WEEK 7: Death & Dying

The inevitable stage of death can be complicated on several levels. There are different types of death, the four described in LIFESMART are: clinical, brain, biological and social. These four are used to physically tell if someone is dead.  Social death, which I didn't know of until I read it, sounds morose and terrifying! To act like someone is dead just to be more efficient in preparation is startling.

With death comes grief and the effects from it. If not properly resolved, grief can have negative physical and mental effects. Delayed grief can trigger depression for almost any reason some time after the death. Distorted grief can result in psychosomatic symptoms that physically affect an individual. Complicated grief can also have physical symptoms but these may be unrelated to the death and may require therapy in order to deal with the grief.

Spirituality is one of the major talking points of death. The reflection of one's life is important to the soul. I think that I agree with Wilson's theory that says that "religion and spirituality are inseparable and that together they grant essential benefits to believers." I guess to me, if you take care of yourself spiritually throughout your life, then your soul will ultimately be fine.

The poem at the end of the chapter was thought provoking. I read it as a 26 year old and if I could live my life again, I would do the things that the poem stated. I know that I have a lot of years ahead of me, I just know that I could have lived better (in my opinion). Perhaps I should take that thought and apply it to my future. That way, at the end of my life, I can say that I would not change my life.