Reflections On Some Creative Modes of Confrontation With the Phenomenon of Death

Abstract

This essay deals with the positive aspects of heightened awareness of the phenomenon of death in'society in general, and for mental health personnel in particular. It is suggested that as man lives by complex symbolic thinking developed within his culture and has the need for fantasy, he is capable of lowering his own death anxiety through certain social acts and creative works. Insights have been drawn from various thinkers who have dealt with this primary struggle of man. The analysis has been built on concepts such as &dquo;Meaning of life&dquo; (Frank ), &dquo;Identity and Psychohistory&dquo; (Erikson) and &dquo;Symbolic Immortality&dquo; (Lifton). The thesis that the successful resolution of the mourning process i may be an idea beyond one's individual self is expanded and applied to the Israeli context. The author brings examples from her work with war-bereaved families, research on mourning behaviour and from experience in the field of immigrant mental health problems. In view of the focus on &dquo;awareness&dquo;, the approach has been frankly subjective in parts as well as intellectual.Formal university courses in death education are advocated.As an anthropologist who has been working in the field of mental health in Israel for over 25 years, I feel the personal need and the intellectual necessity to engender an open and free-flowing discussion of death. My wish to give some inkling of the nature of my personal involvement in the subject is directly connected with what, I believe, is the scientific and philosophical obligation for thosd of us in the helping professions to confront ourselves with the phenomenon of death *and the mourning process.In this essay, I shall not attempt to present a well-worked out construct or paradigm based on the major theories and the namifold aspects of 'the phenomenon. I think this is a formidable but feasible task which can be achieved provided that a group of interested colleagues, with different intellectual backgrounds combine their insights and experience, to present a working model of study built on universal principles, though based, in particular, on Israeli experience. In the meanwhile, I would like to present some reflections on the subject in the hope that my experiences will be helpful for others who are still holding back, because of the natural reluctance which exists in all of us. In this regard, I see Kubler-Ross's ~ work as a &dquo;break through&dquo; primarily because of her determination and strength of conviction to carry out her research despite the resistance and opposition of her colleagues. The themes which I shall discuss in this essay are intrinsic to the study of the death phenomenon and, the confrontation of which, helped me to overcome my own inner misgivings and rendered me more receptive to new insights.While, as I stated at the outset, I have no paradigm to present, I do have a central motif which dominates my attitude to the phendmenon of death and around which I have organized my thinking and research in which I have been involved for the ...

Death Anxiety in a National Sample of United States Funeral Directors and its Relationship with Death Exposure, Age, and Sex

“…Review of mortuary science program's death education components may provide information applicable to the development of death education in training programs for mental health workers. Finally, Palgi (1983) discussed the relevance of raising death awareness in the public sector because individuals who have failed to reduce death anxiety may experience significant unrest and a decrease in mental well-being.…”

Holocaust survivors: Coping with post‐traumatic memories in childhood and 40 years later

“…Despite survivors' avoidance of dealing with their experiences, there have been different mechanisms which have helped them to develop new meaning for existence. Among these are mourning processes that remained latent, delayed, inhibited, slowed down, or intermittent (Kestenberg, 1982;Klein, 1987; Lifton, 1967Lifton, ,1977Palgi, 1983; Palgi and Abramovitch, 1984); the use of defense mechanisms (Gampel, 1989; Klein and Kogan, 1987;Lifton, 1967Lifton, , 1977; attachment to memories of prewar periods (Auerhahn and h u b , 1984; Kestenberg and Brenner, 1986); and concentration on the reentry phase to society after the war by projecting themselves into the future (Dasberg, 1987; Kestenberg and Gampel, 1983;Lifton, 1967). These mechanisms, among others, preserved the victims' psychological integrity throughout certain periods of the post-trauma era.…”

Holocaust survivors: Coping with post-traumatic memories in childhood and 40 years later

“…Among these are mourning processes that remained latent, delayed, inhibited, slowed down, or intermittent (Kestenberg, 1982;Klein, 1987;Lifton, 1967Lifton, ,1977Palgi, 1983; Palgi and Abramovitch, 1984); the use of defense mechanisms (Gampel, 1989; Klein and Kogan, 1987;Lifton, 1967Lifton, , 1977; attachment to memories of prewar periods (Auerhahn and h u b , 1984; Kestenberg and Brenner, 1986); and concentration on the reentry phase to society after the war by projecting themselves into the future (Dasberg, 1987; Kestenberg and Gampel, 1983;Lifton, 1967). Among these are mourning processes that remained latent, delayed, inhibited, slowed down, or intermittent (Kestenberg, 1982;Klein, 1987;Lifton, 1967Lifton, ,1977Palgi, 1983; Palgi and Abramovitch, 1984); the use of defense mechanisms (Gampel, 1989; Klein and Kogan, 1987;Lifton, 1967Lifton, , 1977; attachment to memories of prewar periods (Auerhahn and h u b , 1984; Kestenberg and Brenner, 1986); and concentration on the reentry phase to society after the war by projecting themselves into the future (Dasberg, 1987; Kestenberg and Gampel, 1983;Lifton, 1967).…”