survey results and analysis

Females  65
Males      60

Total number of people surveyed : 125


Ages  18-24  57
          25-34  18
          35-44  12
          45-54  30
          55-64   8


Child           49
No child      76


How comfortable are you with holding a conversation about the subject death ?

Extremely uncomfortable   3

Uncomfortable                     28

Slightly uncomfortable       42

Comfortable                         30

With ease                              22

Which image would you use to assist you in a conversation about the subject of death with friends / family members ?

A     9

B    30

C    74

D    11

Which image would you use to assist you in a conversation about the subject of death with a child / your child?

A     3

B    57

C    52

D    12

Which words would you use  in a conversation about the subject of death with :

friends / family vs a child / your child

Analysis :

Although the majority of the people interviewed were from ages 18-24, overall there were still more people from other ages combined together who did the survey.

Majority of the people interviewed were childless but there was still a relatively fair amount of people who had children.

- childless people would still likely become parents in the future in any case.

More people were uncomfortable than comfortable with holding a conversation about death.

Majority of the interviewed chose image C for both questions but there was a larger variations for image chosen to describe death to children - reflecting the overall need to protect and shield children from the concept of death.

Majority of the interviewed choosing words passed away and died to describe death to both categories but again there was a larger variation of choices for when describing or talking about death with children, reflecting the innate need to "protect" the child from the idea of death.

lit review 8

Situation :

Death is an aspect of life that is not only inevitable but also painful, especially for children. Children do not have the knowledge or experience that adults have; thus, they are often unprepared to deal with the death of a loved one or even of a beloved cartoon character in a movie. Furthermore, it is not until about 10 years of age that healthy children achieve an understanding that death is irreversible, permanent, and inevitable (Brent, Speece, Lin, Dong, & Yang, 1996).

many children younger than five years old do not understand that death is final, and inevitable (Grollman, 1990; Speece & Brent, 1984). Between the ages of five and nine, children who do acknowledge the permanence and inevitability of death see death as something that only applies to older adults (Grollman, 1990; Speece & Brent, 1984). Some children who do not have a complete understanding of death often will fill in gaps in understanding with fantasy elements (Baker, Sedney, & Gross, 1992), which may be taken from the media that children view, such as Disney movies. If the media, specifically some Disney films, convey unrealistic messages about death, then aspects of those portrayals are likely to be internalized by children. These less than desirable notions about death may have an impact on how children will view later instances of death.

In general, children’s comprehension of death depends on two factors: experience and developmental level. First, children’s experiences with death (i.e., actual experience and what they have been told about death) are critical to their understanding of death (Speece & Brent, 1984). Second, the developmental level of the child also must be taken into account when examining the comprehension of death (Brent et al., 1996; Willis, 2002). For example, Willis pinpointed four aspects of death that children and adults do not view in the same way: irrever- sibility, finality, inevitability, and causality. Children may not understand that death is permanent and that it cannot be “fixed” or reversed. They also do not have enough life experience to realize that death is inevitable for all living things. Furthermore, because they do not think abstractly, some young children do not understand the causality of death.

There is much support to the idea that children have a very limited understanding of death (e.g., Baker et al., 1992; Brent et al., 1996; Grollman, 1990; Speece & Brent, 1984; Willis, 2002), and the partial understanding they do have is often based on fuzzy logic (Brent et al., 1996). Brent et al. found that most children do not fully understand that death is a universal, irreversible, and nonfunctional state (meaning that dead beings cannot do the things that the living do) until the age of 10 years. Interestingly, it was also found that even after children reach this level of understanding they might continue to struggle with the idea that death is final, possibly because of certain religious beliefs. However, this may suggest a more mature understanding of death rather than a less mature one (Brent et al., 1996). Children with immature, binary concepts of death see people as either alive or dead, and do not consider the idea that there may be any other options based on religious values and ideas about afterlife.

There are other reasons why children may misunderstand death beyond the obvious cognitive limitations. Many children tend not to discuss death with their parents or friends because they think the subject is too unpleasant, frightening, or even unnecessary (Wass, Raup, & Sisler, 1989). The manner in which some parents communicate with their children about death may influence the child’s comprehension of it. When it comes to talking about death, a lot of parents do so in a way that is very confusing and potentially harmful to children (e.g., Ryerson, 1977; Willis, 2002). It seems that some parents’ main objective shifts from explaining and teaching to protecting. For instance, rather than telling children why and how people die they may focus on downplaying the emotionality, seriousness, and reality of death.

Problem :

Though their intentions are good, many adults often hinder children’s understanding of death by using confusing terms and abstract language to explain the concept to them. They may say that someone has “passed away,” which does not convey a realistic portrayal of death to children (Willis, 2002). They may use euphemisms (such as “sleeping for a long time” or “taken a long trip”) in an attempt to downplay the impact of death in order to protect children, which only serves to confuse them. These phrases convey to the young child that the loved one who has “passed away” may “wake up” from their long nap or “come home” from their voyage (Willis, 2002). Furthermore, describing death to children as a long “sleep” is not only confusing but may foster a fear of going to sleep among children (Grollman, 1990).

Ryerson (1977) points out that sometimes parents avoid the topic of death altogether and are very awkward about discussing it with children. Many parents’ hesitation to talk to children about death in a straightforward way likely stems from their own fears of death, which may have origins in the way that their own parents spoke to them about it. The implication is that this matter-of-fact manner of explaining death is likely to perpetuate a cycle of faulty communication between parents and children. Ryerson describes the mourning process in children as well as ways to help children cope with death. The use of fairy tales may be a source of identification and interest for children, and they can be used to facilitate discussion between children and adults about death and grieving.

Why and how to address it :

These films may give children something to relate to when they are experiencing a loss. Watching films in which characters die may help children under- stand real death in a way that is less traumatic and threatening. Based on many of the movie scenes, children may better learn how to deal with death in terms of grieving and understanding what has happened when someone or something dies.

Depictions of death may also serve as springboards for discussion between children and adults about death. As previously mentioned, many parents try to downplay the severity and reality of death when discussing it with children (Grollman, 1990; Ryerson, 1977; Willis, 2002). However, using Disney movies may be a more comfortable way of discussing this difficult topic for both parents and children. Even films with unrealistic messages about death can be used as tools for pursuing discussion about death. Parents can watch Disney films with their children and verbally walk them through a death scene, deconstructing aspects that may be unrealistic and clarifying points that are exaggerated or confusing. This idea of using Disney films to discuss death can be extended to educational and counseling settings as well. 

source : Cox, M., Garrett, E., & Graham, J. A. (2004). Death in Disney Films: Implications for Children's Understanding of Death. Omega: Journal Of Death & Dying, 50(4), 267-280. doi:10.2190/Q5VL-KLF7-060F-W69V

lit review 7

Although a common aspect of life, bereavement has been associated with a variety of
negative social, physical, and mental health outcomes, particularly anxiety. The stress of losing a loved one can be particularly difficult for bereaved children, especially those who have experienced the death of a parent. Most bereaved children experience low levels of anxiety, but a subset may experience very high levels of anxiety, which, if left untreated, can be risk marker for the development of future psychopathology. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research examining potential predictors of anxiety among parentally bereaved children. This study examined the relations between individual (e.g., child coping, child religiosity) and environmental factors (parent coping style, parent religiosity), and level of child anxiety measured by child self-report. The sample consisted of 45 children ages 7 to 12 who experienced the death of a parent within 6 months of beginning the study and 35 of their surviving caregivers. Secondary data analysis utilized a linear mixed model to control for family effects. Results indicated that child age, child gender, child coping, child religiosity, and parent religiosity were all significantly related to child self-reported anxiety levels. These findings suggest the importance of both the parent’s and the child’s religiosity and coping in relation to child anxiety, and if replicated in a larger sample, may have critical implications for intervention efforts with bereaved youth.

Individual and Environmental Correlates of Anxiety in Parentally Bereaved Children Death is a universal aspect of humanity, yet the loss of a loved one may be one of the

most difficult and stressful events that one can experience in life. In fact, studies of grief among adult populations have found bereavement to be associated with a variety of serious negative health outcomes such as depression, suicidal ideation, mortality, overall lower quality of life, and anxiety problems (Byrne & Raphael, 1999; Grimby, 1993; Lichtenstein, Gatz, & Berg, 1998; Szanto et al., 2006). Given these findings, it is of particular concern that 3.4% of children in the United States experience the death of one or both parents before the age of 18 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2011). Although far fewer studies of bereaved children exist, the limited empirical research has found negative health outcomes similar to adults. For example, bereaved children have been shown to have higher levels of anxiety, depression, delinquency, dysphoria, and substance abuse compared to non-bereaved youth (Cerel, Fristad, Verducci, Weller, & Weller, 2006; Dowdney, 2000; Draper & Hancock, 2011; Kaplow, Saunders, Angold, & Costello, 2010; Weller, Weller, Fristad, & Bowes, 1991). In fact, one study found that one in five parentally bereaved children develops a psychiatric disorder (Dowdney, 2000). However, these findings are primarily among clinical samples (Cerel et al., 2006; Dowdney, 2000).

Relevance :

Moreover, although the hypothesis that parent coping strategies would be significantly associated with total child anxiety was not supported by the study findings, results did indicate that the use of denial as a parent coping strategy is significantly related to child physical anxiety symptoms. Also, it is important to note that parent denial was marginally related to total child anxiety and may have achieved significance in a larger sample. Thus, these findings suggest that the use of denial as a coping strategy by surviving parents may lead to higher anxiety and particularly somatic complaints among bereaved children. Perhaps a surviving caregiver’s denial of the death or the circumstances surrounding it may cause a bereaved child to be confused and anxious about the reality of their parent’s death. Moreover, surviving caregiver denial might model to a child that talking or thinking about the death is unacceptable. As a result, a child may express their anxieties through somatic complaints to avoid speaking or thinking about them. Furthermore, the relation between acceptance and lower total child anxiety was marginally significant, as was the relation between acceptance and lower child social anxiety. This suggests that the open acceptance of the death of a parent by a surviving caregiver may ease a child’s overall anxiety and their anxieties about interacting with others. Perhaps this is because children would be more comfortable accepting the death themselves or discussing the death with peers after having similar behavior modeled by their parents. The significance of these findings may have been limited by the study sample size. 

source : Damiac Pdf

lit review 6

Do young Chinese need death education?

A 6-year-old girl asks after watching a movie with her mother, "Mom, will I die?" The mother immediately replies angrily, "Shut up! Little girls should never mention death. It's bad luck!"

"In this case, the mother lost an important chance to explain to her daughter about the meaning of life and death, which could have also been a lesson on safety," said Yuan Ailing, a preschool education professor at South China Normal University.

This mother, like any other parent in China, may not see it as an appropriate question from a child. They believe it's such a heavy and horrible issue that it may inhibit healthy development of a child's views on life.

"It's not necessary to give a lesson on death to primary school students, and basic knowledge about health is enough for them," said Xia Xueluan, a renowned Chinese sociologist.

"But in college, students are adults and need proper education to teach them not to take the easy way out and cherish life," Xia added.

But in a society where talking about death is taboo, China's suicide incidents sporadically reported in the media prompt strong responses and debates. Last year, a string of suicides involved nine workers at Foxconn, an electronics contractor, in about half a year.

Still, some scholars say China's suicide rate is not alarming when compared with other countries. Jing Jun, a sociologist at Tsinghua University, put his calculation of China's suicide rate in 2004 at about 0.01 percent and 0.007 percent in 2009, which were both lower than the world average. （http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2010-11/11/content_11532044.htm）

But statistics released by the Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center in 2007 showed that more than 287,000 people end their own lives every year on the Chinese mainland. According to the report, suicide was the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 34. (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-09/11/content_6095710.htm)

"The point of providing education on death-related issues is to tell people about the meaning of life and urge them to extend the length of their life, during a time when the risk of losing life exists every minute," said Zou Yuhua, a professor and lecturer on death education at the Public Health School of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University.

Zou, an advocate for death education for all ages, told chinadaily.com.cn that the high suicide rate in China is related to society's lack of attention to death education.

"Lack of study and educators in this field have led to difficulty in China in infusing correct views on death into school curriculum to fend off bad influence from negative content in entertainment activities such as playing unhealthy video games," Zou said.

                                                               source

lit review 5

Teacher urges inclusion of death education in curriculum

Education on death, a core part of education on life and living, can help people become less worried or anxious about death, develop a rational thinking of death as a natural ending of everything in the world, and improve their quality of life, said Dong Changhong, a teacher at Jinhua High School in East China’s Chengdu city.

"I believe it is very necessary to promote education on death in China because Confucianism tries to avoid the discussion of death and Chinese people, although we highly value the affection and goodwill of people, cannot calmly face disasters and death if we look at the trauma suffered from the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008."

The teacher recommended promoting values of humanitarian care, death and living through initiatives in education, such as adding courses or encouraging exposure to death-related topics in the curriculum at elementary and middle schools.

But she also thought it a difficult mission in China because Chinese culture traditionally shies away from anything related to death—even the number 4 is disliked, because it is pronounced similarly to the Chinese word for death.

China’s education system is still examination-oriented and the student performance mechanism remains unchanged, so parents and students still regard passing exams as the most important goal of schooling, Dong Changhong added.

Dong considered Japan a good example on the practice of death education, thanks to the publications there on disaster and death. In her opinion, Japanese people appeared to be remarkably calm despite the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear radiation crisis.

                                                                                 source

lit review 4

"education on death leads to better life"

Have you imagined what it will look like when your Judgment Day falls and you are about to bid farewell to the world? Fearful, anxious? What does death really mean?

In Chinese culture, these topics have at most times been considered taboo as no one would talk openly about the issue. Referring to death, people seldom use the word "death," but will use substitute words like "pass away," and "part forever."

But the fact is, people die.

To 26-year-old doctor Yang Zhaoyi, who studied medical science for five years and works at a hospital in Xinyang city of Central China's Henan province, death is nothing to be feared, but the end of organs' function and metabolism.

And the ticking clock, which reminds people that their time is passing, is an inspiration for people to cherish life, to study and work harder and realize the value of life, Yang told chinadaily.com.cn.

Born and raised in typical Chinese culture, Yang is no exception in being both reverent and fearful of death when he was a teenager.

His fear of death diminished as his knowledge grew, and by the time he decided to study medical science, he'd already gained enough knowledge to realize "death is one of the most common natural phenomena."

"When facing death now, I have no fear but pity for the loss of life. And I also feel sorry that current technology can do nothing to hold back one's life from death," said Yang, whose job gives him frequent chances to witness life vanish.

"There will be one day when I come to the end of my time, but I will face it with ease and treat it as my return to nature," he said.

Yang's openness toward death comes with his identity as a doctor who had received education on mortality in college.

"It is quite inhumane for a person to die without getting rid of the fear of death and die in great pain," Yang said, adding that education on death is important not only for the living but for the dying.

For the dying, the education will help them alleviate pain and say a final goodbye to the world peacefully; and for the relatives, it will make them accept the fact death is natural, Yang said.

He said death education is important not only in medical schools but also in non-medical ones, while admitting the task will be hard to fulfill due to the deep-rooted influence of Chinese culture.

"But I am sure more and more people would accept death education as their educational level improves and Chinese and Western cultures interact," Yang said.

His ideas were echoed by professionals and students in the medical field.

"As a doctor, I feel quite sorry at witnessing the vanishing of life," said Yu Yanbing, head of the neurosurgery department at Beijing-based China-Japan Friendship Hospital and a professor at Peking University Health Science Center.

"But you have to accept the fact that it is a natural phenomenon and treat it with ease," he said, adding that education on death is key to people's openness to the topic.

"I am sure lessons on death, if there are any, will be quite popular on campuses," said Yu Bing, a postgraduate student majoring in medical science at Zhengzhou University in Central China's Henan province, while adding that such education is far from enough.

Yu and Guo Yue, a graduate student from Xinxiang Medical University in Henan, both said they didn't take special lessons on death and their knowledge about the topic was mainly from other medical courses, which enabled them to stay calm while witnessing life vanish.

"Death education is quite necessary in China," Yu said. "But that should not start at an early age, because the topic may frighten a child and leave some bad impressions on his or her mind."

"I suggest educating adults, who are above 18 years old, on death," he said. He was echoed by Yang, who also thinks death education should be for adults, especially college students.

                                                                              source

sketch which i rejected because i just didnt liked how it looked.

death personified by many tiny creatures 

more drawings coming up ! - may be alittle slow because my phone died and my phone is my camera.

Danse Macabre

The Danse Macabre consists of the dead or personified Death summoning representatives from all walks of life to dance along to the grave, typically with a pope, emperor, king, child, and labourer. They were produced to remind people of the fragility of their lives and how vain were the glories of earthly life.

                                                                               Pinterest

The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living

Damien Hirst

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living

1991

Glass, painted steel, silicone, monofilament, shark and formaldehyde solution

2170 x 5420 x 1800 mm | 85.5 x 213.4 x 70.9 in

Sculpture

Formaldehyde

Image: Photographed by Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2012

Why is so much of Hirst’s work about death? “It’s every artist’s main theme,” he says. “There isn’t really anything else. It just depends how far you stand back from it. Since I was a child, death is definitely something that I think about every day. But I think that everybody does. You try and avoid it, but it’s such a big thing that you can’t.

“That’s the frightening thing, isn’t it? It’s like everything you do in life is pointless if you just take a step back and look at it.”

Yet Hirst doesn’t think that art about death has to be morbid. “The difference between art about death and actual death is that one’s a celebration and the other’s a dull fact. For instance, if you get Morrissey singing a song about a girlfriend leaving him, everybody will buy the record; whereas if you get a guy at a party talking about his girlfriend leaving him, nobody wants to talk to him.

“That’s the difference between art and life. You can frighten people with death or an idea of their own mortality, or it can actually give them vigour, and they can go away and appreciate their lives more. I’m going to teach my children how to find the good things in life without being afraid of the finality of it.”

source

Urs Fischer, Untitled, 2011, wax, pigments, wicks, steel.  On view in the 2011 Venice Biennale 

wax melting - the idea of transience, impermanence, something beautiful slowly fading away. somewhat reminds me of the fragility and the ephemerality of our existence on this realm. 

source

Lit review 3

Situation:

Superstitions, intolerance of uncertainty and escape-avoidance coping were found to be predictors of death anxiety.

With the collectivist culture, Chinese may try to consider others’ feelings and avoid arousing negative emotions. it seems Chinese who seldom talk about death may repress and displace their death related thoughts in other situations, such as superstitions or death beliefs. Considered death as a sensitive topic among Chinese, research on death anxiety is understudied in Chinese society.

Superstitious beliefs are prevalent in Chinese Culture. As one walks along the streets in Hong Kong, it is not difficult to find newspaper booths, with piles of books on Chinese zodiac for the 12 animal signs telling your luck, fortunes, love or career prospect in the year. As one goes inside  domestic or commercial buildings, one could hardly find lifts with buttons for 4th floor, and floors ending with a ‘4’ which pronounce the same as the word ‘death’ or ‘die’.

Many Chinese superstitious beliefs are related to death , which is being considered an unhappy and unfortunate event.

 Corsni defines superstition as a “belief or practice based on the operation of supernatural or magical forces, such as charms, omens or exorcism” or ant “unscientific belief accepted without question, groundless or unfounded notion”. In the world that pursues scientific findings, superstitions being considered as irrational and unfounded should be incompatible in developed countries that are technologically and economically advanced. However, superstitions seem to sustain in different cultures and planted in minds of people across all socioeconomic status and education levels.

 Some past research indicated superstitions were most prevalent in societies and careers that posed hazards or high risks to peoples lives, such as hunters, miners, fishermen, suggesting that the function of superstition was to help people cope with uncertainty and reduce threat  or uncertainty induced anxiety. On the other hand, some studies found that superstition was positively correlated with anxiety level among adolescence and also obsessive compulsive disorders.

Many of the Chinese superstitions are beliefs trying to avoid inauspicious events or promote auspicious events. In particular , many of them are related to traditional Chinese death beliefs, such as visiting others homes in early bereavement would bring bad luck to others; and discussing death in front of dying persons would speed up their deaths.

TMT suggests there is a dual-component anxiety buffer for people to deal with potential terror associated with death. One component is to share cultural beliefs to make sense of the universe. The other component is self-esteem, which is the perception of oneself in behaving according to the cultural standards that rendered them eligible for safety in this life and afterlife (Greenberg, Solomon, & Pyszczynski, 1997). In the salience of death or potential terror, individual would share the cultural death beliefs and behave accordingly trying to keep oneself or others safe. Hence, the present author would expect the more traditional death beliefs an individual holds, the higher death anxiety one has.

Past research has shown that the more people attributing outcomes to incontrollable forces, the more superstitious behaviors they would exhibit (Burger & Lynn, 2005, Felson & Gmelch, 1979; Singer & Benassi, 1981; Vyse, 1997). Also, in the salience of uncertainty, superstitions may be used to complement decision making in a way to provide additional information and reduce anxiety induced by uncertainty (Tsang, 2004). If the assertion is true, then it would be logical to expect that person with high intolerance of uncertainty would be more vulnerable to superstitions beliefs. Death, without question, is a topic that is full of uncertainty and nobody can be certain when, and how one would die, and what would happen after death. Past research has shown that uncertainty is associated with threat of loss of one‟s life (Viney, 1984-1985; Thorson, Powell, & Samuel, 1998). Hence, the present author would expect that people who are with high intolerance of uncertainty would be associated with higher death anxiety, and adopting more superstitious belief to reduce the uncertainty-induced anxiety.

Coping strategy. Coping strategies, or ways of coping, are often classified into two main categories (Chang, 1998; Folkman & Lazarus, 1985; Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). They are problem-focused coping, which involves activities that focus on directly changing elements of the stressful situation to remove the source of stress; and emotion-focused coping, which involves activities that focus on modifying one‟s internal or emotional reactions resulting from stressful situation to alleviate emotional distress. The problem-focused coping is also referred to as planful problem solving whereas emotion-focused coping as escape-avoidance coping.

The findings of present study suggest that the more cultural death beliefs one has, the more superstitious one might be which are supported by TMT in conjunction with OPT. In the presence of terror or mortality salience, an individual would share the cultural beliefs to seek for security. However, sheltering under the cultural death beliefs may lead the individual becoming more superstitious. Once an individual adopts superstitious beliefs trying to reduce the inner anxiety, one may get indulged in the superstitions and eventually become more superstitious and with even higher death anxiety.

Relevance:

Death does not restrict to the elderly, but also to children and adults that every age group needs to face death of one’s own or others one day. It would be of practical use in educating children and teenagers with a proper view of death, superstitions and myths. In addition, being able to identify the role of superstitions and coping with death anxiety would have clinical implications in helping patients cope with death anxiety at the end of their life especially for those diagnosed with incurable or chronic diseases, and those who need to face the dying of their beloved and in bereavement. furthermore, doctors, nurses, caregivers in elderly homes need to face death and dying patients from time to time that the knowledge gap would provide implications for the handling of superstitious beliefs and death anxiety.

Knowing the concerns and fears of death people possess could provide practical implications to death education, bereavement support and end of life care directives in society.

Following superstitions might help reduce the anxiety emotion induced from threats and uncertainties by giving a sense of relieved emotion. However the anxiety still sustains and even might be strengthened with repeated practice of superstitious beliefs. Applying this theory in superstitious and death anxiety, we would expect superstitions to be positively correlated with death anxiety. If the assertion is true, it would suggest government bodies, health organizations and public to have a serious thought and understanding of the role of superstitions and myths on mental health.


Individual who adopts escape-avoidance coping to escape from stressful situations and remove stressors would likely exhibit more fears to death. This is consistent with earlier research finding that emotion-focused coping was related to higher anxiety (Cohen et al., 2008). They were also found to have higher superstitions, which is consistent with the present research‟s findings that death anxiety is correlated with superstitions. Although problem solving may not help reduce death anxiety, escaping from stressful situations would be a worse choice that might lead to even higher death anxiety. Trying to escape and not facing death, individual might treat death as a taboo topic and eventually fall into the vicious cycle.

Fearing that the discussion of death would lead to faster death of their beloved, many Chinese families avoid the discussion and even stop the dying person from talking further on their wish on funeral arrangement. The more the patients and families avoid facing and discussing issues on death, the more fears on death and negative emotions they would have.

The findings also provide some insights on the present study‟s findings on religiosity. With more chance to talk about death issues in religious settings, individual with religion has more exposure and understanding on death that may help reduce the death anxiety. This suggests facing and discussing death issues openly might help reduce one‟s death anxiety.

In particular, superstitions play a critical role in understanding death anxiety. Superstitions permeated into families of everyday life with media spreading the beliefs through newspapers, commercials, magazines, drama and even in information channels. Originally, people might want to try control their fates or avoiding disasters by manipulating the environment, like Feng Shui or even follow some irrational acts. However, it seems eventually, people might get into the dilemma that they become under the control of superstitions. Getting indulged in superstitions is like taking drugs, that their minds could never set free from the thoughts and even got more worries and higher anxiety. Also, many street deceptions crimes in Hong Kong are preying on people‟s superstitions, caring for health and welfare of their family members (HKSAR v. Chan Kam Po, 2002; HKSAR v. Zheng Youwen Et. Al., 2009). Not only they could not manage their fates through superstitions, they are more likely to fell into traps of deceptions.

Roles of family and the government in such an issue :

In fact, many superstitious beliefs could be broken just with little courage. To help reduce death anxiety, general public should face death positively and be more open to discussion on death with families and friends, such as their views on death, death arrangements, how their funerals to be conducted, and their wills. Government or hospice organisations could arrange field trips to funeral parlour or cemetery, for better understanding and preparation, and encourage open discussions on death. People who make this little step would likely breakthrough from the superstitions and reduce the death anxiety.

Education and public policies advocating directives on non-superstitions may be vital to promote healthy cognitions on death beliefs, and with proper view on superstition or myths to general public with all ages.

Some traditional Chinese death beliefs are encouraging people to adopt escape-avoidance coping in bereavement, such as parents should not attend their children's funerals, which deprived parents last chance to say goodbye to their children and discouraged themselves to express their sad emotions in public and obtain social support. Death education should be reviewed and promote the correct moral values to public; and encourage social support and apathy with those in bereavement. Death education on adults, teachers are particularly important as they would pass their beliefs to the next generation and are role models for the younger ones. Government should also promote death education programs in elderly centres, end-of-life care and bereavement support to counteract the superstitious beliefs patients and families possess, such as having cancers or terminal illnesses as punishment and annihilation in death.

Sources : Wong, S. H. (2012). Does superstition help? A study of the role of superstitions and death beliefs on death anxiety amongst Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. Omega, 65(1), 55-70.

Lit review 2

Death as a taboo topic in Asian Culture :

Death is one of life's absolute certainties, but it is taboo in Chinese society. It is not discussed openly, especially during weddings or birthdays. So great is its power, the number four, which sounds like the word 'death' in Cantonese and Putonghua, is avoided. This is why many buildings in Hong Kong do not have fourth floors, 14th floors, 24th floors and so on. Similarly, people will never buy a clock as a present for a friend because zhong has a similar sound to the word for 'end'.

Problems:

These may seem like harmless customs, but they can result in some important issues being avoided - like teenage suicide, an issue few people are equipped to deal with.

Social worker Heung Mo-yan says: 'We think young people should be enjoying life without too many worries and they will not think about taking their lives. When it does happen, most adults don't know how to take it.' Heung is the centre-in-charge of Suicide Crisis Intervention under the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong.

Last year, the centre received a total of 1,398 calls for help, with 1.9 per cent from teenagers up to 19 years old. Heung says there are three main reasons young people wish to kill themselves: relationship problems with their families, or with their partners, or study pressure.

Heung says parents play a crucial role in preventing suicide, but often they are unable to discuss the issue with their children. Not only is the subject taboo, they don't know how to deal with it.It is vital, she says, that parents maintain open dialogue with their children.

'A 16-year-old girl wrote a note about her plan to take her life after two weeks,' she says. 'The mother found it and came to seek our help. Instead of talking to the daughter, she told us she was going to take her daughter on holiday, hoping the 'plan' would be forgotten after the trip.

'We strongly advised against it and urged her to discuss the death note with her daughter openly.

'The truth is, if you don't face the problem by discussing it, it will become serious. In this case, the death note could be a cry for help from the daughter who thinks: 'if my mum doesn't talk with me even after she finds it, she doesn't care about me at all'.'

It's not the kind of problem that will go away if ignored. Modern teenagers have access to other sources of information and advice that may not be in their best interests.

The internet is a gateway to a world of information - and misinformation.

'They have access to all kinds of irresponsible, wrong messages about the topic. There's no control at all,' says Heung.

Last year, the centre set up a website with information and discussions on the myths about suicide. There are inspiring video clips and live chats with volunteers and social workers.

Sources : http://www.scmp.com/article/985624/taboos-things-we-dont-talk-about

Web Resources

Links to information i find or might find useful so far

http://www.deep-six.com/deathweb/page200.htm

http://mhsfaculty.auckland.ac.nz/amh/AMH/grief.pdf

http://www.geripal.org/2011/08/asian-cultural-taboo-impedes-end-of.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-04/05/content_12275555.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-04/05/content_12275550.htm

http://www.sfcca.sg/en/node/62

http://www.mydestination.com/singapore/travel-articles/722769/chinese-superstitions--beliefs

http://www.illuminantpartners.com/2012/09/28/gifts-china-what-to-give-avoid-infographic/

http://chineseculture.about.com/od/chinesefestivals/a/Chinese-Gift-Giving-What-Not-To-Buy.htm

https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/adm-portfolio/

https://www.behance.net/search?search=death

https://www.behance.net/gallery/28975003/Goodbye-Grandpa-Childrens-Illustrated-Storybook

https://www.behance.net/gallery/27791025/VANG-MA-DEATH-MONEY

https://www.behance.net/gallery/27086243/Fantastical-Flora-Fauna-Smoke

http://africa.chinadaily.com.cn/weekly/2015-07/10/content_21244232.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/8245906/Damien-Hirst-Were-here-for-a-good-time-not-a-long-time.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~famlygrf/culture/simmons.html

http://www.tofugu.com/2012/03/27/growing-up-with-an-irrational-fear-of-the-number-four/

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/epiphenom/2012/12/do-traditional-chinese-death-beliefs.html

http://lbms03.cityu.edu.hk/oaps/ss2009-5790-wsh585.pdf

Danse Macabre

file:///Users/kylieyeo/Downloads/Mixed_Metaphors-introduction.pdf

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10825710/The-real-reasons-why-death-is-still-so-taboo-hard-to-talk-about-with-your-loved-ones.html

Early concept ideas

Lit review 1

Usually about 50% of the students in each of the classes answered "Yes" to the question, "Are you afraid to die?" That fear is based on not wanting to go through the dying process, the worry about what will happen after death such as will you be stuck in a place you do not like forever, or the concern about leaving people behind that love and/or need you. About 20% fear being associated with the dead, that is seeing dead bodies, etc. From the questionnaire, response to the question about their opinion as to what age people fear death the most, 24% thought it would be from 0-12 years old, 10% from 13 to 19, 12% from 20-29, 33% from 30-50, and 21% chose those over 50. Reasons given for the 0-12 and 13-19 are: the fear of loosing both parents (separation anxiety) increases the death fear in the child, and because children do not understand death they fear it. It's the fear of the unknown. About 1/2 of each class admited to having memorable separation anxiety.

Situation:

The majority of the class agreed the fear of death in America is increasing. The topic is rarely discussed at home. In fact, 50% of the students said it is rarely or never discussed, 39% said it is occasionally discussed, and only 11% said it is frequently discussed. Commercial cards sent to the bereaved rarely use the word "death" and instead substitute words such as "sympathy" and "gone to sleep". To describe death, euphemisms are resorted to such as "Called to God", "passed away", "the departed", "the deceased", etc. Now most of us live longer and see little death. It is very uncommon for a student to have witnessed a person dying, or to even have a terminally ill person in the same home. As a rule the dying are isolated in America. They are left to the specialists to handle in hospitals, nursing homes and adult homes.

Students were asked on a survey if they thought death was a pleasant or unpleasant process. From that question, 39% thought of it as unpleasant and 31% regarded it as pleasant! One girl wrote, "[Death] is unpleasant because I am afraid of dying, but pleasant because I don't want to see the world destroyed."

   "Death is an important part of life," states Yale's psychiatrist, Dr. Robert J. Lifton, "and denying death has grave psychological costs." He goes on to say, "Suppressing death limits our general feelings and vitality, and because of high technology and the search for youth, our society suppresses death more than any other in human history." He further suggested that death is much more manageable when it is part of our rituals. "However, we have not been close to death because of: hospital structures being what they are, and being distant when death is takes place. Children are often excluded, and we do not generally take death and mourning too seriously." Justifying the latter, Dr. Lifton mentions how we downplay emotional expressions around death, funeral ritual, crying, and then try to pass over a death very quickly and lightly.

 One of the most amazing things I've found is that courses in psychology avoid mentioning the fear of death. When one examines the index of most psychology books there is not one reference to it. Even psychiatry avoids the subject. You will find references to acrophobia, claustrophobia, kathisophobia (the fear of sitting down), but not thanatophobia. That is truly amazing because I believe most of the neurosis in America arises from our incapacity to accept death, or as a reaction to the fear of death. In fact, a basic anxiety is created over the question, "Do I have an authentic potentiality for being in this world?"

Maria H. Nagy, did extensive research on children of different ages regarding their thoughts on death. Although the divisions are not absolute, she found children up to 5 years old tend to think death is temporary and reversible. It is similar to sleep - you wake up or you get better. A typical reason to explain why a body doesn't move is only because it is in the coffin. Children between the ages of 5 and 9 tend to think of death as a person. Death can be a skeleton that comes to get bad children. Death can assume frightening characteristics. At 9 years old death is usually thought of as a process and it is inevitable. This is carried through the teenage and adult years. In some ways it depends upon the upbringing of the child. Inner city kids usually think of death as happening by a violent means, whereas others think of it as caused by more natural reasons such as old age.

Most of us are living with a huge burden. Assuming the major underlying cause is how parents treat the subject of death with their kids, what happens to a person in a society full of ignoring and avoiding death? One manner of handling it is repression. To put it "out of mind" will allow us to live superficial lives pretending death is on another level from ours. Of course, when it hits close to home it can be devastating - mourning can become pathological and difficult to overcome. Another technique is to transcend death. The idea would be to set up a huge immortality defense in order to prove death is inferior. Live today for tomorrow for it will always come! The constant challenge to death in order to build self-power and longevity becomes paramount. There is so much euphoria when seeming success takes place that it is a major driving force among us!

 When asked if they would be able to tell people that they loved them, several students pointed out problems with that. Feeling that people will be around forever makes saying, "I love you" not that important. And, because it is phrased so infrequently reactions to the words might be misinterpreted. One girl said the words might make her male friend think she wanted to have sex with him. Another said his father would think he was in trouble, contemplating suicide, or seriously sick if he said, "I love you" to him. The element of embarrassment was mentioned. Lastly, one said if it was left unsaid you might live longer knowing you might say it later in life.

 Historically not all cultures are, or were, preoccupied with avoiding death and/or the fear of it. The ancient Egyptians both loved life and welcomed death. The pharaohs were in a position to observe their mausoleum being constructed. (How would it fare if your friends began erecting a crypt next to your home to place you in after death?) The afterlife was looked forward to. The three states of existence: the living, the dead, and the gods were all equal and life-like. To pass into death was similar to changing a costume in the theater, and each of these states had the same needs such as food, sex, etc. In fact, the afterlife was considered so good some of the mummies, such as Pum II, had their penises held in the erect position with a stick. After the pharaoh died and was embalmed over a period of months, he was eventually entombed with the people that loved him. They were entombed alive and did not seem to mind! And, when one studies how the Egyptians fared in life they did much better psychologically than we do.

Problem:

 In Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book, On Death and Dying, she states the terminal patient "May cry for rest, peace, and dignity, but he will get infusions, transfusions, a heart machine, or tracheotomy if necessary. He may want one single person to stop for one single minute so that he can ask one single question - but he will get a dozen people around the clock, all busily preoccupied with his heart rate, pulse, electrocardiogram or pulmonary functions, his secretions or excretions, but not with him as a human being."

our culture makes death quite distant

   Teenagers have very strong feelings of omnipotence and immortality. The belief in self-death is at a low point in their lives. Before the age of 15 the belief one will die is stronger than in the 16 to 21 year olds, and as one approaches 40 it also increases at a slow, but steady rate. After 40 the belief rises much more rapidly as certain abilities decrease and as friends and acquaintances die. As one would expect, the fear of death is also at the low point between the years of 15 to 21. Because of that kids do the damnest things.

 Generally parents are not doing a good job with their children regarding the subject of death. Although the overwhelming majority of the students say they would allow their children to participate in the funeral rituals (11% would not allow it), as adults they usually don't. (2008 Note: After attending funerals where relatives of Death Education students were involved they usually have - not force - their kids involved in most of the funeral ritual.) Many kids are sequestered and not allowed to go to the funeral home and/or the burial. Usually this is done without explanation. Much of this has to do with the uncomfortable feelings adults have about death and children. The common thought is that children cannot handle death. It is "too much for them."

Because adults show anxiety about death and tend to shield children from it, the kids must turn to other sources to learn what they can about the subject. Their education is distorted. Their knowledge is incomplete. Their sources are biased. Most people in America die of old age but kids learn about death from television, movies newspapers, and video games and those sources major in deaths of violence. Kids spend more time watching television and movies than they do in school. They see rapes, murders, body counts, crashes which amount to thousands of killings. Death in the media does not take on the element of reality, nor does it seem final. Without realizing death is final can cause a teenager to "experiment" with it through thrill-seeking and attempting suicide. Wise parents let their kids share grief and make death an important part of life.

As a rule, death is a process that can make a person very lonely in America. Very few would ever lead someone to believe they are about to die when they are not. Letting a person know that someone has a life-threatening disease usually causes avoidance or further contact with the doomed. This is encouraged by getting the dying away from the living by placing them outside the home, and then relegating their care to technicians, who in turn tend to treat the patient as a thing. Dying can be dehumanizing and lonely. The dying usually have very little right to their opinion (e.g., if they express a desire to commit suicide and it is ignored or arhues against), and the patient might be kept in the dark on what their life-threatening condition is all about!

 Children are thirsty for knowledge. They constantly ask questions about everything they can think of and everything they interact with. But, as with sex-talk many years ago, kids cannot obtain factual information about death. There is a classic adult feeling that children cannot conceive of death in any form so it is better to not discuss it. If a kid starts asking questions about death to a parent the typical reply is, "Don't talk about that now.", "We're eating so why do you want to talk about that now?", "Go ask your father.", "What on Earth are you talking about that for?", or " That is not a subject that should be discussed at this time." Parents unwittingly do real damage to kids when they respond to death questions differently than other questions. They set the kids up from the earliest age for a very negative death attitude.

I was talking to a friend and he related a sad story supporting our obsession with immortality. The father wanted his daughter to go to the store and buy cherry-vanilla ice cream. She returned with vanilla instead because she was unable to find the cherry-vanilla. The father started an argument that led to him smacking the daughter. The daughter walked out. The wife, being upset over what happened, got into a fight with the father. The end result was the father and mother not speaking to each other for several days! If any of those people knew the other was about to die they would have never let it end that way. Can you imagine going to that extreme over an ice cream mix-up? The belief in immortality is a strong force!

Solutions?

The first way is to have someone in authority convince you that you are about to die. That would put a whole new outlook on what life is all about. I met a girl at a summer camp in Maine many years ago. She was very pretty and always had a smile on her face. She was the type of person you wanted to be with because she made you feel good. After talking with her one day I discovered she had been told she had a blood disease, such as leukemia, that would cause her death in less than a year. A second opinion confirmed the diagnosis. She made some abrupt behavioral changes based on her shattered immortality beliefs. After living with this knowledge for 6 or 7 months, she found out the problem had been wrongly diagnosed. The blood disease was completely curable. I met her about 3 or 4 years after this experience. I was appalled. How terrible to have to go through such a trauma. On the contrary, according to her, it was the best thing that ever happened. By suddenly facing the fact she was mortal, her life turned dramatically around and she appreciated every second of it more than ever!

     The second way is that you must conceive of your death everyday. You must solve problems after considering what would happen to the solution if you were to die. For example, if you think your presence on the job is so critical the company would flounder without you, conceive of what really would happen if you died. If you find the company would really flounder (and that is hard to believe) it is quite unfair for you to put the business and its employees in such a tenuous position. On the other hand, if you come to realize the company would get along without you, it would make you a better leader. Solve problems as if you will die tomorrow. Make today important. Stop living for the future. Treat others as if you will be seeing them for the last time.

source : George D. Campbell, III, (1996). Exit Strategy ; A textbook on Death and Dying. Retrieved September 8, 2015, from http://www.deep-six.com/deathweb/page200.htm

About the project

"You can frighten people with death or an idea of their own mortality, or it can actually give them vigour and they can go away and appreciate their lives more."

- Damien Hirst

In Asia, Death is a topic that is commonly and fervently avoided in conversations. There is not to be the mention of death at weddings or celebrations, certain items that become a sort of metaphor for death should not be given as gifts, tetra-phobia, are some of the instances where there is fear and avoidance of death. My final year project seeks to confront death and the address the issues that come about from the avoidance of death.