Module 22: Critical Issues Concerning Death and Bereavement Flashcards
Clinical Death
few minutes after the heart stopped pumping
Brain Death
a person no longer has reflexes or any response to vigorous external stimuli and no electrical activity in the brain
Social Death
when other people treat a deceased person like a corpse
Hospice Care
personal, patient- and family-centered, compassionate care for the terminally ill
Palliative Care
includes relief of pain and suffering, controlling of symptoms, alleviation of stress, and attempts to maintain a satisfactory quality of life
Terminal Drop or Terminal Decline
specifically to a widely observed decline in cognitive abilities shortly before death
Near-Death Experience
often involving a sense of being out of the body or sucked into a tunnel and visions of bright lights or mystical encounters
What is near-death experience linked to?
Linked to stimulation or damage of various brain areas, most notably in bilateral frontal and occipital areas
Why is near-death experience generally experienced as positive?
Generally experienced as positive as a result of the release of endorphins
Grief
emotional response that generally follows closely on the heels of death
Bereavement
response to the loss of some whom a person feels close
Grief Work
working out of psychological issues connected with grief
Grief Work Path
- Shock and Disbelief
- Preoccupation with the memory of the dead person
- Resolution
Recovery Pattern
mourner goes high to low distress
Delayed Grief
moderate or elevated initial grief, and symptoms worsen over time
Chronic Grief
distressed for a long time
Dual-Process Model (Stroebe & Schut, 1999)
- Confrontation
- Restoration
Confrontation
confront their loss and actively grieve
Restoration
focus on moving forward
Multiple Variations (Bonano et al., 2011)
- Recovery
- Delayed
- Chronic
- Resilience
Recovery
high to low distress
Delayed
worsen over time
Chronic
remains distress for a long time
Resilience
+ low and gradually diminishing
+ the mourner shows a low and gradually diminishing level of grief in response to the death of a loved one
At what age do children understand death?
+ By age 4, children build a partial understanding of the biological nature of death
+ By the time the school starts (beginning of concrete operations), most children seem to understand both permanence and the universality of death
What do pre-school aged children believe about death?
Pre-school aged children believe that death can be reversed by praying, magic, or wishful thinking
How does having a direct experience with the death of a family member affect young children?
Young children who have had direct experience with the death of a family member are more likely to understand the permanence of death than those who had no such personal experience
What do teenagers who attempt suicide believe in?
Teenagers who attempt suicide believe that death is a pleasurable experience for most people who die
What do most adults think about death?
For adults, they think of it as painful and unpleasant
Unique Invulnerability
belief that bad things happen to others but not to themselves
When does adjusting to loss become the most difficult?
Adjusting to loss is more difficult if a child had a troubled relationship with the person who died
What do children who do not understand death understand?
Children do not understand death, but they understand loss
Where do teenagers usually turn to for support?
Often, teens turn to peers for support
How does death affect young adults?
Young adults will find their entire world collapsing at once when they knew they are dying instead of dealing with other issues
How does death affect middle-aged and older adults?
Middle-Aged and Older adults are more prepared with death
Terror Management Theory
human’s unique understanding of death, in concern with self-preservation needs and capacity for fear, results in common emotional and psychological responses when mortality, or thoughts of death are made salient
What is one common response to thoughts of death?
One common response to thoughts of death is to become more committed to a cultural worldview (religion)
How can high self-esteem affect death?
High self-esteem should buffer people against anxiety and fear over death
What is a common response to threat?
Seeking comfort from loved ones is a common response in human undergoing threat and is a regulatory strategy to reduce anxiety
Brain Death
+ Neurological condition which states the person is brain dead when all electrical activity of the brain has ceased for a specific period of time
+ Higher portions of the brains dies sooner than lower parts which facilitates breathing and heartbeat
+ That is why your brain could be dead but you still have heartbeat for the mean time
Suicide
growing number of people consider a mature adult’s deliberate choice of a time to end his or her life a rational decision and a right to be defended
Euthanasia
good death, intended to end suffering or to allow terminally ill person to die with dignity
Passive Euthanasia
involves withholding or discontinuing treatment that might extend the life of a terminally ill patient such as life support
Active Euthanasia
“mercy killing” involves action taken directly or deliberate to shorten life
Advance Directive
+ Contains instructions for when and how to discontinue futile medical care
+ Living will or a more formal legal document called a durable power of attorney
Durable Power of Attorney
appoints another person if the maker of the document becomes incompetent to do so
Assisted Suicide
physician or someone else helps a person bring about a self-inflicted death
Life Review
a process of reminisce that enables a person to see the significance of his or her life
Denial (Positive Avoidance)
person rejects evidence about diagnosis
Fighting Spirit
person maintains an optimistic attitude and searches for more information about the diseases
Stoic Acceptance
person acknowledges the diagnosis but makes no effort to seek any further information, or person ignores the diagnosis and carries on normal life as much as possible
Helplessness/Hopelessness
sees herself as dying or gravely ill and as devoid of hope
Anxious Preoccupation
responded to the diagnosis strongly and with persistent anxiety; they interpret the information pessimistically
Bowlby’s Stages of Grief (with Sanders)
- Numbness (Shock)
- Yearning (Awareness)
- Disorganization and Despair (Conservation/Withdrawal)
- Reorganization (Healing and Renewal)
Numbness (Shock)
mourner experiences disbelief, confusion, restlessness, feelings of unreality, a sense of helplessness
Yearning (Awareness)
bereaved person tries to recover the lost person, may actively search or wander as if searching, may report that he sees the dead person, mourner feels full of anger, anxiety, guilt, fear, frustration, may sleep poorly and weep often
Disorganization and Despair (Conservation/Withdrawal)
acceptance of loss brings depression and despair or a sense of helplessness, accompanied by great fatigue and a desire to sleep all the time
Reorganization (Healing and Renewal)
individual takes control again, some forgetting occurs, and some sense of hope emerges
Four Distinct Patterns of Grieving
- Normal
- Chronic
- Delayed
- Absent
Normal Grieving
feels great distress immediately following
the loss, with rapid recovery
Chronic Grieving
distress continues at a high level over several years
Delayed Grieving
feels little distress in the first few months, but high levels of distress some months or years later
Absent Grieving
person feels no notable level of distress either immediately or any later time
