Death and Dying

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Death and Dying
Michael Scott had served four tours to various parts of the Middle East among them Afghanistan and Iraq. Joining the army in his early twenties, Scott had risen through the ranks to become one of the most esteemed service men in his division. He had finally become a general, one of his childhood dreams and one that he shared with his late father who also a general in the marines. The last few years have been the most dramatic for Scott forcing him to seek counselling from the local veterans hospital. He never thought he would be seating on his front porch alone reminiscing the gone days. In 2012 he lost his dad to cancer and his mother had died seven years earlier after succumbing to Alzheimer’s. He wished that he would have had enough time with them and that he would share his memories with them whenever he could. That’s was not the case at the moment and life did seam unfair and the future bleak for him. Last year but one in January, he had come home to bury his beloved wife and only son. He was called in from his station to witness the horrors of losing the closest family members that he had. They had passed away from a car accident after visiting him. Before his wife left, they had argued about mortgaging the house and moving to a beach house that was on offer. The last thing he remembers was telling his wife that they could not afford it as his promotion was coming on slow and that she was not doing so well either. With the Matt his son going to college, they needed all the money that they could get to support his education and that moving would cause financial strain. Now he wanted to tell his wife that they could afford it as he finally made it to be a general. It has been one year since he lost his right leg to an attack on his camp in Afghanistan. He was the only one the survived to tell the horrors, but he wishes that he hadn’t.
Across the road is his neighbor Blake and his wife Melisa, who moved in some few months ago. As Scott seat on the porch, Blake comes with what seems like a paper on his left hand and keys on the right hand. He really angry at something, but Scott can tell what it is that he is saying to Melisa. As she stands at the door that is now wide open, Blake walks towards the car still ranting about something then turn back towards Melisa who is standing at the door, in her red robes with her arms crossed. Blake is the only one talking and Melisa is crying and every time she tries to talk, Blake shoots her down. Blake draws closer to her and seems really agitated and Scott thinks that this situation may turn violent. Scott holds on to his crutches tightly as he make an attempt to rise to his feet. Before he makes it to his feet, Blake storms away towards the car and speeds away. Melisa is visibly torn apart by whatever it was they were arguing about. She covers her face with her two hands and is now visibly shaken. When she look up and realizes that Scott is watching, she get it her house and closes the door behind her. Scott silently sympathizes with her but feels helpless to help the situation. He wishes that Blake understands the importance of loved ones and treats them as such. One never knows when death will snatch them. If he has one chance, Scott would want to make up with his wife, just to be with her. Scott remembers an incident that took place before his wife died and one that actively played a role in his wife’s decision to move from the neighborhood. Two blocks down the street, a couple had killed each other in cold blood over unclear circumstances, however, the most astonishing aspect about it was that they seemed to the role model of the neighborhood. Scott thinks to himself, there has been too much death around him and it was beginning to take its toll on his wellbeing. The doctor had suggested medication and counselling sessions every week to help with the alcoholism, depression and trauma.
The Psychology of Death and Dying
The irony of death is that it is the only aspect in life that is certain. Some people will have the chance to feel the grip of death as life slowly drains, while other others will never see the moment death approaching until it is too late. Either way, at one time everyone will have their unique experience that will finally end their life. The social tradition on most societies, are designed in such a way that they avoid the element of contemplating ones demise and mortality. As such the society has invested in social norms that demean death and all that is associated with it. People are shy to think about their own demise and choose to think about living their lives until that moment comes. The ideology behind living one’s life to the fullest is centrally related to death, but the undertone demeans death and elevates life. Ideally it is thought that for one to live they have to shun away all thought s related to death and concentrate their energies to living in the moment. Traditional wisdom suggests that in thinking about death, we will become depressed and anxious from the fear of death. It is the element of fear that has led to the development of offsetting behaviors in the society, where people try to seek status and defend values entrenched in their culture. Death is essentially viewed as a threat and thus people try to seek security as well as significance in defense against death.
Awareness of death is one the most subtle elements of radical shifts in people. Persons that have had near death experiences have a different perspective of life and death from the richness of the awareness relative to mortality. As such it can be said that awareness of death may not necessarily have negative impact as most of the people that have had near death experiences have had positive shifts towards living and appreciating the true nature of mortality. However is not just the near death experiences that bring about the appreciation for mortality. Where people are educated through research findings about certain aspects such healthy living, they tend to abide to the set standards when there is an element of death. People are more likely to shun away from eating processed foods when they know the risks that they pose towards contributing to mortality. Over and above the commitment to exercise there is the underlying fear of developing life threatening diseases. Awareness of death is however more complicated when it is involves the loved ones. Losing a loved one is never an easy situation and different people wil...