Crisis Realization

             In the first chapter of the Freeman text, Grief and Loss: Understanding the Journey, he describes death as a crisis that everyone goes through.  He uses Sudno’s description of the types of death to illustrate the various stages of death that individuals and the bereaved pass through.  Social death refers to a symbolic death when the world as the individual knows it has ceased to exist.  Whether through a change of lifestyle or physical death, nothing remains the same.  Psychological death occurs when there is significant change in the personality of the dying or the living.  Biological death occurs when the human organism as we know it, ceases to function as it should.  Such is the case when a heart attack, stroke, or other significantly damaging event occurs and the damage is irreparable.  While life may be sustained through artificial life support, the traits that make us human (consciousness, awareness, etc.) are no longer present.  Physiological death occurs when all of the body’s vital organs no longer function.  Even during artificial life support, organs cease to function (Freeman, 2005).

            I enjoyed the example given about Mr. and Mrs. X.  Freeman illustrated all phases of the types of death experienced by Mrs. X as her husband died.  It appears from the example, however, that the couple lived their lives in a state of forgetfulness of being.  Mr. X had retired from a lengthy career and he had taken up a part time job at a golf course so he could enjoy his passion for golf for free.  Mrs. X defined her purpose in life as living around the needs expressed by Mr. X.  The example describes her has a homemaker who had never worked outside of the home since their marriage.  Living this way promoted a sense of being only concerned about the way things are, rather than how they could be (Freeman, 2005).

            If Mr. and Mrs. X had adopted an approach of mindfulness of being, perhaps Mr. X would have been less concerned with serving his own needs and more in tune with the needs of his wife.  She, in turn, could have expanded her social circle and perhaps prepared for a life after Mr. X’s eventual death.  This would have allowed each of them to experience their own form of self-awareness and realize their possibilities and their limits (Freeman, 2005).

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Reference

Freeman, S.J. (2005), Grief and loss: Understanding the journey. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Brooks/Cole.