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17: Death, Dying, and Grieving

Last updated

Feb 18, 2025
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- 16.11: Essay Questions
- 17.0: What Does Psychology Say?

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17.0: What Does Psychology Say?
The page discusses the unexpected death of Ray, who was diagnosed with aggressive cancer at 44, and the impact on his family and friends. It reflects on themes such as preparing for death, making end-of-life decisions, and the grieving process. Through Ray's story, the chapter aims to explore the concept of death, healthcare options at the end of life, social and cultural dimensions of dying, children's understanding of death, and what constitutes a "good death."
17.1: Biological, Psychological, and Social Aspects of Death and Dying
This page discusses various aspects and perspectives on death, including physical, psychological, and social dimensions. It explores differences in life expectancy and causes of death globally, emphasizing factors like genetics, lifestyle, and cultural beliefs. The text also delves into definitions of death, such as clinical and biological death, and distinctions like brain death.
17.2: End-of-Life Care
This page discusses end-of-life care options, decisions faced by individuals and families, and ethical considerations. It provides an overview of care settings such as hospitals, homes, and hospice, highlighting the percentage of deaths in each location and cultural influences. The article also covers legal aspects like advance directives, living wills, and organ donation, and ethical issues such as euthanasia and assisted suicide.
17.3: Coping with Death
This page explores the complexities of the grief and mourning process, emphasizing its individualized nature and the varying emotional reactions to death. It discusses Elisabeth K??bler-Ross's five themes of grief???denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance???and addresses both their strengths and limitations. Alternative grief theories, such as the narrative approach and the dual-process model, are presented to highlight the diverse ways individuals cope with loss.
17.4: Life Review, Successful Life, and a Good Death
17.5: Key Terms
The page provides a glossary of terms related to end-of-life care, death, and grief. It includes definitions for concepts such as active euthanasia, advance directives, assisted suicide, and various forms of death (biological, brain, cardiopulmonary, and clinical). It also covers the emotional aspects of dealing with death like grief, mourning, and death anxiety, as well as legal documents like wills and living wills.
17.6: Summary
The text delves into various aspects related to death and dying, exploring the biological, psychological, and social facets. The experience of death varies based on causes and the trajectory of decline, while life expectancy is influenced by behavior, race, and location. Psychosocial considerations include handling bad news and discomfort discussing death, influenced by cultural and religious beliefs.
17.7: Review Questions
17.8: Check Your Understanding Questions
17.9: Personal Application Questions
17.10: Essay Questions

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