DEATH AS A/AN: The lack of brain activity must prevail both in the brainstem and in - Usually occurs between

- Usually occurs between 2-4 months of age.

 IMAGE/OBJECT the cortex. - The infant immediately stops breathing and the cause
g
 STATISTIC BRAINSTEM – involves the vegetative functions such as heartbeat is not yet known.
 EVENT and respiration CHILDHOOD
 STATE OF BEING CORTEX – involves higher processes such as thinking. - Death occurs most often because of accidental deaths
 ANALOGY Persistent Vegetative state (drowning, poisoning, fire, fall from a high place,
 MYSTERY It is possible for a person’s cortical functioning to cease while automobile accidents)
 BOUNDARY brainstem activity continues. - May also be due to some illnesses.
 THIEF OF MEANING The person does not recover. ADOLESCENCE
 FEAR AND ANXIETY Bioethical issues - Death occurs most often because of suicide, motor
 REWARD EUTHANASIA vehicular accidents secondary to alcoholism.
 PUNISHMENT - The practice of ending life for reasons of mercy. ADULTS
- The act of painlessly putting to death persons who are - Younger adults and middle-aged adults may die of
suffering from an incurable disease or severe disability. accidents and diseases.
LEGAL & MEDICAL
DEFINITIONS - Sometimes called “mercy killing” - Younger adults who are dying often feel cheated more
ACTIVE EUTHANASIA than do older adults who are dying.
CLINICAL DEATH Involves the deliberate ending of someone’s life, which may be - Younger adults are more likely to feel they have not
- lack of heartbeat based on a clear statement of the person’s wishes or a decision had the opportunity to do what they want to with their
- lack of respiration made by someone else who has the legal authority to do so. lives.
BRAIN DEATH Examples: - They might perceive they are losing what they might
- No spontaneous movement in - Administering a drug overdose achieve
response to any stimuli - Disconnecting a life – support system - Older adults are more likely to die from chronic
- No spontaneous respirations for PASSIVE EUTHANASIA diseases.
at least one hour - Involves allowing a person to die by withholding - Their diseases often incapacitate before they kill,
- Total lack of responsiveness to available treatment. which produces a course of dying that slowly leads to
even the most painful stimuli Example: death.
- No eye movements blinking, or - Withholding chemotherapy from a cancer patient - They perceive losing what they have.
pupil responses - Not performing a surgical procedure IDEAS ABOUT DEATH THROUGH LIFE SPAN
- No postural activity, - Withdrawing food INFANTS
swallowing, yawning, or vocalizing Causes of death & expectations about death - Researchers believe that infants do not have even a
- No motor reflexes Death can occur at any point in the human life cycle. rudimentary concept of death.
- A flat PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT - As infants develop an attachment to a caregiver, they
electroencephalogram (EEG) for - Miscarriages or stillborn births can experience loss or separation and an
at least 10 minutes BIRTH PROCESS accompanying anxiety.
- No change in any of SIDS - The reappearance of the caregiver provides a
these criteria when they are Sudden Infant Death Syndrome continuity of existence and a reduction of anxiety.
tested again 24 hours later - The sudden death of an apparently healthy infant.
CHILDHOOD
-Preschool-age children tend to believe that
death is temporary and magical.
-3 – 5 years of age have little or no idea of what
death really means.
-They may confuse death with sleep.
-They believe that the dead can be brought back
to life spontaneously by magic or by giving them
some food or medical treatment.
Children’s perception of death
(Nagy, 1948)
-3-5 years of age: Denied that death exists
-6-9 years of age: Believed that death exists
selectively
-9 years & older: Recognized death’s finality and
universality.
DEATH & DYING
A child’s experiences of death and loss may
become life-long memories for the adult.
- George Dickinson
IDEAS ABOUT DEATH THROUGH LIFE SPAN
FIRST EXPERIENCES
-The first tie a child experiences the death of a
relative or a pet, they are vulnerable.
Some find it highly traumatic, whereas others
appear less affected.
-Adults must be sensitive to children’s needs at
the time of a death.
-How adults handle such situations could later
help the child deal with the death of a relative.
-It is important for children to know that it is
okay for them to feel sad, to cry, or to show
their feelings in whatever way they want.
-This will help children deal with their confusion
at adult’s explanations of death.
- Understanding death can be particularly
difficult for children when adults are not open
and honest with them.
It is best to deal with children on their terms. UNDERSTANDING DEATH
Euphemisms must not be used. FORCES IN ACTION
Example: “Mommy is only sleeping” - Biological forces
ADOLESCENCE - Psychological forces
They clearly understand the realities of death. - Magical Approach (transcendent and transforming)
With the onset of formal operational thinking, their STAGE THEORY OF DYING
understanding of death becomes eve more adult Proposed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
like. -Most dying people follow a sequence of emotional
Adolescents may be more concerned with the reactions.
quality of their live than with how long will they FIVE STAGES:
live. DENIAL STAGE
Reluctant to discuss death and dying. - Shock and disbelief
They have a sense that they are immortal, that - Normal part of getting ready to die
nothing bad will happen to them. ANGER STAGE
YOUNG ADULTHOOD - People Express hostility, resentment and envy
Because young adults are just beginning to pursue toward other people.
the family, career, and personal goals they have - Expresses great deal of frustration.
set, they tend to be more intense in their feelings - “Why ME?!”
toward death. - Feels that life is so unfair.
Characterized by a lessening of the feeling of BARGAINING STAGE
immortality as young adults begin to integrate - People look for a way out.
personal feeling and emotions with their thinking. - Maybe a deal can be struck with someone (perhaps
MIDDLE AGE God) to allow survival
Midlife is the time when most people confront the DEPRESSION STAGE
death of their parents. - People feel depressed when the illness can no
People tend not to think much about their own longer be denied.
death. - People experience feeling of deep loss, sorrow, guilt
Once their parents have died, people realize that and shame over their illness and its consequences.
they are now the oldest generation of their family. ACCEPTANCE STAGE
As a result of this growing realization of their own - People feel depressed when the illness can no
mortality, middle-aged adults’ sense of time longer be denied.
undergoes a subtle yet profound change. - People experience feeling of deep loss, sorrow, guilt
LATE ADULTHOOD and shame over their illness and its consequences.
-Older Adults are less anxious about death.
-For many adults, the joy of living is diminishing.
-They may feel that their most important life tasks
have been completed.
PHASE THEORY OF DYING
Kubler-Ross viewed dying as a series of discrete stages. In contrast, some writers view dying as a continuous process.
THREE PHASES:
ACUTE PHASE
- This begins when the individual becomes aware that his or her condition is terminal.
- Marked by a high level of anxiety, denial, anger and even bargaining.
- In time, the person adjusts to the idea of being terminally ill, and anxiety gradually declines.
CHRONIC LIVING-DYING PHASE
- A person generally has many contradictory feelings that must be integrated.
- Fear of loneliness, fear of the unknown, and anticipatory grief over the loss of friends, of body, of self-control, and of identity.
- These feelings of fear and grief exist simultaneously or alternate with feelings of hope, determination, and acceptance.
TERMINAL PHASE
- The individual starts to withdraw from the world.
- The shortest phase and ends with death.
Death & dying
Theories of dying agree that how people deal with their won death is a complicated process.
Denial and acceptance can take many forms and may even occur simultaneously.
People must stay in touch with the dying person’s (and their own) feelings and be available for support.
Death anxiety pervades society
People are uncomfortable thinking about their own death.
A self-reflective exercise on death:
1. In 200 words or less, write your own obituary. Be sure to include your age and cause of death. List your lifetime accomplishments. Don’t forget to list your
survivors.
2. Think about all the things you will have done that are not listed in your obituary. List some of them.
3. Think of all the friends you will have made and how you will have affected them.
4. Would you make any changes in your own obituary now?