I do believe, therefore, that the Harvard criteria for determining brain death are a very important component of making decisions that affect individuals and families at the end of their lives.
When the EEG criteria are applied, for example, it might affect a family's decision to terminate artificial means of keeping a person alive, since there is no hope of revival. It could also affect the decision to donate organs.
One thing I found quite surprising was that the concept of "brain death" only became an official diagnostic category in 1981. The term has been used so often that it feels almost like it has been in existence for far longer than this. Still, I think I find it quite comforting that there are criteria to determine whether a person has indeed completely died, or whether the end of brain function could be recovered after ceasing because of drugs or seizures. One wonders how many misdiagnoses have been made of death over the millennia...
Death Rituals of Different Cultures and Countries Death Rituals of different Cultures/Countries As the globe is full of numerous civilizations and cultures in a very diverse manner, similarly, their rituals, traditions and ceremonies related to life and death are also different from one another. The people belonging to these cultures have their own sets of beliefs that are witnessed through the ways they celebrate their occasions, festivals and even the death rituals
Death and Dying 'My new body was weightless and extremely mobile, and I was fascinated by my new state of being. Although I had felt pain from the surgery only moments before, I now felt no discomfort at all. I was whole in every way -- perfect," (Eadie "Embraced" 30). In her groundbreaking book Embraced by the Light, Betty J. Eadie writes about her own near-death experience to help dispel the
The last days of the dying person should be spent in the most peaceful manner possible. Dying in one's home is also preferred in our culture because it gives the dying person a sense of warmth and familial bond. Reflecting on this, I believe that dying in one's home is also a sign that the eventual death of a family member has already been accepted by the family. It gives
Grief or loss can cause change -- force evolution, if you will, into the human ability for personal growth and self-actualization. Certainly grief is a human emotion; as much a part of us (Kubler-Ross, 2009). Psychologically, grief is a response to loss -- conventionally emotional, but also having physical, cognitive, social, philosophical, and even behavioral dimensions. There are numerous theories about grief, some popularized, some scholarly, but all try to
Grieving over lost loved ones wouldn't be as intense, it would be more like saying good bye to a loved one that you know you'll be seeing each other soon, rather than the thought that you may never be able to see them again. Instead, with the uncertainty, each moment of life, for me, is precious. The self-inventory really brought this point home to me. This was especially true with
2006, p.1). In Anglo culture, extremities of grief may be reserved for close family members, while in cultures where extended family is important, intense grief may be acceptable and expected, even for distant family members There is also greater acceptance of death in the Latino culture as a whole, as manifest in the almost festive 'Day of the Dead' rituals in that nation, in which children often participate, and
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