Death and Dying

4 dimensions of death education (ABCV)

- Affective: feelings, emotions, and attitudes about death, dying and b - Behavioral: how people interact with dying or bereaved individuals - Cognitive: facts and theories about health related experiences and issues - Valuational: the basic values governing peoples lives

Dying

The process of getting dead

Death

the cessation of life

Psychological Facet

the entirety of human subjective experience: thinking, feeling, relating, and human aspiration. This facet is more subtle that those discussed so far. The human psyche can inspire the imagination. In many respects, our society is psychologically savvy, deeply interest in all things related to the mind, including the desire to understand end of life issues

Multidimensional

the field is multidimensional because its practitioners recognize that dealing with death, dying and bereavement requires them to work with whole persons - body, mind, and spirit, and not only them but also their families , their faith communities, and their networks of friends and colleagues

Suicide for reunion

to rejoin the deceased - i cant live without him or her

Teachable moments

unanticipated life events that offer important occasions for developing educational insights and lessons

Death anxiety

Also know as fear of death or thantophobia. A feeling of dread, apprehension or anxiety when one thinks of the process of dying or ceasing to be what happens after death

Elysium

An eternal paradise, reserved for the heroes or god

Causes of death: infections of communicable diseases that can be spread from person to person

Influenza Tuberculosis Diphertia Gastroenteritis - Symptoms: diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, fever, muscle ache

Pall

Is a cloth covering placed on the casket during a funeral service. The word is also used to describe a sombre mood or tone that pervades a place, as in the expression

Sheol

The shadowy underworld; place of the dead. Represents the lowest place imaginable

Sir James Fraser * British Anthropologist* 4 categories

1) The story of the messenger: the second messenger is either faster than the first messenger; or the first messenger is slower; the end result is that the only message that gets delivered is human kind - death is something human kind must endure 2) The story of the waxing and waning mood: all people live and live and live again in cycles - just like the moon. because the moon would disappear and would reappear again - this gives people the idea that they should return from death ---- the Hindu believe in reincarnation 3) The story of the serpent and his cast skin: Animals that shed their skins - appear to be immortal. Led them to believe that snakes and lizards were immortal so this led to stores about human beings; once we had this ability but we lost it. Death was an accident 4) The story of the banana tree: people would as god for something they hadn't been given. God tells them presumably in punishment for their demand - they will be like the banana - they will die after they have produced their own fruit; people will die after they have gotten through their life - death was a punishment

Collett-Lester fear of death scale

4 sub scales - Your own death - Your own dying - The death of others - The dying of others

Asphodel

A place for ordinary spirits (a neutral place) there seemed to be no reward or punishment, just an overwhelming dullness

Seppuku

A ritual disembowelment by a sword

Egoistic suicide

A type of suicide when people do not feel connected with other people in society; social integration can below; ex: separated, divorced, widowed

Ancient Egyptians (2500. BC)

Believed in the after-life of when they died they would make a journey to another place where they would continue to live. They would spend their time getting ready for the afterlife. Ex: Pyramids are a testament to the belief of the afterlife as well as a place to store the things they would need in the afterlife; ex. Furniture, clothing, games, etc.) Those Egyptians who had wealth, had the ability to be mummified - stopped the soul from leaving the body so they would be ready for that journey to the afterlife. Those who couldn't afford mummification apparently still enjoy the afterlife through caste enchantments. Death was not an end, but rather a transition to another world

Chronic illnesses or degenerative diseases: diseases that typically result from long term wearing out of body organs, typically associated with aging, lifestyle, and environment

Cancer heart disease alzheimers

Groups of people (5)

College Students Seniors Gay individuals Transgender individuals Victims of bullying

Tame death (500-1000AD)

Death is an inveitable part of death One calmly and willingly accepts the inveitablity of death Death is a natural and normal event Death is public (community) event - dying person would be dying and would be surrounded by family at their bedside Deal is a familiar and common event Death is merely sleep until the second coming of Jesus at which the believers would be resurrected from their sleep

Invisible Death; death denied (1900 on)

Death is failure of medical science Death is denied Death is medicalized and banished from home Death is offensive and occur in private The process of death and burial is put into the hands of medical and funeral staff Individuals fear dying alone and in the hospital hooked up to machines

Compare to 1900 today

Death rates are lower overall average life expectancy is longer people die most often from degenerative diseases not communicable diseases more people die in institutions (nursing homes and hospitals)

Suicide

Derives from Latin "Sui" (oneself) and "Cede" (killing) - the intentional act of killing oneself - Suicide is an act with a fatal outcome which the decease, knowing or expecting a fatal outcome has initiated and carried out with the purpose of bringing about wanted changes (world health organization)

Remote and Imminent Death (Renaissance)

During this stage, a growing sense of anxiety about death becomes more intense. And because death is frightening, great effort is made to keep it at distance - make it remote Mourning customs are more strictly defined Death is both enticing and repelling

Theories of Suicide (4)

Egoistic suicide Altruistic suicide Anomic suicide Fatalistic suicide

Tapophobia

Fear of being buried alive develops

Death anxiety and gender

Females typically report higher levels of death anxiety than males

Death of the Other (1700-1900AD)

Focus is on relationships broken by death Mourning becomes much more emotional and expressive; mourners lose control Death reunites deceased loved ones Seances become popular events

Phillipe Aries Classification of death

In the early 1970's he attempted the daunting task of reconstructing history of western societies view about death; over a very long period of time He did this by consulting different sources; observations of end of life practices, literary works, paintings so on.. What he did was identify 5 different, although often overlapping attitudes toward death

Social Facet

Includes all of one's relationships (i.e. with family, friends, community, culture and society) The family perhaps the most basic of social institutions is where people come together out of mutual care, where children are reared and where end of life issues are played out

Death of the Self (late middle ages)

Individuals are seen as unique and distinct Individuals experience great anxiety about what happens after death in terms of eternal judgement The hour of death becomes the most important hour of life Death is seen as leading to reward or punishment

Chronic suicide

Individuals who destroy themselves by means of drugs, alcohol or recklessness

Suicide by mistake

Individuals who didnt mean to kill themselves

Factors that helped to bring about the change in which we encounter death (7)

Industrialization Changes in public health measures The rise of modern -cure oriented medicine Preventative health care for individuals The nature of contemporary families Geographic mobility Lifestyle

Passive Suicide

Not making the effort to stay alive of letting oneself be killed

Anomic Suicide

Occurs in people ho once felt connected with the rest of society but now feel estranged or let down by society Anomie - a sense of confusion Social regulation is low

Fatalistic suicide

Occurs mainly in highly regulated, controlled, restricted societies; individuals feel oppressed by the society's stringent Social regulation is high Ex: Oppressed women in societies

Altruistic suicide

Occurs when people take their own life for the benefit of others; these individuals who may feel overly connected; social integration is high

Death anxiety and religion

People are uncertain about their religious views tend to report higher levels of death anxiety

Language

People tend to use different language in terms of the word death and often use euphemisms Gives us distance from our discomfort towards death Military (ex: collateral damage) Use death related words to dramatify or intensify an expression (dead drunk or "i laughed so hard i died"

Sources of attitudes toward death (10)

Personal Family Peers Religion Culture Language Music Literature Humour News media

Why study death?

Personal reasons Career goals Curiosity

Occupation and Suicide

Physicians have the highest rate of suicide in the US - Suicide by cop: a method of suicide in which a person intentionally engages in life threatening behavior to induce a police officer to shoot them

The cubic model of suicide

Press- refers to events to which individuals react; negative events (e.g. rejection, humiliation, failure) move the individual toward social behavior Psych Ache - Endurable psychological pain (E.g. hurt, depression, sadness, despair, stemming from unfulfilled psychological needs); suicide is an exclusively human response to extreme psychological pain Perturbation - refers to the state of being emotionally upset, irritated, disturbed, etc.

What causes a person to commit suicide? (7)

Pychological disorders Personal factors Cognitive factors Environmental stressors Alcohol and drug abuse Physical illness Behavioral indicators

Ancient Greeks

Regarded death as a passage into an afterlife, but that afterlife was not always pleasant. Their spirits went to hades - the land of the dead. Upon entering the land of the dead they had to cross upon the river - the river divides the world of the living from the world of the dead. Where they ended up depended on how they live their lives. Ex: Sinners would end up in Tartarus (a pretty bleak and miserable place for sinners - i.e. a place of punishment)

Ancient Israelites

Regarded death as a transition to a shadowy underworld where life went on; albeit in a limited fashion. After 600 BC the belief in the underworld continued -

Thanatology

Scientific study of death, dying and bereavement

Ology

Scientific study or organized body of knowledge

Death Origin Stories 4

Sir James Fraser Ancient Egyptians Ancient Greeks Ancient Israelites

Categories of suicide (3)

Suicide as escape (as a means to escape from immense pain or mental anguish) Rational suicide (the reasoning behind the decision to end one's life is logical or rational) Cry for help (i cant go on living this way)

Sigmund Freud

Suicide is murder turned inward (or murder turned 180 degrees) - because and individual identifies themselves with an ex-partner (who they may feel they want to kill) the feelings turn against themselves and they may feel the need to kill themselves.

Warning signs

Talking about suicide and death Withdrawal from friends and family Changes in behaviour, attitudes, appearance, or thinking whether sudden or gradual Giving away personal possessions, finishing tasks, or planning for the future of others. Demonstrating uncharacteristic recklessness; engaging in high risk activities; self-harmful behaviour Lack interest in normal activities Sudden changes in eating and sleeping behaviours Showing sudden elevation in mood - might suddenly become very happy. Obtaining access to lethal means of self-harm Experiencing a recent loss or serious disappointment

5 stages of western attitudes toward death (TRIDD)

Tame death Death of the self Remote and Imminent death Death of the other Invisible death and death denied

Edwin Sheimend

The definition of suicide (book) The Cubic model of suicide

Spiritual Facet

The dimension of life that reflects the need to find meaning or connectedness to a universe greater than oneself, and a sense of transcendence

Experiential approach

The facilitator directly engages participants in real life activities designed to evoke ones feelings and perhaps even change attitudes

Bereavement

The state that an individual is left in as a result of experiencing a loss; usually but not always from eath

Marital Status and Suicide

The suicide rate is lower for people who are married than for those who never married; individuals with children commit suicide less often than individuals without

Suicide for revenge

To hurt others after being rejected in love, passed over for promotion, or in someway being treated unfairly

What causes anxiety about death?

Unknown nature of what, if anything, lies beyond this life, is this all there is? Indiscriminate nature of death Invitability of death; science hasnt figured out a way to stop death Pain and suffering while dying Dying alone Loss of control

Suicide and Gender

Women attempt suicide three times more often than men; men compete rates more; women are more likely to ask for help when they are in a crisis; women tend to use less lethal means of suicide

The ancient perspective: Adam and Eve

You must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil - they did and death was the punishment

Death anxiety and age

Young adults reported higher levels of death anxiety than older adults

Hospice

a model that is considered "the gold standard" when it comes to providing care to the dying. It reflects the multidisciplinary and multidimensional approaches in thanatology. It attempts to address each of the four facets, as previously discussed; and because professionals from diverse fields are brought together with one goal in mind: providing high quality, compassion and care.

Suttee

a recently windowed women burning herself to death on a funeral pyre of her husband

Dialectic approach

an instructor imparts the knowledge, values and skills believed to be beneficial to student learning through direct learning

Dying trajectories: patterns of dying or the ways in which dying plays out; dying trajectories vary in their

duration (i.e. brief or long) shape (i.e. predictable or unpredictable)

Thanatos

greek for death

Physical Facet

pertains to those aspects of material existence that we experience directly with the sense. It includes the complexities of the human body, survival needs, bodily functions, processes associated with wellness and illness, and how the body adapts to stress and illness. We can include the experience of pain, loss of breath, toileting, and other bodily functions.

Copycat (cluster)

imitation of another suicide

Formal of planned death education

planned and organized instruction involving death related topics

Sources of attitude

our attitudes toward death develop out a lifetime of personal and impersonal or second hand experiences with death and dying. Beginning in child hood and continuing into old age

Religion

set of organized beliefs and practices about the supernatural - embraces the spiritual dimension - not all people who regard themselves as spiritual are necessarily religious in a formal sense

Thenatologist

someone who studies death, dying and bereavement