Death as a Natural Stage of Development - Research Paper Example

? Death as a Natural Stage of Development Stages of development, as many developmental theorists start at birth and end at death. The ending of any stage is likewise vital as any other part of that stage. Recent debates have emerged concerning whether death is a stage of development. Today’s death-defying society wants to get the best out of this earth before they part ways. However, death itself is inevitable, and people ought to face the question of how to cope with it early in their lives. Why do people consider death as a taboo, particularly the traditional cultures? How do humans express their grief, as well as accept the passing away of a person close to them? Also, what are the sources of their fears and how can humans overcome these fears and prepare themselves for death, as well as accept the death of their loved ones? Death as a Natural Stage of Development Introduction Owing to the mind-body dichotomy, there has been a lot of debate and interest surround the issues of what occurs to someone’s consciousness as their body dies. The lasting loss of awareness after death is often referred to as "eternal oblivion" (Crain, 2011). Belief or faith that consciousness is stored after physical death is explained by the phrase "afterlife." Across the historic world, a majority of ethnic groups held life after death beliefs on preservation of perception after physical death. Following the initiation of scientific methods, awareness has been related to mental functions of the mind, whose termination of function signifies death. A serious complexity with the recent theory of death is that it is rarely confounded, at a loss of words or disarmed. From the very beginning, many theological analysis of this topic showcased themselves as presumptions that more appropriately functioned as hope: the notion that death is undone. In this, an earlier certainty theology seems to be comprehensively successful, but to a straightforward empirical viewpoint, the victory can appear to be just a turning away from death’s miseries, a denial instead of an exploration of life’s ending (Crain, 2011). Drawing on people’s own and other cultures’ perceptions of death or dying, this paper provides some revealing answers to these and many other questions. The paper offers a range of viewpoints, incorporating those of rabbis, ministers, doctors, sociologists, nurses and the personal stories of people near death and their survivors. Once people accept death as a factor of human development, this paper shows, death can offer humans a key meaning of their existence. Understanding of Development (Psychological) and Death Psychological development refers to the development of human’s emotional, cognitive, social and intellectual functioning and capabilities over the course of their life span, from infancy to adulthood and eventually to death (Slater, 2003). Death, on the other hand, is the cessation (termination) of all biological functions, which sustain a living organism, or, in our topic, a person. Happenings that usually lead to death consist of biological aging, malnutrition, predation, suicide, disease, murder and trauma from terminal injury or accidents among others (Slater, 2003). Of course, death is an inevitable stage of human development (Slater, 2003). Whereas death might occur at any age, adults focus more on death compared to those who are younger than them. Adults know that they cannot live forever on earth and normally start to make plans for their final day. Whereas planning for death may appear fairly gruesome to others, it can, in reality, create peace of mind to the people. If someone is in his or her later adulthood stage, it is most expected that he or she has faced the death of a close person at one point of their life or another. They comprehend the effect it can have on their friends and family who are left behind. By early planning of one’s death, the planner will be rest assured that they have carried out all they can to make their funeral and burial arrangements a success (Crain, 2011). This also helps in dividing up one’s assets as fairly and smooth as possible. Others might even go to the degree of specifying the plans down to the hymns they want sung at their ceremony or the verses to be read in order to save their loved ones from the burden of such tough decision in sadness. This is not to argue that everybody is ready to acknowledge the reality that they will, at some point in life, die. Many people fear dying and will never be set to go (Erikson, 1959). Nevertheless, studies have proved that the ones who believe in some kind of afterlife, such as Christian-eternal life, are more accommodating and at ease during their later stages in life compared to those who trust in the decisiveness of death. Irrespective of anyone’s beliefs, death is unavoidable, and; therefore, for the sake of anyone’s mental health, it is advisable that people do all that they can to make their last years of life as pleasant as they can. Organisms grow. That is a fact. They are not born during their final or concluding stages but grow and develop through consecutive transformations. This process endures till it is time for them to die. The baby a mother was holding in her arms 17 years ago was fairly different from the youngster the mother just dropped out at school, who is again rather different from the grown-up she will be in another 17 years, when she will make her father and mother grandparents. Her capabilities, needs and aspirations, are so drastically changed that she might barely be identifiable, and yet she remains the same individual. She is changing every day, and the eventual stage of change is death. Living things go through a natural cycle of birth, growth, and death. Living things start as a simple potential, but develop gradually into their grown-up state, and then continue to develop till they are no longer significant (Erikson, 1959). Many experience such radical changes that the reasons they stay united have tenuous links as to the reasons why they came together initially. Death is considered by many theorists as a means of making room for new life. Imagine a world where children were being born, and no one dies. It is hard even to stress the amount of overpopulation that would have been in such a world. Kubler-Ross (1997) is rightfully identified as a seminal contributor to the modern focus on the "death question" in the U.S. Her work, Death: the Final Stage of Growth, is both perceptive and compassionate, written from deep professional and personal concern for the ways human beings struggle to repel death, the ways they kick against its power or deny it. From Kubler-Ross’s special perspective as a psychiatrist who has worked deeply with deadly patients, from her greater reflections on cultural values and patterns underlying death stances, Kubler-Ross (1997) explores the death-blocking means of the modern world. From a traditional perspective that eschews death, Kubler-Ross tries to gaze boldly at it. The author comes up with a psychological trajectory of death, a curve of five key attitudes that she finds dominant, again and again, through examining the experiences of terminal patients. Connected to progressive order, the five attitudes explain the endurances of dying, an occurrence which, in essence, moves from strictness to resolution: from early denial of death's nearness, through ensuing stages of anger, depression, bargaining, as well s acceptance. The initial four stages (denial, irritation, bargaining and depression) are all dark and restraining; they are essential refusals, efforts against the predictable finish of life. In Kubler-Ross’s (2007) proposal, these stages are expressively understandable, but they are also negative if not finally resolved. Therefore, for Kubler-Ross (2007), the path from rejection through depression must positively and deeply be cathartic. These factors – anger, denial, depression and bargaining – are not perceived as distinct, static points, but as an attitudinal continuum. However, there is no assurance that this will occur (Slater, 2003). Each and every stage is lodged tight with an unadmitted fear, and awful dreads, as well as flights of deception and denials of life's movement to death. Given this mental impaction, each and every level is potentially crippling. The person can journey to approval, then, just by taking on each level a particular and complex struggle, simply by working through the darkness, rectifying it and passing beyond it. It is worth stating that Kubler-Ross does not automatically dismiss or pass over these dark stages. According to Slater (2003), Kubler-Ross’s analysis of them is wary, compassionate and clearly conscious the isolation and suffering, which makes dying so terrible. This awareness is expressed in what is, in reality, a respect for human dying; a reverence that supports a person’s right to a death free of anyone else's meddling or forging. Any effort then to force a dying individual out of their dark stages is, in Kubler-Ross's perception, simply unwise, even negative. However, in spite of this great compassion to the dark stages and their beneficial needs, Kubler-Ross (1997) tirelessly deduces these stages as elementary and provisional. Church ministers argue that death is as just stage in life when and only when one endorses Christ (Slater, 2003). Christ believers are set for internal life after their physical death. When someone dies, he or she has only been taken away they their Creator. It means that the time allocated to them here on earth has come to an end – conclusion of an event that started when they were born. Therefore, according to them, death is simply a stage of life. In essence, many other groups consider death to be a passing stage of life. Their premise is that they die to offer room to the newly born (Marcia, 1966). Conclusion Stages of development, as many developmental theories start birth and end at death. The ending of any stage is likewise vital as any other part of that stage. The final stages of living can be extremely stressful for the dying individual and his or her loved ones. People will observe changes, which might be unfamiliar and upsetting. Learning about the death will eventually help. Many physical changes take place before a person dies. There are many signs and symptoms of dying, which are observable, even though not everyone has a predictable series of stages or events. Remember that every individual’s death is unique. It is supportive to comprehend the ordinary signs faced by people who are dying. People might observe none, others or even all of these signs in a dying person’s last days on earth. People should accepts that we were created to one day die, and maybe it they want to live forever they should consider the Christian way of believing in Christ and their dreams might come to pass. References Crain, W. (2011). Theories of development: Concepts and applications (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the life cycle. New York: International Universities Press. Kubler-Ross, E. (1997). Death: The final stage of growth. Scribner Publishers. Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3(4), 551–558. Slater, C. L. (2003). Generativity versus stagnation: An elaboration of erikson's adult stage of human development. Journal of Adult Development, 10(1), 53–65. Read More