Among the contexts in which psychology professionals are involved is supporting people in their grieving processes. And there is a discipline that studies precisely death and its process. It’s about thanatology and its goal in psychology is to help individuals understand their losses and find or recover the meaning of life.
In this article we will see what the fundamental characteristics of thanatology are, and the psychological aspects in which it intervenes.
It is not an area of study of psychology as such, but they do converge on several points. He works directly with terminally ill patients and their families or with anyone who has suffered a loss. The role of psychology is to guide the individual through grief, ensuring that he is having a satisfactory one and helping him to recognize, normalize and control all the emotions that arise in the process.
The main objectives of thanatology are to provide attention to these aspects of our relationship with death :
The stages of grief
The Swiss psychiatrist, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, has been one of those who has most studied the process of death, grief and everything related to palliative care for terminal patients. She proposed a model of the five stages of grief:
1. Denial
Temporary defense for someone who has suffered a loss or is about to lose their life due to a health condition. The individual does not accept what is happening , believes it is a dream, a vague idea; anything but its reality. “This can’t be happening to me.”
The subject feels helpless and angry about the situation they are going through. Normally, anything that represents energy, lucidity and life are totally repelled by it. “Why me and not someone else?” Negotiation: The hope that time can be extended a little longer and death postponed is reflected. The individual Think about making improvement commitments to enjoy if you had more time “If I could stay, I would take care of my health now.” “I just want to see my kids graduate.”
3. Depression
The process of understanding that death is imminent begins, so You may isolate yourself, refuse visits from loved ones, and cry frequently “I’m going to die, what would be the point of being with my family?” It is when the weight of the loss falls, knowing that that person is no longer here and feelings of melancholy and nostalgia overcome.
4. Acceptance
Total understanding that death will come and there is nothing to do to avoid it. The individual no longer regrets Rather, he is preparing to die. “I know I will die, there is nothing I can do.” Whoever has had a loss accepts that the person is no longer here, will not return but is now at peace.
Facing the death process
Each person experiences their grieving process differently, they can change from one step to another without a specific order; live the same step several times; and live their grief in various durations. There is no standardized rule of how it should be and it is for the same reason that You should never force someone to manage it a certain way since that could have negative consequences instead of beneficial ones.
Thanatology is not based on religious beliefs, customs or rituals , but with the relationship that each of us has with death and our conception of it. This is why one of the most important points within it is autonomy, which seeks to enable people to make their own decisions in relation to the dying process.
Although it is not such a recent discipline, it has been gaining greater recognition for the benefits it has provided to people who have suffered a loss or are terminally ill to have a much more bearable process and over which they feel they have control. Now, one of the challenges in society is that the taboo around this topic continues to be broken and that from children there is an education about what the process of dying is; what it entails; and provide psychological strategies for good grief management.
