Dr. Dickinson desensitizes Death

The College of Charleston sociology professor, George E. Dickinson, joined our "Beyond the Grave" FYE lecture last Monday to give us his explanation of the way the United has handled death from the past to present times. He spoke about how people's perception of death has evolved over time, and how it's just a natural process in life that leave many scratching their heads wondering what happens next.

The first eras of death that people can identify is in the 1600s, known as "Living with Death". This is because child fatality was common and due to poor sanitation and illness that plagued towns and cities. This caused people to be very accepting of death. The next phase, people chose not to think about death. Cemeteries such as Magnolia cemetery were built out of sight and out of people's minds. Vast cemeteries were built on the skirts of cities, but soon people began glorifying death and creating monolithic tombs with intrinsic detail work. 

As time went on people became interested in the human life cycle, and wanted to know how to keep a person alive. Curiosity killed the cat and biomedical breakthroughs such as the first heart plant, helped humans live longer than previous generation. Now the two leading causes of death are cancer and heart disease which are classified as chronic diseases, versus the two main leading causes of death back then were pneumonia and tuberculosis. "Pneumonia was known as "the old folks' friend," according to Professor Dickinson.

While death became a common topic yet again, people were uncomfortable due to the unknown aspect of death. Professor Dickinson says, "Euphemisms are used to make death softer." Some examples of these euphemisms are "passed away," "did not make it," or humorous ones such as "kicked the bucket". People use humor as a coping mechanism to help deflect people's true emotions in these situations. Professor Dickinson mentioned Kubler Ross' book, "On Death and Dying". In her book she mentions the five coping stages, which most people go through when dealing with a loved one's death.

• Denial – The first reaction is denial. In this stage individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, and cling to a false, preferable reality.
• Anger – When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, they become frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be: "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; '"Who is to blame?"; "Why would this happen?".
• Bargaining – The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise.
• Depression – "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon, so what's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?" During the fourth stage, the individual despairs at the recognition of their mortality. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time mournful and sullen.
• Acceptance – "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it; I may as well prepare for it." In this last stage, individuals embrace mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. People dying may precede the survivors in this state, which typically comes with a calm, retrospective view for the individual, and a stable condition of emotions.

Dickinson also presented her concept of the Glaser and Strauss awareness of dying. This included:

• Closed Awareness- no one knows
• Suspicion Awareness- when one thinks they know but are not sure
• Mutual Pretense- only the doctor knows
• Open Awareness- when you know

While discussing the stages of coping Professor Dickinson spoke about the different types of euthanasia 

• active euthanasia – where a person deliberately intervenes to end someone’s life – for example, by injecting them with a large dose of sedatives, 
• passive euthanasia – where a person causes death by withholding or withdrawing treatment that is necessary to maintain life, such as withholding antibiotics from someone with pneumonia. 

Euthanasia can also be classified as:

• voluntary euthanasia – where a person makes a conscious decision to die and asks for help to do this
• non-voluntary euthanasia – where a person is unable to give their consent (for example, because they are in a coma or are severely brain damaged) and another person takes the decision on their behalf, often because the ill person previously expressed a wish for their life to be ended in such circumstances
• involuntary euthanasia – where a person is killed against their expressed wishes

Professor Dickinson tied his presentation up with the various burial styles. From being cremated, having a special burial (earth or regular), to donating their bodies to science people have and will always have to deal with death one way or another. 

Professor Dickinson was a very intelligent well spoken man who is genuinely passionate about death and it's role in everyone's lives. I learned quite a bit and I look forward to learning more about this topic. To read more about Dickinson's ideals on death, one can read his book called "Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement".