Death and Bereavement
This essay examines death, bereavement, and the disposal of the dead through its social-psychological, historical, cross cultural, medical-ethical, and public policy aspects from the perspective of both the dying person and survivors. In its examination this course divided death and bereavement into the following five concepts and theories: 1) The stages of death and bereavement as outlined by Kubler-Ross. 2) Social implications, norms, and institutions that relate to death and dying in our society, i.e., Western attitudes toward death, historically and in contemporary times. 3) Cross-cultural, subcultural, ethnicity, and religious differences in dealing with death, bereavement, and disposal. 4) Medical-ethical issues such as the right to die, euthanasia, medical intervention, life support, organ donation, hospice, living wills, and disposal of the dead. 5) Financial and legal aspects of death and dying. My first close encounter with death was when I was seven years old. I traveled with my mother to visit with my maternal grandfather. He was my only living grandparent and it was the first time I had met him. I can remember that he looked old and pale and had a shock of white hair. While he kne
to Die. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press. Kubler-Ross, E. (1991). On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillian. Medical and Ethical Issues - such as the right to die and euthanasia. Attitudes toward death in the United States compared to other cultures Everyone deals with death and bereavement differently, but I believe that my increased knowledge and awareness of the process' involved have left me in a better position to face the inevitable death of those close to me. Kubler-Ross stressed the importance of making peace between the person who is dying and his or her survivors. I agree with her when she says it is inevitable that things left unsaid or undone will come back to haunt you (Kubler-Ross, 1991). People should understand that during that "During the process of working through grief many different emotions will be felt and many different thoughts will arise. By allowing them all and withholding judgment as to the rightness and wrongness of particular emotions or thoughts, the survivors much more likely to experience grief as healing." (Hoefler & Kamoie, 1995 : p. 102). Funerals are an important part of the grieving and recovery process and it is far better to discuss preferences and arrangements for covering these costs long before they will be needed. Funerals arrangements made in haste will often result in the bereaved spending far more that is necessary or they can really afford. It is difficult to think about economics and comparing cost in times of grief. Like many other aspects of life the more pre need planning a family can do, the less they will have to worry about when the fateful event happens. In contrast to the avoidance of death in American culture, Mexican culture sees life and death as different phases of an underlying process of regeneration.. The national fiesta El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead is a two day celebration of the communion between the living and the dead (Despelder & Strickland, 1992). During the Day of the Dead celebration families clean and decorate the graves of deceased family members, placing food offerings and lighted candles before the souls of ancestors. The night is devoted to meditative communion and mourning for dead loved ones who in return offer aid and comfort to the living. Failure to pay respect to the dead can bring scorn to a family that neglects its responsibilities (Despelder & Strickland, 1992). The stages of death and bereavement as outlined by Kubler-Ross My Aunt Caroline, my mother's older sister, was not so lucky when she died last year. In the months preceding her death my Aunt had suffered a series of debilitating strokes that had left her paralyzed on one side. A widow and unable to look after herself, she had for the last few months been resident in a local nursing home. Looking back it is easy now to see that upon hearing the news of my Aunt's initial stroke, my mother had struggled with the first stage of Kubler-Ross' death and bereavement process: Denial and isolation. I can remember when she told me that my Aunt had a stroke, she focused on the fact that it was not serious. The first stroke had been minor and the paralysis only temporary. My mother did not want to think the seriousness of her sister's condition, she wanted to believe that her sister would recover fully. However, over the next several months my Aunt's condition worsened and she suffered a series of strokes and was eventually bed-ridden, paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. The doctors' prognosis was there was no chance of recovery and the best they could do was to make her comfortable. On talking with my mother, it was obvious that she had moved on from denial to Kubler-Ross' second stage: Anger. My mother is a Roman Catholic and has always believed that God had a purpose for everything. While her faith never really wavered, I could see that she was finding it difficult to resolve her anger at God for making her sister suffer needlessly
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Approximate Word count = 3867
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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