Posts Tagged ‘death and dying’

DEATH AND DYING

Coping with a death of love one or with anticipation of one’s own death is considered the ultimate challenge.  The idea of death is threatening and anxiety-provoking to many people.  Kubler-Ross (1975,p. 1) stated, “The key to the question of death unlocks the door of life,… For those who seek to understand it, death is a highly creative force.  ”Common fears of dying people are fear of the unknown, pain, suffering, loneliness, loss of the body, and loss of personal control.

In recent years, the experience of dying has changed as advances have been made in the care of chronically and terminally ill patients.  Technologic innovations and modern therapeutic treatments have prolonged the life span, and many deaths are now the result in physiologic deterioration and subsequent multisystem failure.