Curing the Dread of Death

Curing the Dread of Death PDF Author: Rachel E. Menzies
Publisher: Australian Academic Press
ISBN: 1925644111
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This unique book explores the dread of death and its management from a wide range of perspectives with researchers and writers from a variety of cultures, academic traditions and disciplines across the globe. The fields covered are broad — including palliative care and grief, psychodynamic theory, social, developmental and clinical psychology, sociology and anthropology, counselling practice as well as history, art, and philosophy.

Curing the Dread of Death

Curing the Dread of Death PDF Author: Rachel E. Menzies
Publisher: Australian Academic Press
ISBN: 1925644111
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book

Book Description
This unique book explores the dread of death and its management from a wide range of perspectives with researchers and writers from a variety of cultures, academic traditions and disciplines across the globe. The fields covered are broad — including palliative care and grief, psychodynamic theory, social, developmental and clinical psychology, sociology and anthropology, counselling practice as well as history, art, and philosophy.

Curing the Dread of Death

Curing the Dread of Death PDF Author: Rachel E. Menzies
Publisher: Australian Academic Press
ISBN: 192564412X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
The dread of death has appeared throughout recorded human history in art, literature, song, myth, and ritual. In both ancient and modern societies, the spectre of death has always been with us, stalking the terrified living who seek to avoid its inevitable arrival. Our attempts to respond to the finitude of life range from ancient burial customs such as mummification to computerised chatbots which imitate the personality of those who have departed. Such efforts speak to the uniqueness of humans in their awareness of their own mortality. Yet death is not to be feared. Indeed, it may hold the key to living a vital, authentic life. The many authors of this volume argue persuasively that we cannot live fully without complete acceptance of the fragility and finiteness of life. This unique book explores the dread of death and its management from a wide range of perspectives with researchers and writers from a variety of cultures, academic traditions and disciplines across the globe. The fields covered are broad — including palliative care and grief, psychodynamic theory, social, developmental and clinical psychology, sociology and anthropology, counselling practice as well as history, art, and philosophy. Not only is this book a fascinating journey into the very core of the human psyche, it is also a guide to our psychological health. The challenge we all face is to discover pathways to an acceptance of death that enables a life of significance and meaning. Read, learn, and explore what an examination of the dread of death can bring to one’s life.

Mortals

Mortals PDF Author: Rachel Menzies
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761062735
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Human society is shaped by many things, but underlying them all is one fundamental force - our fear of death. This is the ground-breaking theory explored in Mortals. 'Spoiler alert: if you read this book, you will die. But, as well as being fascinating, this book can also help you die a better death, and live a better life.' JULIAN MORROW, comedian, ABC presenter, member of The Chaser team 'A death-defying book from two leaders in the field.' PROFESSOR DAVID VEALE, King's College London The ground-breaking book that uncovers how our fear of death is the hidden driver of most of humankind's endeavours. The human mind can grapple with the future, visualising and calculating solutions to complex problems, giving us tremendous advantages over other species throughout our evolution. However, this capability comes with a curse. By five to ten years of age, all humans know where they are heading: to the grave. In Mortals, Rachel Menzies and Ross Menzies, both acclaimed psychologists whose life's work has focused on death anxiety, examine all the major human responses to death across history. From the development of religious systems denying the finality of death, to 'immortality projects' involving enduring art, architecture and literature, some of the consequences of our fear of death have been glorious while others have been destructive, leading to global conflicts and genocide. Looking forward, Mortals hypothesises that worse could be to come-our unconscious dread of death has led to rampant consumerism and overpopulation, driving the global warming and pandemic crises that now threaten our very existence. In a terrible irony, Homo sapiens may ultimately be destroyed by our knowledge of our own mortality. 'A fascinating tour of our species' attempts across millennia to come to terms with mortality. Mortals offers a stunning glimpse into what our fear of death means for our future. A must-read.' PROFESSOR THOMAS HEIDENREICH, Esslingen University

A Good Death

A Good Death PDF Author: Sandra Martin
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 1443435988
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Having a good death is our final human right, argues Sandra Martin in this updated and expanded version of her bestselling and award-winning social history of the right to die movement in Canada and around the world. Winner of the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, finalist for both the Donner Prize in Public Policy and the Dafoe Prize for History, A Good Death has a new chapter on Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying Law. The law allows mentally competent adults, who are suffering grievously from incurable conditions, to ask for a doctor’s help in ending their lives. Does the law go far enough? No, says Martin. She delivers compelling stories about the patients the law ignores: people with life-crushing diseases who are condemned to suffer because their natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. With a clear analytical eye, she exposes the law’s shortcomings and outlines constitutional challenges, including the presumed right of publicly-funded faith-based institutions to deny suffering patients a legal medical service. Martin argues that Canada can set an example for the world if it can strike a balance between compassion for the suffering and protection of the vulnerable, between individual choice and social responsibility. A Good Death asks the tough question none of us can avoid: How do you want to die? The answer will change your life—and your death. “[An] excellent new book. . . .The timeliness is hard to overstate.” —The Globe and Mail “What truly distinguishes this book is the reportage on individuals and families who have fought to arrange for a better death. . . . These first-hand experiences are the beating heart of a timely and powerful examination.” —2017 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction Jury Citation

Death is Wrong

Death is Wrong PDF Author: Gennady Stolyarov II
Publisher: Rational Argumentator Press
ISBN: 0615932045
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 41

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Book Description
If you have ever asked, “Why do people have to die?” then this book is for you. The answer is that no, death is not necessary, inevitable, or good. In fact, death is wrong. Death is the enemy of us all, to be fought with medicine, science, and technology. This book introduces you to the greatest, most challenging, most revolutionary movement to radically extend human lifespans so that you might not have to die at all. You will learn about some amazingly long-lived plants and animals, recent scientific discoveries that point the way toward lengthening lifespans in humans, and simple, powerful arguments that can overcome the common excuses for death. If you have ever thought that death is unjust and should be defeated, you are not alone. Read this book, and become part of the most important quest in human history. This book was written by the philosopher and futurist Gennady Stolyarov II and illustrated by the artist Wendy Stolyarov. It is here to show you that, no matter who you are and what you can do, there is always a way for you to help in humanity’s struggle against death. "I thought the book was fun to read and important in what it tries to accomplish." - Zoltan Istvan, Psychology Today

Beyond the Psychology Industry

Beyond the Psychology Industry PDF Author: Paul Rhodes
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030337626
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
This book provides a scholarly yet accessible approach to critical psychology, specifically discussing therapeutic practices that are possible outside of the mainstream psychology industry. While there are many books that deconstruct or dismantle clinical psychology, few provide a compendium of potential alternatives to mainstream practice. Focusing on five main themes in reference to this objective: suffering, decolonization, dialogue, feminism and the arts, these pages explore types of personal inquiry, cultural knowledge or community action that might help explain and heal psychological pain beyond the confines of the therapy room. Chapters focus on the role of cultural knowledge, including spiritual traditions, relational being, art, poetry, feminism and indigenous systems in promoting healing and on community-based-initiatives, including open dialogue, justice-based collaboration and social prescribing. Beyond the Psychology Industry will be of interest to researchers, clinical psychologists, therapists, academics in mental health, and cultural psychologists.

Finishing Our Story

Finishing Our Story PDF Author: Gregory L. Eastwood, MD
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190888105
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Death is the destiny we all share, and this will not change. Yet the way we die, which had remained the same for many generations, has changed drastically in a relatively short time for those in developed countries with access to healthcare. For generations, if people were lucky enough to reach old age, not having died in infancy or childhood, in childbirth, in war, or by accident, they would take to bed, surrounded by loved ones who cared for them, and fade into death. Most likely, they would have seen their parents and grandparents die the same way, and so this manner of dying would be familiar: it was part of the natural cycle of life. Now less than 25 per cent of Americans die at home, having reached much older ages than people would have dreamed of in past generations, often after surviving many illnesses and even diseases that would have been terminal for their grandparents. We are fortunate to live (and die) today, supported by myriad scientific, medical, and technological advancements, however we also face new problems as a result of the new way in which we die. We can no longer anticipate a peaceful waning at home with family. We know our lives will likely end in hospitals likely after we have endured grueling treatments to prolong life. We have to decide what decisions we want our loved ones, or care-givers, to make when we cannot choose for ourselves. We have to think about whether in any circumstances we would seek physician-assisted death. We know we face other questions as well, but we may not even know where to start. In the face of these decisions, we can feel daunted and afraid. The best remedy is information and planning. In this book, Gregory Eastwood - a physician who has cared for dying patients, served as an ethics consultant, and taught end of life issues to medical and other health profession students - draws from his substantial experience with patients and families to provide the information that will help us think clearly about the choices and issues we will face at the end of our own lives, and when faced with the deaths of our loved ones. With sensitivity and profound insight, Eastwood guides us through all the important questions about death and dying in straightforward, clear language, enhanced by real-life stories. Throughout, he shows us how we can take ownership of the way we want to die, when we must die, and feel more in control as death approaches.

Free Yourself from Death Anxiety

Free Yourself from Death Anxiety PDF Author: Rachel Menzies
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 178775815X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Death anxiety can underlie many different mental health diagnoses at all stages of life, including depressive disorders, panic disorder, health anxiety, specific phobias, OCD, agoraphobia and more. This self-help guide will help you to better understand your fear of death and give you the tools to overcome it. Using proven cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques, including exposure and response prevention (ERP), this book will help you to: · Understand death anxiety and how it develops · Undertake specific evidence-based steps to develop alternative ways of thinking about death · Conduct exposure exercises to act against your fears · Reduce your anxiety so that you can live life to the fullest.

The Fear Cure

The Fear Cure PDF Author: Lissa Rankin, M.D.
Publisher: Hay House, Inc
ISBN: 1401944272
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Not many people in the medical world are talking about how being afraid can make us sick—but the truth is that fear, left untreated, becomes a serious risk factor for conditions from heart disease to diabetes to cancer. Now Lissa Rankin, M.D., explains why we need to heal ourselves from the fear that puts our health at risk and robs our lives of joy—and shows us how fear can ultimately cure us by opening our eyes to all that needs healing in our lives. Drawing on peer-reviewed studies and powerful true stories, The Fear Cure presents a breakthrough understanding of fear’s effects and charts a path back to wellness and wholeness on every level. We learn:• How a fearful thought translates into physiological changes that predispose us to illness • How to tell true fear (the kind that arises from a genuine threat) from false fear (which triggers stress responses that undermine health) • How to tune in to the voice of courage inside—our "Inner Pilot Light" • How to reshape our relationship to uncertainty so that it’s no longer something to dread, but a doorway to new possibilities • What our fears can teach us about who we really are At the intersection of science and spirituality, The Fear Cure identifies the Four Fearful Assumptions that lie at the root of all fears—from the sense that we’re alone in the universe to the belief that we can’t handle losing what we love—and shifts them into Four Courage-Cultivating Truths that pave our way to not only physical well-being, but profound awakening. Using exercises from a wide range of mind-body practices and spiritual traditions, Dr. Rankin teaches us how to map our own courage-cultivating journey, write a personalized Prescription for Courage, and step into a more authentic life.

The Exercise Cure

The Exercise Cure PDF Author: Jordan Metzl
Publisher: Rodale Books
ISBN: 1623364329
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
A simple approach to weight loss and better health, with an exhaustive (and exhausting) collection of fun, fat-torching, life-changing workouts that can be tailored to any fitness level “This is a must read for everyone who wants to live a long and active life.”—Robert Sallis, MD, former president, American College of Sports Medicine What if there were a drug to treat every illness, across all body systems, proven potent against heart disease, depression, arthritis, PMS and erectile dysfunction—even in chronic diseases such as asthma, dementia, and certain types of cancer? What if it had no side effects, was completely free, readily available, and worked for everyone? Every single person who took it decreased her risk of premature death and raised his quality of life. Would you want it? In a healthcare system that spends 17% of GDP, roughly $2.7 trillion, mostly on disease treatment, how do we save money and prevent illness? By increasing the use of the world's most effective preventive medicine: exercise. In The Exercise Cure, Dr. Jordan Metzl—nationally renowned sports medicine physician—offers malady-specific and well-researched exercise prescriptions to help readers stay healthy, heal disease, drop pounds, increase longevity, and transform their lives. Dr. Metzl knows that exercise is inexpensive, powerful medicine that has benefits in prevention and treatment of disease without disturbing side effects. Even in older adults, daily exercise has been found to prevent dementia by generating neuron development in the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. Combining the latest data and his proven motivational skills, Dr. Metzl addresses the common maladies troubling millions. He discusses our cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neurologic, reproductive, and endocrinologic body systems, with special sections on sleep problems and cancer prevention, presenting the science behind the role of exercise as medicine. Then, he details workouts that can be tailored easily to any fitness level, beginner to advanced, and provides nutritional information, including meal plans for healthy eating and disease prevention.