PSYC 208 - Midterm 1 Review

Senenscence

"wearing out" of organs as a result of various aging processes.

consciousness of self = consciousness of mortality

- ability to reflect on ourselves

- without consciousness, we would not be able to understand mortality

Death Instincts/Thanatos

we can never be fully aware of our death instincts

The Paradox of Mortality

Though hardwired to die, we are also hardwired to survive.

psychological concept of death (5 parts)

1. Nonfunctionality

2. Irreversibility (Finality)

3. Universality

- We understand that death applies to all life It is a condition of life, everything dies

4. Applicability

- Death applies to living things but not to inanimate objects

5. Causality

- We are aware of what leads to death

Between the ages of 3 and 5 children... (2 parts)

- develop a limited and inaccurate conception of death.

- An understanding of the non functionality of death emerges, but death is not typically seen as final or universal

What is magical thinking?

Ex. Someone will come back "from a trip" "from somewhere" when they have died

Between the ages of 5 and 10, children... (3 parts)

- begin to understand that death is final and, eventually, universal.

- An understanding of the irreversibility and universality of death emerges.

- Causality is often understood by this point as well

Between the ages of 10 and 16, adolescents... (2 parts)

- adolescents develop a more complex and abstract understanding of death.

-this stage that the universality of death was completely understood.

Terror Management Theory (3 part)

- Mortality salience impacts our behaviours & cognitions...

- Death anxiety/fear of mortality are our biggest motivators in life.

- The terror of absolute annihilation or non-existence produces great anxiety — we spend our lives trying to make sense of it.

Neutral Death Acceptance

People with this attitude accept the inevitability of death; they neither look forward to it nor fear its occurrence

- giving in

- not trying to avoid or accept death

Who created the "Stages of Dying"

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: was a Swiss-American psychiatrist and pioneer in near-death studies.

Denial

A temporary shock response in which the person does not believe or accept what is happening.

Anger

Feelings of frustration and resentment over what is happening

Barganing

A brief stage involving irrational attempts to postpone death.

Depression

Feelings of sadness, despair, and helplessness; a grieving over one's losses and impending death.

- Reactive depression -(past losses) - job, hobbies, mobility

- Preparatory depression (losses to come) - family, relationships.

Acceptance

- A 'giving in' and realizing of the inevitability of death; often neither happy nor sad—sometimes void of feelings.

- No longer in denial; neither depressed nor angry.

"Acceptance should not be mistaken for a happy stage

Three-Phase Descriptive Model - Pattison

- Acute Phase - anxiety and fear are at their peak. awareness of death

- Chronic Living-Dying Phase - anxiety reduced; questions about the unknown are asked; acceptance begins.

- Terminal Phase - imminent death is finally accepted; person withdraws emotionally and socially.

Stages of Death Work - Shneidman

- The Psychological - preparing to meet one's end and coming to terms with dying.

- The Social - enabling oneself to help loved ones in the preparation for their survival.

Achieving an 'Appropriate' Death - Weisman & Hackett

- Reduction of conflicts (inner & outer).

- Compatibility with ego ideal.

- Continuity of relationships is preserved & restored.

- Fulfillment of prevailing wish(es). alignment of own values

Reminiscence

Volitional and non-volitional act of recollecting memories of one's self in the past

Life Review

Return of memories and past conflicts at end of life; spontaneous or structured evaluation/reconciliation of one's life.

Symbolic Immortality

- A sense of continuity or immortality obtained through symbolic means. (Children, religion/spirituality, teaching/mentoring, sense of connectedness to nature)

- Not only does symbolic immortality give life meaning, it also ensures our continued symbolic connection to others after we die.

Why might someone 'wish for death'

- Suicidal Ideation

- Physical Illness and Suicide

What are some of the factors that contribute to Suicidal Ideation?

- Mental illness

- Other psych. factors

- Life events (including illness)

- Gender

- Age

- Ethnicity, minority status, and income level

The Near-Death Experience (NDE)

involve a variety of sensations reported by people who have died and been brought back to life, and by people who have come close to death

Examples of Near Death Experiences

- Hearing someone pronounce them dead.

- Hearing some sort of auditory sensation.

- Seeing themselves & others from outside of their bodies.

- Feelings of peace.

- Travelling through a dark space or tunnel.

- Interacting with deceased loved ones and/or beings of light.

- Seeing a review of their life.

- Coming back into their body

Is there a a physiological explanation for a NDE?

- Your brain does not shut down as quickly as the rest of your body when your heart stops beating.

- NDEs are very similar to drug-induced hallucinations, but not identical. Ketamine produces most similar experience, followed by psychedelics (salvia, DMT)

Why could an NDE have a postive impact?

- new sense of meaning & purpose loss of fear of death new

- renewed belief in an afterlife new sense of self

- increased self-esteem more open

- caring, and loving

Edgework

- Behaviour that explores the limits of safety and convention; voluntary risk-taking

- Transcendent experiences that give people a sense of meaning by bringing them face-to-face with their own mortality

How else has edgework been used?

academic career risk-taking

extreme ritual performances

negotiating violent domestic relationships

'pro-anorexia' subculture

rogue stock trading

posting naked selfies on social media

commercial sex work

What is grief?

Grief refers to intense suffering caused by a death or loss.

What is Bereavement?

Bereavement is a period of sorrow, loneliness, and grief that is experienced after a loss; those who experience the loss are referred to as bereaved.

What is mourning?

Mourning refers to public displays of grief that conform to social and cultural norms.

Why does grief occur

Significant loss causes an injury to our attachment system - it poses a threat to our sense of security and safety.

The Survivor's Acceptance

Accepting the reality that our loved one is physically gone and recognizing that this new reality is the permanent reality.

- Involves learning to live with loss; learning to "live again."

- Does not necessarily involve being "okay" with the loss.

What are the Four Stages of Grief?

1. Shock and Numbness

2. Yearning and Searching

3. Despair and Disorganization

4. Reorganization and Recovery

Anticipatory Grief

When a loved one is expected to die, reactions may be anticipated and scenarios played out. Often suggested to reduce grief

What might be some factors that effect grief?

- The nature of the death or loss (e.g., sudden)

- The nature of the relationship w/ the deceased

- Individual differences (e.g., personality, age, experience)

- Social factors (e.g., social support)

The Nature of the Death/Loss

Grief is typically worsened if the death is sudden or unexpected, accidental (vs. natural), stigmatized, preventable, or resulting from a suicide, an act of violence, or a traumatic event

Unexpected Death

- Unexpected death is the most common traumatic experience and the most likely to be rated as the worst

- Increased incidence (after unexpected death) was observed for depressive episodes, panic disorder, and PTSD

Suicide and Drug Overdose

Parents in the suicide and drug overdose group had significantly more mental health challenges.

Ambiguous Loss

- Occurs when there is lack of clarity over who or what has been lost; and/or whether the loss should be difficult

- Not sure if they should be feeling grief, but have an overwhelming grief response

The Nature of the Relationship

Grief can be affected by the type of relationship (e.g., spouse, child), the strength of the relationship or degree of attachment, conflicts that were present in the relationship, and the type of support the deceased person provided

Losing a Parent

- Losing a parent is a highly stressful life event for children.

- Bereaved children are at higher risk of behavioural problems, mental/physical illness, increased stress reactivity, mortality (into early adulthood), and suicide

Losing a Spouse/Partner

- Losing a spouse/partner is one of the most stressful events a person can experience.

- An estimated one third of spousal bereavement occurs before the age of 45.

- Bereaved participants were at higher risk of dying from any cause compared to non‐bereaved participants

The Widowhood Effect

A phenomenon in which older people who have lost a spouse or partner have an increased risk of dying themselves

Losing a Child

- Losing a child is typically the hardest loss to endure...

- Studies suggest that the greatest stress / most lasting grief occur for parents who experience the death of a child

- "Against the norm" "The child isn't supposed to die before the parent"

- Unexpected deaths are much more difficult Primarily because of the social stigma behind the death

Losing a Pet

- Feelings of grief following pet loss can be intense and overwhelming; multiple losses are common

- Severity of grief depends on degree of attachment to pet

Disenfranchised Grief

- Feeling can't grieve over something

- Not taken seriously

- Feel like people would judge for having intense feelings of loss over a pet

What does grief in children look like?

Children often grieve in spurts because they cannot sustain the intense feelings for long periods of time.

- Common reactions include: irritability and protest, constant crying, a change in sleeping and eating habits, decreased activity and weight loss

Neuroticism

anxiety, insecurity, emotional instability

Complicated Grief/Prolonged Grief Disorder

Complicated grief occurs when the grieving process does not progress as expected.

Wat are some of the symptoms of complicated grief?

Typical symptoms include:

- prolonged acute grief with intense yearning and sorrow - lasting longer than expected

- frequent troubling thoughts about the death and become intrusive over time

- excessive avoidance of reminders of the loss

What are some methods of Grief Counselling?

1. Cognitive Restructuring

2. Evocative Language

3. Narrative Therapy

4. Memorialization Activties/ Personal Grief Rituals

5. Complicated Grief Treatment

Cognitive Restructuring

Changing negative thoughts that underlie difficult emotions (e.g. "I'm all alone now").

- Counsellor identifies thoughts, challenges them for accuracy, and helps client to replace them with more realistic ones.

Evocative Language

Counsellor may use 'tough' words (e.g. "your son is dead" rather than "you lost your son") to encourage a greater acceptance of the reality of the loss.

Narrative Therapy

Writing can be used to help the survivor express their feelings and thoughts more freely.

- E.g., having the client write a letter to the deceased person in order to express things that were left unsaid - may help taking care of "unfinished business" with the deceased.

Memorialization Activities / Personal Grief Rituals

Activities aimed at remembering and honouring the deceased; letting go of the deceased; and/or elements of self-transformation.

- E.g., creating a memory book, ritual activities such as lighting candles, planting a tree, visiting a place; sometimes done with friends and family

Complicated Grief Treatment

- A 16-session clinical protocol.

- Client history, daily grief monitoring, goal-setting.

- Imaginal and situational revisiting procedures, work with memories and pictures.

- Imaginal conversation with the deceased.

Integrated Grief

- The lasting form of grief in which loss-related thoughts, feelings, behaviours are integrated into a person's ongoing functioning.

- Grief has a place in the person's life without dominating.

Continuing Bonds

"the presence of an ongoing inner relationship with the deceased person by the bereaved individual"

Post Death Encounters

Bereaved individuals often report seeing, hearing, or feeling the presence of the deceased

Why might Post Death Encounters be helpful?

- People attempt to make sense of the experiences.

- Experiences can affect beliefs in afterlife, death attitudes.

- Experiences often have a healing effect by making the bereaved feel more connected to the deceased person.

Continuing Bonds on Social Media

Many individuals routinely use Social Media platform pages to continue their relationships with the deceased.

How do poeple grieve online?

Grief Forums

Online memorials

Social Media

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Thanatology

the study of death and dying

non functionality is always acquired

First

causality is always acquired.

Last

Main sources of children's learning about death and dying include: (3 parts)

(i) direct experiences of death,

(ii) parental communication about death, and (

(iii) portrayals of death in the media and the arts

Mortality Salience

- Children and young adults give little thought to the possibility of dying

- Mortality salience increases with age.

- Greater mortality salience does not always lead to death anxiety.

Thanatophobia

clinical fear of death

Necrophobia

a fear of dead or dying persons and or things

Common factors identified in models of death anxiety ( 4 parts)

1. Death is seen as a radical transformation and separation.

2. Death is understood as an annihilation of the self.

- mere thought of nonexistence is unsettling or not possible

3. Death is a threat to the realization of life's basic goals and propensities.

4. Death is a threat to the meaningfulness of life

- threatens your sources of meaning relationship, goals, etc.

Death anxiety tends to decrease with age, despite increasing mortality salience. What are some of the reasons for this?

- Having accumulated more experience with loss and death

- Having lived a long life and accepting death as natural.

- Sense of peace, greater hope in the afterlife

- Lost relationships, don't have much purpose or meaning anymore

- Lack of engagement and involvement in life

State vs. Process

"I fear death" (the state) vs. "I am afraid to die" (the process)

- The fear of death vs. the fear of dying.

How do people cope with the fear?

- Deny it, divert it (to other matters), or displace it.

- Self-actualize; live their lives with meaning and purpose.

- Some overcome it entirely in creativity and connection.

- Others still "refuse the loan of life to avoid the debt of death."

When presented with a threat to our mortality, we either...

1. deny the threat / try to prolong life

2. adhere more strongly to our worldviews and defend our self-esteem

Proximal defences

occur when thoughts of death are conscious and in focus

Distal defences

occur when thoughts of death are out of conscious awareness

death thought accessibility (DTA)

difficult time accessing those thoughts/don't want to think about it

Meaning Maintenance Theory

The search for meaning is a primary motive (not the fear of death); we are driven to make meaning in life.

Death Denial

Ignoring or suppressing the thought of death, including any associated anxiety

Death Acceptance

- A 'giving in' and realizing of the inevitability of death

- "Being psychologically prepared for the final exit"

Approach-Oriented Death Acceptance

People with this attitude feel truly positive about death and may even look forward to its occurrence

- perhaps witness a lot of death and rather go peacefully than other alternatives

- in some cases they want you to experience their emotions - laugh at jokes, don't feel uncomfortable

Escape-Oriented Death Acceptance

People with this attitude welcome the end of life and view death as an escape from pain and suffering

- those terminally ill/suffering

- suicidal ideation/suicide - mental suffering

- MAID - medically assisted in death