death and dying: the final "stage".

death and dying: the final "stage". the life cycle begins with the life of a single cell and ends with the death of the person who unfolded from that cell. in recent years, the topic of death and dying, particularly among the elderly, has received some long overdue scientific attention. this research has produced some interesting results.
thoughts of death are an important part of the last stages of life for many individuals. older adults spend more time thinking about death than do younger adults. contemplating and planning for one's death is a normal part of old age (kalish and reynolds, 1976). older adults tend to be less frightened by death than are younger adults. older adults often come to accept its inevitability with little anguish. indeed, it often helps them make the most out of the time remaining (carstensen and charles, 1998).
one's fear of death is related to other variables besides age, however. one significant factor is religious belief. highly religious individuals experience the least fear of death. non religious individuals experience moderate levels of anxiety about death, whereas religious people who do not consistently practice their faith experience the greatest fear of dying (nelson and nelson, 1973).
psychiatrist elisabeth kubler-ross (1969, 1974) provided us with new and important insights into the process of dying through her interviews of hundreds of terminally ill patients. from these interviews, she developed a theory that people who learn of their impending death (and sometimes the impending death of their loved ones) tend to pass through five rather distinct stages:
denial. at first, the individual strongly resists the idea of death by denying the validity of the information about his or her terminal illness. it's common at this stage for the terminally ill person to accuse his or her doctor of being incompetent or to look for a "miracle cure". sometimes the denial is more subtle, with the individual simply acting as if the news of impending death was never revealed.
anger. after the initial denial, the terminally ill person reacts to the fact of her or his impending death with anger: why me? it's not fair that this should be happening to me! there is much hostility, envy of others, and resentment during this stage. as a result, the terminally ill person is often highly irritable and frequently quarrels with nurses, doctors, and loved ones.
bargaining. the anger and denial of the impending death are largely gone by this third stage, and the terminally ill person realizes that is coming. but death still is not accepted as inevitable. instead, the person tries to strike bargains to prolong his or her life. these bargains may be in the form of willingness to undergo painful treatments to extend life, but they are more often silent deals with god, such as "i'll leave most of my money to the church if i can have six more months".
depression. eventually, the reality of impending death leads to a loss of hope. bargains no longer seem possible; death is coming no matter what. the person often begins to feel guilty about leaving loved ones behind, feels incapable of facing death with dignity, and feels quite depressed.
acceptance. in time, the depression lifts and the person finally achieves an acceptance of death. this generally is not a happy feelling of acceptance but a state of emotional exhaustion that leaves the individual peacefully free of negative emotions.
kubler-ross (1974) and others point out that not every terminally ill person passes through these stages. reactions to impending death are highly individual (feifel,1990). if we go though the process of dying with a loved one, we must be careful not to impose on him or her our views of how the process of accepting death should proceed.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

kematian dan sekarat: final "tahap". siklus hidup dimulai dengan kehidupan dari sebuah sel tunggal dan berakhir dengan kematian orang yang membuka dari sel tersebut. dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, topik kematian dan sekarat, khususnya di antara orang tua, telah menerima beberapa perhatian ilmiah yang lama tertunda. Penelitian ini telah menghasilkan beberapa hasil yang menarik.pikiran kematian adalah bagian penting dari tahap akhir hidup bagi banyak orang. dewasa menghabiskan lebih banyak waktu berpikir tentang kematian daripada orang dewasa muda. merenungkan dan perencanaan untuk kematian seseorang adalah normal bagian usia tua (kalish dan reynolds, 1976). Older orang dewasa cenderung kurang takut dengan kematian daripada orang dewasa muda. dewasa sering datang untuk menerima yang tak terhindarkan dengan sedikit penderitaan. Memang, hal ini sering membantu mereka membuat sebagian besar dari sisa waktu (carstensen dan charles, 1998).salah satu ketakutan kematian terkait dengan variabel lain selain usia, namun. satu faktor yang signifikan adalah keyakinan agama. sangat religius individu mengalami sedikit ketakutan akan kematian. Bebas agama individu mengalami tingkat yang moderat kecemasan tentang kematian, sedangkan orang-orang religius yang tidak konsisten menerapkan iman mereka mengalami ketakutan terbesar mati (nelson dan nelson, 1973).psikiater elisabeth kubler-ross (1969, 1974) memberikan kita dengan wawasan baru dan penting dalam proses mati melalui wawancara ratusan pasien yang sakit parah. dari wawancara ini, ia mengembangkan teori bahwa orang yang belajar akan terjadinya kematian mereka (dan kadang-kadang akan terjadinya kematian mereka cintai) cenderung untuk melewati lima tahap yang berbeda:penyangkalan. pada awalnya, individu sangat menolak ide kematian dengan menyangkal kesahihan informasi tentang penyakit terminal nya. Hal ini umum pada tahap ini untuk orang sakit parah menuduh nya dokter yang kompeten atau untuk mencari "keajaiban obat". kadang-kadang penyangkalan lebih halus, dengan individu yang hanya bertindak sebagai jika berita kematian akan datang pernah terungkap.kemarahan. setelah penolakan awal, orang yang sakit parah bereaksi terhadap fakta dirinya atau kematian akan datang dengan kemarahan: Mengapa saya? hal tersebut tidak adil bahwa ini harus terjadi kepada saya! ada banyak permusuhan, iri hati orang lain, dan kebencian selama tahap ini. Akibatnya, orang yang sakit parah sering sangat marah dan sering cekcok dengan perawat, dokter, dan orang-orang terkasih.bargaining. the anger and denial of the impending death are largely gone by this third stage, and the terminally ill person realizes that is coming. but death still is not accepted as inevitable. instead, the person tries to strike bargains to prolong his or her life. these bargains may be in the form of willingness to undergo painful treatments to extend life, but they are more often silent deals with god, such as "i'll leave most of my money to the church if i can have six more months".depression. eventually, the reality of impending death leads to a loss of hope. bargains no longer seem possible; death is coming no matter what. the person often begins to feel guilty about leaving loved ones behind, feels incapable of facing death with dignity, and feels quite depressed.acceptance. in time, the depression lifts and the person finally achieves an acceptance of death. this generally is not a happy feelling of acceptance but a state of emotional exhaustion that leaves the individual peacefully free of negative emotions.kubler-ross (1974) and others point out that not every terminally ill person passes through these stages. reactions to impending death are highly individual (feifel,1990). if we go though the process of dying with a loved one, we must be careful not to impose on him or her our views of how the process of accepting death should proceed.