Death and Dying - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The film Grief Walker by Tim Wilson and produced in 2008, seeks to discuss death and dying. Indeed, the film analysis the dynamics of death by addressing about Stephen Jenkinson who had a responsibility to ensure people continue living (Wilson, 2008). Indeed, the result of a fractious gallbladder that almost culminated to death, changed Tim Wilson’s perception of death and dying. It is true that death will come to us and humans can talk about it as a concept but develops a phobia when talking about dying in reality. The film Grief Walker analyses our fear of dying. Indeed, the film lyrically and poetically depicts the life of Stephen Jenkinson in working with dying people. The film shows Wilson recovering from a coma and life support and returning to his normal life. However, he was surprised when Jenkinson sought to know what made Wilson think that he deserved his normal life. The movie portrays human phobia on death and the film drives us to a meditation on our feelings about death as we watch Jenkinson advice people on death and dying (Wilson, 2008). Actually, we see Jenkinson advising a woman with terminal cancer and a husband and wife whose daughter had to die, as nothing would prevent her death. Jenkinson performs subsequent blood transfusions to prolong her life. Jenkinson informs his patients on the existence of death phobia in the society but advices them to prepare for death and dying because they are inevitable. He laments that only acceptance can help us live better lives and observes that the Western culture's deep denial of death is irrelevant. He further tells his dying patients that it is our responsibility to ensure a fitting death (Wilson, 2008). However, he accepts that death is a challenging concept to all human beings and the relationship between life and death is a surprising reality. More so, unlike most of us, Jenkinson explains that it is not human to fear death and the sooner we accept its reality the better it is for our lives. However, this has not been easy with Western cultures even avoiding its reality by taking measures to prolong death and dying. Nevertheless, psychologists can help the society to deal with death and dying by offering end-of-life counseling, assessing the mental functioning and pain of the dying and their families, treat depression, and advocating good medical care (American Psychological Association, 2013). Indeed, death and dying are synonymous with human beings and any debate about them is surprising. Individuals suffer much distress on realizing they might die, families mourn on the reality that their relatives will die, and the general society fears death. Ideally, death forms part of our natural existence and thus denying it is like demeaning our life. Question 2 Every human being especially those bereaved has a right to grieve when need arises. Ideally, there is no standard way of grieving and thus the bereaved person can grieve in any way they chooses, when they need to , and with no interference of this right (Attig, 2004). As such, we should respect others right of grieving and refrain from interfering with their grieving. However, there exists a unique form of grief called disenfranchised grief. Disenfranchised grief refers to the pain that a bereaved person feels upon the loss of something or somebody that the societal concepts, misunderstandings, and prejudice offer no room for grief (Attig, 2004). In this case, bereaved persons grieve alone ...Download file to see next pagesRead More