Psychogenic Death
Mar. 2nd, 2019 03:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis article lays out the five stages of psychogenic death, colloquially known as "give-up-itis." It is certainly true that people can die from giving up on life. However, it is vitally important to distinguish between cases where their despair is accurate and cases where it is not.
* Cases of mistaken difficulty. Mental illness can make people feel despair in situations where the perceived problem is not real, or is real but much less serious than believed. For example, depressed people may feel lonely and hopeless even if family members care deeply about them. This can sometimes be fixed with various treatments, and by all means people should try to save the victim. However, some forms of mental illness do not respond to available treatments, in which case the despair is accurate and this is really one of the other cases described below.
* Cases where the problem is significant, could be solved, but the person believes it will not be. For example, crippling debt. Society could forgive the debt and allow the person to get on with their life, but it chooses not to do so. The person could suffer years of debt-induced poverty, guilt, and misery but they choose not to do so. The social contract is so unappealing that it is rejected in favor of death. The despair is not absolute in theory, but it is accurate in practice. For society to try interrupting the death process without first removing what drives the person toward death is a bait-and-switch that amounts to stopping a victim from escaping torture; that is evil.
* Cases where the problem is dire and improvement is not possible with extant resources. For example, prisoners of war in current captivity may suffer less if they die quickly than if they are imprisoned and tormented for years.
* Cases where the problem was dire but the situation has improved. For example, prisoners of war may continue to suffer the effects of torment even after they get rescued. The despair was accurate but now is less so. In this case, it is valid for rescuers to attempt to revive the victims with interventions tailored to their stage of collapse. Some will likely respond and improve, while others may still decline and die.
* Cases where the root problem cannot be solved, but its collateral damage could be improved enough to make life livable. For example, people who have just suffered a major injury or illness leaving them with an acquired disability. The level of accuracy depends greatly on how much effort other people choose to invest in making material improvements in the victim's quality of life. The more improvements, the less accurate the despair and the more likely the recovery. But if bystanders ignore the person, or exhort them to keep living in a miserable state, then the despair remains accurate and death may be preferable to years of unrelieved suffering. It is essential for people to provide good support for those in need, to prevent a disaster from becoming a death sentence.
* Cases where the situation is such that the person simply does not wish to live with it. For example, someone diagnosed with early stage dementia may have years of potential life remaining, some of them relatively functional; but they do not want to experience the slow decay of mentality, suffer the miseries it brings, or endure the knowledge of that ugly future. A relatively quick death following a dire diagnosis or a sudden drop in life quality may cause the soul to abandon the body, much as a person would flee a sinking ship. It is simply a faster -- and sometimes more mindful -- version of the detachment that happens to everyone at death. Interrupting this process is a violation of integrity and boundaries; it is each soul's choice when to enter and leave a life, what things are or are not worth living for.
These are nuances of ethnics and care which few people seem to consider. The medical industry is geared to preserve biological life -- not quality of life -- as long as possible, which often leads to torturing people, which is wicked. Society considers many people to be garbage and treats them accordingly. Sometimes it blithely stands by and lets them die of preventable causes, which is wrong but at least not torture. Other times is refuses to let its victims escape, which is evil. In many cases, the desire for death could be quite feasibly relieved by making practical changes. These chances should be watched for and capitalized upon whenever possible. But society often chooses not to do this, and then criticizes its victims for attempting to escape the torment. Society has no grounds to complain if people find its treatment unendurable. It is heinous for society to have the means of relief and not furnish them to those in need.
People often say that suicidal thoughts, or despair, are insane. However, insanity is fundamentally about a mismatch between fact and perception. If the facts of the case are intolerable, then soul withdrawal is not insane, but rather a sensible response to a horrible situation. The reaction is only insane if it is inaccurate, which is only true some of the time. Always check the facts to see which description applies and what action is prudent.
* Cases of mistaken difficulty. Mental illness can make people feel despair in situations where the perceived problem is not real, or is real but much less serious than believed. For example, depressed people may feel lonely and hopeless even if family members care deeply about them. This can sometimes be fixed with various treatments, and by all means people should try to save the victim. However, some forms of mental illness do not respond to available treatments, in which case the despair is accurate and this is really one of the other cases described below.
* Cases where the problem is significant, could be solved, but the person believes it will not be. For example, crippling debt. Society could forgive the debt and allow the person to get on with their life, but it chooses not to do so. The person could suffer years of debt-induced poverty, guilt, and misery but they choose not to do so. The social contract is so unappealing that it is rejected in favor of death. The despair is not absolute in theory, but it is accurate in practice. For society to try interrupting the death process without first removing what drives the person toward death is a bait-and-switch that amounts to stopping a victim from escaping torture; that is evil.
* Cases where the problem is dire and improvement is not possible with extant resources. For example, prisoners of war in current captivity may suffer less if they die quickly than if they are imprisoned and tormented for years.
* Cases where the problem was dire but the situation has improved. For example, prisoners of war may continue to suffer the effects of torment even after they get rescued. The despair was accurate but now is less so. In this case, it is valid for rescuers to attempt to revive the victims with interventions tailored to their stage of collapse. Some will likely respond and improve, while others may still decline and die.
* Cases where the root problem cannot be solved, but its collateral damage could be improved enough to make life livable. For example, people who have just suffered a major injury or illness leaving them with an acquired disability. The level of accuracy depends greatly on how much effort other people choose to invest in making material improvements in the victim's quality of life. The more improvements, the less accurate the despair and the more likely the recovery. But if bystanders ignore the person, or exhort them to keep living in a miserable state, then the despair remains accurate and death may be preferable to years of unrelieved suffering. It is essential for people to provide good support for those in need, to prevent a disaster from becoming a death sentence.
* Cases where the situation is such that the person simply does not wish to live with it. For example, someone diagnosed with early stage dementia may have years of potential life remaining, some of them relatively functional; but they do not want to experience the slow decay of mentality, suffer the miseries it brings, or endure the knowledge of that ugly future. A relatively quick death following a dire diagnosis or a sudden drop in life quality may cause the soul to abandon the body, much as a person would flee a sinking ship. It is simply a faster -- and sometimes more mindful -- version of the detachment that happens to everyone at death. Interrupting this process is a violation of integrity and boundaries; it is each soul's choice when to enter and leave a life, what things are or are not worth living for.
These are nuances of ethnics and care which few people seem to consider. The medical industry is geared to preserve biological life -- not quality of life -- as long as possible, which often leads to torturing people, which is wicked. Society considers many people to be garbage and treats them accordingly. Sometimes it blithely stands by and lets them die of preventable causes, which is wrong but at least not torture. Other times is refuses to let its victims escape, which is evil. In many cases, the desire for death could be quite feasibly relieved by making practical changes. These chances should be watched for and capitalized upon whenever possible. But society often chooses not to do this, and then criticizes its victims for attempting to escape the torment. Society has no grounds to complain if people find its treatment unendurable. It is heinous for society to have the means of relief and not furnish them to those in need.
People often say that suicidal thoughts, or despair, are insane. However, insanity is fundamentally about a mismatch between fact and perception. If the facts of the case are intolerable, then soul withdrawal is not insane, but rather a sensible response to a horrible situation. The reaction is only insane if it is inaccurate, which is only true some of the time. Always check the facts to see which description applies and what action is prudent.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-03-03 12:41 am (UTC)One thing the article omits is the concrete happenstance that some folks reach the end of life and get a second wind or "remission" for a few days before death, to the amazement of family and friends. Sometimes their conversation contains joy at the prospect of seeing departed loved ones again. The article seems to me to say 'death is always bad.'
Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-03 01:48 am (UTC)Thanks.
>> One thing the article omits is the concrete happenstance that some folks reach the end of life and get a second wind or "remission" for a few days before death, to the amazement of family and friends. Sometimes their conversation contains joy at the prospect of seeing departed loved ones again.<<
Yeah, I've seen things like that. It is possible to have a good death.
>> The article seems to me to say 'death is always bad.' <<
Alas, that's the vast majority of what people write on the topic, which is a serious problem. We're talking about something that everyone experiences. Like birth, death is a natural process that can be experienced in positive or negative ways. If they all hate and fear it, those experiences will be overwhelmingly negative. If instead people approach it openly, learn about it, and prepare for it then far more of those experiences will be positive.
America's death-phobic attitude has created a situation in which the death that nobody wants -- alone, in a hospital, often in pain -- is the one almost everyone gets. It's very difficult to defend one's right to a good death; to die at home, in comfort, with beloved friends and family. The system isn't set up for that. You have only the rights you can defend with force. The moment you lose the ability to defend yourself, you lose your rights and will be handled according to other people's convenience. Perhaps they will be merciful and follow your wishes, but if they don't, they are almost certain to get away with violating you.
I think it's that, more than death itself, that people fear and hate. But the avoidance exacerbates the problems.
Fear of death in politics
Date: 2019-03-04 02:27 am (UTC)Re: Fear of death in politics
Date: 2019-03-04 06:15 am (UTC)Meanwhile they overlooked the fact that insurance companies basically are death panels, routinely killing people by denying them necessary care. Not to mention the ones who get care but their lives are destroyed by bills the insurance refused to pay, and all the uninsured people.
It's a complete and utter wreck.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-03-03 11:36 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2019-03-04 10:31 am (UTC)Yes, that's awful.
>> Especially cruel when they'd often have died already had modern medicine not intervened - we can sometimes prevent death but not suffering :/ <<
In fact, we can prevent or at least forestall a lot of easier ways of dying. We are then left with the really hideous ones. Things like cancer and dementia tend to cause months or years of intense suffering before demise.
A doctor once tried to rouse my concern for something he called a 'silent killer.' I said, "What's not to like?" He was shocked speechless. But think about it:
* Everyone dies sometime of something. We lack the technology to prevent this.
* Some deaths are measurably better or worse than others.
* It is therefore preferable to avoid the worse ones and choose a better one, however an individual defines that.
* Suddenly dropping dead is one of the top two preferred deaths, the other being surrounded by family while having time to say goodbye.
* Given these points, 'silent killers' produce a death experience which is tolerable to many people, especially compared with other deaths that produce much more suffering.
Conclusion: perhaps the medical industry should stop trying to bowl so many gutterballs by avoiding easy deaths and driving people into miserable ones.
I mean, I can understand why someone might choose to endure torment for the sake of buying enough time to see a treasured wedding, birth, or other major life event. But without that, what are you sticking around for? Merely postponing the inevitable as long as possible is not always a good idea, although it is a choice that everyone should be free to make. Or to decline.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-03-03 06:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-03-03 07:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-03-04 07:30 pm (UTC)As my partner says... it's not the irrational fears that get her. She's got enough cope to get through that. it's the _rational_ ones - crushing debt, seemingly unfixable and unbearable illness, etc. that get you.
Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-04 08:01 pm (UTC)I'm glad that people acknowledged that.
>> they would simply decide it was time to die, stop eating or drinking much, word would get round, people would come and see them, and then in not too long they would pass.. no discernible cause other than they had simply stopped _wanting to_... <<
In some cultures, it's a known skill, and one that people are encouraged to cultivate through their life. The Native American term is "dropping their robes." If you have lived a rich spiritual life, and practiced shifting your consciousness around and out of your body, then you can figure out how to divest yourself of it when the time comes.
I have a scene in mind for that at the Rocy Boy's Reservation, where one of the old men is getting ready to die -- going around saying goodbye to things one at a time.
>> As my partner says... it's not the irrational fears that get her. She's got enough cope to get through that. it's the _rational_ ones - crushing debt, seemingly unfixable and unbearable illness, etc. that get you.<<
Having your consent declared irrelevant. Being trapped by people who get paid to torture you. These are things that routinely happen to old and sick people. It's heinous.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-04 09:30 pm (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-04 10:47 pm (UTC)By the way, Death loves poetry. You come well equipped. ;)
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-05 05:56 am (UTC)Frost on the window
Death's steaming breath is bated
for the Bear's haiku
Yeah, I still more or less got it. :)
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-05 06:49 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-05 06:50 am (UTC)(Grippy hand, the way you jump dimensions....?)
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-05 06:56 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2019-03-10 02:18 am (UTC)