine as well as machines (Kubler-Ross, p. 56). Human being’s language greatly reflect such battle mentality, for example, is it often said that individuals combat illness or fall victim to illness after a tedious and long struggle. In addition, the euphemistic language gives people distance from their discomfort with death. The discomfort resulting from process of death and dying have come into existence because death has been eliminated from the common experience. Denial and the acceptance of death Human beings are most probably the only living creatures that are able to realize that at some point in life they will die. However, the most important think to consider is how people cope with such knowledge and understanding how the death knowledge shapes people’s attitudes, beliefs as well as actions. Attitudes towards death understandings are not entirely positive or negative, but they are on the continuum. Therefore, on one hand continuum concerns the perception of death as the mortal enemy of humanity, or the fearsome grim reaper that is armed with scythe for harvesting people lives. On other hand of the continuum involves the accepting and welcoming death as the passage to a very blissful state of human being. This attitude also allows the dying individual, who is later sustained as well as soothed through an unfaltering reliability in approaching the grave and lies into heaven for pleasant dreams (Kubler-Ross, p. 86). Familiarizing with and denial of death Fear and the acceptance of death differ with its familiarity. However, such death familiarity basically does not breed contempt for death, but it is important for the promotion of anesthesia as well as leading to other alternative ways of coping with it. The decline of the public dying and death in the 20th century it not only reflects, but also contributes to death denial. Attempts in denying the reality about death, have not had complete and successful outcomes. Therefore, it is a human nature in avoiding such things that are feared most. Since people are afraid, they tend to fail thinking about their own mortality (Kubler-Ross, p. 116). The medical advances are largely acknowledged in defeating the sudden contributors to death, for instance, heart attacks as well as strokes, although, majority of the people are dying of incremental illness like cardiovascular diseases, respiratory illness, cancer and the diabetes. Consequently, a number of the people have been offered with a gift of both time and the ability to shape most of their death and dying process. Professional practices that are concerned with both death and dying, Additionally, they are considered to be the inter-disciplinary and the edectics such as the medical, religious, psychological , artistic, the philosophical, bereavement, widowhood and the demographics, have entirely been considered with the emphasis on the psychological aspects. A study conducted on older adults ‘understanding of death affect their final life decisions, the outcome revealed that older people apprehend and worry so much of their passing away (Kramer, p.113). This anxiety experienced in their daily lives and is as a result of the anticipation of condition in which other individuals are dead. The emergent four dimensions from the research implies that there is too much fear of the dying process among the people, worry of destruction, the fear of something unknown and for considerable others, particularly older persons. In addition, considerations made on the examination of a dying process really matters a lot that an individual in his or her last stages in an incurable illness can have. This is in particular with the dying feelings that such a person expects to experience in case found to be in infirmary with the fatal cancer and previously had few days to live. Individual adults’ implication of bereavement is mainly cognitive interpretations of both objects and the events within their environment as well as occurs before and after the illness. People experience some stages such as denial or isolation, bargaining, anger, acceptance and depression on their journey towards death. Generally, the major reason for dying is primary associated with the bargaining for extra time. Bereavement is perceived as the emotional experience that individuals undergo in reaction to the occurrence of death of other people who were very significant in their lives. It is associated with several symptoms such as depressed mood that is expressed through heavy sighing, communications of the sadness and crying behavior. Bereavement is also reflected through difficulties in sleeping, eating as well as concentrating, tiredness and the feelings of being hopelessness. Most of the theoretical models that explain bereavement are basically stage models which describe the bereavement process as the series of various steps through which people undergo (Corr, C Doka & Kastenbaum, and p.254). Differences within the bereavement process depends on the different causes of death, and hence accountable for the factors that determine the moderateness of bereavement. People need to understand that during or being in the process of working in grief moments many and distinctive emotions have to be felt and several of different thoughts will occur. Therefore, through allowing such thoughts all through and then withholding the judgment towards rightness and wrongness of specific emotions or thoughts, the affected survivors are much more expected to experience the grief as a healing. Funerals are significant part or occasions of both grieving and recovery process and as a result, it is increasingly appropriate to discuss the preferences as well as the arrangements aimed at covering such costs long prior to their urgent need (Kramer, p.118). For instance, funeral arrangements that are made in haste normally will result into too much of the bereaved spending to the level that is not necessary or to the extent that they cannot actually afford. This implies that it is very difficult for an individual to think about the economics and involve in the comparison of costs during the grief times. Similar to several other aspects of human life, it is true that the more pre need of planning any family can make, the less such a family will have to get worried about in case the fateful occurrences or the event happens (Kramer, p.123).Death, dying and bereavement establish ways of impacting people’s daily living. Today, there are images of reality or the fictional death shown on television and in movies. This implies that death can impact people on both personal and the cultural levels. The re-integration of the dying act into the human process of life becomes eligible for the meaning people give to the health care and the roles associated with the health professionals (Corr, C Doka & Kastenbaum, p.244). As a result, quality of life which is very central to the health care psychological understanding is then extended from the human living to his or her dying. Furthermore, the welcome involvement in studying death and the dying becomes the inclusion of the bereavement. The psychological understanding of reveals that death is today no longer a specifically cold clinical event, but it also the social phenomenon extending its time-wise beyond such acts of death itself. Conclusion Death has had a progressive dissociation that results from the process of human life, through the rituals as well as customs abandonment surrounding the dying and dead people. As a result, death is continuously fought against, very often hidden and widely ignored. Death and Dying is among the most significant psychological studies in the late twentieth century. Fear and the acceptance of death differ with its familiarity. Differences within the bereavement process depends on the different causes of death, and hence liable for the factors that determine the moderateness of bereavement. Some of discomforts associated with death and the dying process have existed due to the fact that death has been eliminated from the common experience. Works Cited Kubler-Ross, E. On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillian.1991. Kramer, L. Choping at the funeral: Episodes in the history of modern death. Journal of the American Musicology Society. 54, 97–125. 2001. Corr, C Doka, K & Kastenbaum, R. Dying and its interpreters: A review of selected literature and some comments on the state of the field’, Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying, 39: 239–59. 1999. Read More