Death and Dying October 2006 Archive

Put your hands on your cranium on your cranium. Put your hands on your clavicle on your clavicle... Find your bones, Find your bones, Find your bones. Desensitizing Children (a bit) to Death - Skeleton Read More...

Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men. Quintus Ennius Create a Great Funeral Day is Read More...

What is a Traumatic Event? A traumatic event is one that causes moderate to severe stress reactions. Traumatic events also tend to be characterized by a sense of horror, helplessness, serious Read More...

Over the years I have discovered the power of words to help and the heal. Words written in moments when I was having difficulties dealing with the losses of friends Read More...

And though it's always been with me, I must tear down the Wall and let it be All I am, and all that I was ever meant to be, in harmony Shining true and Read More...

There are many myths and misconceptions about the nature of grief. These misconceptions about the grieving process can make the process more difficult and more painful for those going through Read More...

This past week Con Ed workers cleaning up a manhole discovered more human remains next to Ground Zero. The manhole was in an area that had been paved over following Read More...

What is Anticipatory Grief? Anticipatory grief is the grief experience that take place prior to but in connection with a significant loss that is expected to take place e.g. grief that Read More...

Perhaps one of the more powerful, elegiac poems is W. H. Auden's "Funeral Blues." Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence Read More...

There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to Read More...

There is something romantic about suicide from the Golden Gate Bridge...It is aesthetically pleasing and beautiful... Where as a Bay Bridge suicide is regarded as tacky. Dr. Richard Seiden Paraphrased A Most Photographed Structure Read More...

Working with patients at the end of life provided me with many of my more memorable moments in medicine or inspired memorable writings about medicine. At the end of life, what Read More...

For parents who have experienced the death of a child there is no more devastating loss. It is a heartbreak like no other. Parental grief is different from other losses--it Read More...

About Healthy Monday The Healthy Monday Initiative targets smoking, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, mental health, diet and nutrition and disease prevention, the four leading causes of preventable disease in the United Read More...

A New Initiative Targeting Preventable Causes of Death People often fail to recognize that the simple choices they make during a day--what to eat, whether or not to exercise, use tobacco Read More...

The true voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust This past weekend I attended a workshop conducted by Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen on "The Read More...

Caregiving Connections has created an e-booklet, Conversations Before the Crisis that is available in a downloadable format. This 16-page online resource provides tips for opening up ways to talk about Read More...

It's only words, and words are all I have to take your heart(ache) away... Bee Gees I am a great believer in the power of the written word. During times of crisis Read More...

My most favorite calming expression for the past several months been Breathe...Just Breathe... I had this expression custom made into a bracelet to wear as a visual reminder to myself, when Read More...

Documenting my decision today means that my family won't have to make heart-wrenching decisions later. Your Life, Your Terms Video "Put It In Writing" is a consumer outreach initiative created in 2005 Read More...

It’s very tragic. We have to say a little prayer for those we lost, the two human beings whose lives were snuffed out. Mayor Michael Bloomberg I am not sure if these Read More...

People and professionals alike often go to great lengths to avoid using the terms, death, dying and dead...as though dead should be added to our list of four-letter words. Despite Read More...

Remembering Those Lost in the Tragedy In Pakistan yesterday a siren was sounded as a somber reminder in the observance of the first year anniversary of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that Read More...

During my single days and days of medical education and residency training when I lived by myself in an apartment, I would wonder sometimes if I died, just how long Read More...

A funeral to us is a much more important thing than the day of birth because we believe in the hereafter. The children are better off than their survivors. Sam StoltzfusAmish Read More...

ER's tevision episode this week (Thursday October 5) brought back memories of my first rotation as a medical student, when I learned the importance of getting durable power of attorney Read More...

The 16-year-old teen killed Wednesday September 27 during Colorado's Platte Canyon High School shooting was able to send off a text message to her parents. Emily Keyes messaged "I love Read More...

The Amish see death as a part of life. They will grieve...but they have more resignation. They will take this as something God ordained. Myron Stoltzfus In keeping with Amish tradition, the Read More...

Is it Grief or Depression? Grief is the normal response to loss. It is a complex response to loss that includes psychological, behavioral, social and physical reactions. Depression especially a true clinical Read More...

One year ago, on October 2, 2005 an Ethan Allen tour boat sank off Cramer Point on Lake George drowning 20 people. The boat was filled with senior citizens from Read More...

With the series of recent sudden accidental deaths that have occurred (Steve Irwin, Daniel Smith, several school shootings and plane crashes, sudden deaths of family friends and yesterday an overpass Read More...