Ch 19. Death, Dying, and Bereavement Flashcards
Advance Medical Directive
A written statement of desired medical treatment should one become incurably ill (a living will and durable power of attorney).
Agonal Phase
Refers to a rattled breathing sound, due to fluid buildup in the throat, and to gasps and muscle spasms during the first moments in which regular heartbeat disintegrates.
Anticipatory Grieving
Acknowledging that the loss is inevitable and preparing emotionally for it.
Appropriate Death
Is one that makes sense in terms of the individual’s pattern of living and values and preserves or restores significant relationships and is as free of suffering as possible.
“Good Death”
Includes the following goals: maintaining a sense of identity or inner continuity with one’s past, clarifying the meaning of one’s life and death, maintaining and enhancing close relationships, achieving a sense of control over time that remains, confronting and preparing for death.
Bereavement
The experience of losing a loved one by death.
Brain Death
Irreversible cessation of all activity in the brain and the brain stem (which controls reflexes).
Clinical Death
A short interval follows in which heartbeat, circulation, breathing, and brain functioning stop, but resuscitation is still possible.
Complicated Grief
Severe, prolonged distress, depression, and lack of acceptance of the death that persists for years, impairing physical and mental health.
Death Anxiety
Fear and apprehension of death
Disenfranchised Grief
A sense of loss without the opportunity to mourn publicly and benefit from others’ support - which can profoundly disrupt the grief process.
Dual-Process Model of Coping with Loss
Effective coping requires people to oscillate between dealing with the emotional consequences of loss and attending to life changes, which - when handled successfully - have restorative, or healing, effects.
A durable power of attorney for health care
Authorizes appointment of another person to make health-care decisions on one’s behalf.
Grief
How we respond to loss. With intense physical and psychological distress.
Hospice
Is not a place but a comprehensive program of support services for terminally ill people and their families. It aims to provide a caring community sensitive to the dying person’s needs so patients and family members can prepare for death in ways that are satisfying to them.
