Chapter 7: Death and Grief
What is Death?
Death: the permanent and thus irreversible cessation of all of the following vital
bodily functions:
1. Total cerebral function
2. Spontaneous function of the respiratory system
3. Spontaneous function of the circulatory system
Related concepts:
Clinical death: refers to the few minutes after which all external signs of life such
as consciousness, heart beat, breathing, reflexes and brain function are absent
but the metabolic processes of the body’s tissues still proceed.
possibility in reviving the person.
near-death experiences are reported.
Brain death: is characterised by absence of electrical activity in the brain.
state is irreversible.
total unresponsiveness to all stimuli and the absence of all reflexes.
although high brain centres are dead, the person can still breathe and has a
heartbeat.
organs can be harvested only when the person is totally dead and before
tissue deterioration sets in.
Death Anxiety:
Death anxiety: refers to the fear of death.
Exists for 7 reasons:
1. Fear of physical suffering: pain and even the removal of body parts which are
associated with illnesses are overwhelming.
2. Fear of isolation and loneliness: when people act strangely towards the dying
person can cause the dying person to feel “different” which makes them fear
being avoided or isolated when dying.
3. Fear of non-being: intense anxiety is felt when the realisation comes that you
are going to die forever.
4. Fear of cowardice and humiliation: fear-of-fear can happen.
5. Fear of failing to achieve important goals: fear of death because it deprives us
of achievement.
6. Fear of the impact of death on those who outlive you: many people fear the
financial, psychological and emotional impact that their death may have on
their loved ones and other survivors.
, 7. Fear of punishment or of the unknown: the fear that you may go to your worst
nightmare evokes fear, however, it could have the opposite effect if you go to
your greatest dream.
8. Fear of death of others: fear that you may lose a loved one and will therefore
go through physical and psychological suffering.
Thanatophobia: an abnormal and excessive fear of death and dying which could
consume one’s thinking and behaviour to such an extent that it becomes difficult to
engage in normal daily activities with any pleasure.
Breathlessness, dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth,
feeling ill, heart palpitations and inability to speak or think clearly.
Seven factors determine the occurrence and intensity of death anxiety:
1. Age:
- Young adults avoid thinking about death but there are times when they are
most afraid that they may die soon before they can live out their dreams.
- Middle adulthood fear of dying mostly centred around the effect that their
possible death might have on their family members.
- Ego integrity: attained when coping successfully with all previous crisis’.
Higher ego integrity the lower death anxiety you have.
2. Gender:
- Women from various cultures show higher levels of death anxiety than men.
- Women view death in the more emotional terms, whereas men perceive death
more cognitively.
- Higher self-esteem may contribute to less anxiety.
- Not unanimous in gender anxiety levels.
3. Religion:
- Too complex to provide a simple and definitive answer.
- Researchers have not been able to find any relationship between religion and
death anxiety.
- Too many religions does not allow researcher to gain concrete data of the
correlation.
- Late adulthood showed that people who did not believe in a religion gained
less anxiety but so did people who did believe in a religion.
4. Personality characteristics:
- High self-esteem acts as a buffer against death anxiety.
What is Death?
Death: the permanent and thus irreversible cessation of all of the following vital
bodily functions:
1. Total cerebral function
2. Spontaneous function of the respiratory system
3. Spontaneous function of the circulatory system
Related concepts:
Clinical death: refers to the few minutes after which all external signs of life such
as consciousness, heart beat, breathing, reflexes and brain function are absent
but the metabolic processes of the body’s tissues still proceed.
possibility in reviving the person.
near-death experiences are reported.
Brain death: is characterised by absence of electrical activity in the brain.
state is irreversible.
total unresponsiveness to all stimuli and the absence of all reflexes.
although high brain centres are dead, the person can still breathe and has a
heartbeat.
organs can be harvested only when the person is totally dead and before
tissue deterioration sets in.
Death Anxiety:
Death anxiety: refers to the fear of death.
Exists for 7 reasons:
1. Fear of physical suffering: pain and even the removal of body parts which are
associated with illnesses are overwhelming.
2. Fear of isolation and loneliness: when people act strangely towards the dying
person can cause the dying person to feel “different” which makes them fear
being avoided or isolated when dying.
3. Fear of non-being: intense anxiety is felt when the realisation comes that you
are going to die forever.
4. Fear of cowardice and humiliation: fear-of-fear can happen.
5. Fear of failing to achieve important goals: fear of death because it deprives us
of achievement.
6. Fear of the impact of death on those who outlive you: many people fear the
financial, psychological and emotional impact that their death may have on
their loved ones and other survivors.
, 7. Fear of punishment or of the unknown: the fear that you may go to your worst
nightmare evokes fear, however, it could have the opposite effect if you go to
your greatest dream.
8. Fear of death of others: fear that you may lose a loved one and will therefore
go through physical and psychological suffering.
Thanatophobia: an abnormal and excessive fear of death and dying which could
consume one’s thinking and behaviour to such an extent that it becomes difficult to
engage in normal daily activities with any pleasure.
Breathlessness, dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth,
feeling ill, heart palpitations and inability to speak or think clearly.
Seven factors determine the occurrence and intensity of death anxiety:
1. Age:
- Young adults avoid thinking about death but there are times when they are
most afraid that they may die soon before they can live out their dreams.
- Middle adulthood fear of dying mostly centred around the effect that their
possible death might have on their family members.
- Ego integrity: attained when coping successfully with all previous crisis’.
Higher ego integrity the lower death anxiety you have.
2. Gender:
- Women from various cultures show higher levels of death anxiety than men.
- Women view death in the more emotional terms, whereas men perceive death
more cognitively.
- Higher self-esteem may contribute to less anxiety.
- Not unanimous in gender anxiety levels.
3. Religion:
- Too complex to provide a simple and definitive answer.
- Researchers have not been able to find any relationship between religion and
death anxiety.
- Too many religions does not allow researcher to gain concrete data of the
correlation.
- Late adulthood showed that people who did not believe in a religion gained
less anxiety but so did people who did believe in a religion.
4. Personality characteristics:
- High self-esteem acts as a buffer against death anxiety.
