Death and dying Flashcards
(18 cards)
Q: What is clinical death?
A: Cessation of vital signs; possibly reversible.
Q: What is brain death?
A: No brain activity; legal definition of death.
Q: What is social death?
A: When the body is treated like a corpse by others (family, staff, etc.).
Q: When is death anxiety highest?
A: Peaks around age 50, then declines.
Q: Who reports more death anxiety: men or women?
A: Women.
Q: What’s the “Myth of Closure”?
A: The false idea that grief has a clear end point.
Q: What is Continuing Bonds Theory?
A: Maintaining emotional connections with the deceased over time.
Q: What are the 5 stages of grief (Kubler-Ross)?
A: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.
o Correlates of death anxiety
§ Age
§ Personality traits
§ Gender
§ Religion
o Older adults unique view of death
§ Related to disengagement process
§ More experience with loss
§ Combination of physical decline and loss of social status
§ More concerned with loss of dignity
· Responding to death. Prolonged grief disorder. The “Myth of Closure”
o Responding to death
§ Marking the end of life
§ Functions of death rituals
§ Bereavement
§ Complicated grief
o Prolonged grief disorder
§ Bereaved need not suffer, pre-occupation with the circumstances surrounding the death
§ Criteria for diagnosis
· Severe and persistent longing for the deceased person
· At least one month, after 6 months of the loss of a loved one
o The myth of closure
§ Closure implies the end of a business deal and moving on without looking back
§ The myth assumes we need to “get over it” and move on
o Continuing bonds theory
§ There are cultural expectations to “cut ties” the the deceased
§ Attachment theory tells us that bonds persist across the lifespan
§ Healthy grieving involves maintaining a continuing bond with the deceased
§ Survivors can find places for the dead in their ongoing lives
o Oscillations
§ Grieving involves oscillation between emotion, states of sadness of distress
§ These states can sometimes persist for long periods
§ Gradually, the swings reduce, and equilibrium is found again
· Stages of death and dying (Kubler-Ross)
Denial – mistake, cant be me, misdiagnosed, results got mixed up, not me
Anger – this isnt fair, angry at themselves (smoking could’ve causes lung cancer), at their parents, friends, medical staff, higher being
Bargaining - do anything they can do to postpone death, if I do all the chemotherapy and make the changes I need to make then I will be ok, I can beat this
Depression – reality of the illness sets in – experience form of depression – most likely of the 5 to occur
Acceptance - accepts that they are going to die, looking forward to seeing others in the afterlife, looking forward to no longer having symptoms
· Key issues about dying (Kubler-Ross)
o Individuals who are dying are still alive and may have unfinished needs they want to address
o Others should listen actively to their needs in order to provide effective care for them
o Everyone can learn from dying to understand themselves better
Prolonged Grief Disorder
Prolonged Grief Disorder
Bereaved need not suffer
Diagnosis allows the griever to receive proper treatment
Added to dsm-5 in 2022
Criteria for diagnosis
Severe and persistent longing for the deceased person
Preoccupation with the circumstances surrounding the death
Treatment
Psychotherapy (CBT)
Bereavement support groups
Medication
Criticism
Pathologizes fundamental human experience
Pharmaceutical company profits
Examples of healthy prolonged grief – women won’t go into her dead daughters room for three years bc she just felt ready
Grief
Grief – intense feeling of sorrow experience after the loss of a loved one
