Death

Death is the end of life, the full cessation of vital functions in a biological organism. It is generally considered a permanent state in the field of biology, and all living things eventually die, whether through natural causes such as disease, or unnatural ones such as accident.

Many old people accept the prospect of death calmly, without fear. During their final illness, they may gradually lose interest in life and contact with those around them, and death may be welcomed as a release from suffering.

Younger people who learn that they are suffering from a terminal illness generally react differently from the old. They will usually show several reactions: refusal to face the likelihood of their own death, anger, depression and finally acceptance. Sometimes the reactions occur in that order, sometimes they are mixed.

A person's conscious or unconscious refusal to admit that he is going to die from his illness is an extrememly valuable defence mechanism. Shutting out reality protects a terminally ill person from emotional suffering. The patient may become quiet and withrawn and avoid answering questions, or may behave cheerfully and be overactive, as if to prove that everything is normal. If a person is denying death, he should be allowed to do so and not be forced to face reality.

Patients may ask themselves the angry question, "Why me?" Their anger, particularly if it is allied to physical aggressive and often ungrateful for the care they are receiving. To cope with behaviour of this kind may well need considerate understanding.

Depression in dying people may not be due simply to the prospect of their own death but to worry about their dependants, pain, weakness or even the inability to look after themselves.

Patients may reach a stage where they no longer deny their death or are angry or depressed about it but instead accept it. Such patients may be weak, sleep a lot, lose interest in their family and visitors and withdraw into themselves.

Death Links

Stanford Encyclopedia - Death

List of causes of death by rates

Death Stories