Here we'll explore the biological process of death and also clear up some basic questions about the science of it all. Find out how the mind reacts to death and how people try to cope with it. Death is treated very differently all around the world. Here we'll discuss the various religious and cultural differences. Discover the social implications of death and how death affects society. Discuss death related topics with other surfers.

Psychology Commonalities Among Loss: Is Death So Different? In your years of high school, you've never met someone quite like the person with whom you've made a relationship for the past month, a rather romantic one at that. That person makes you laugh at just the right moments and can talk for hours about imporant things, as well as completely unimportant things that are interesting all the same. Now you've just heard-- that very person will break up with you this afternoon. Is losing a loved one all that different? When a relationship breaks up, say in the case where a guy ends the relationship with a girl, the one who didn't want it to be over finds herself in a state of heart-breaking sadness. This seems obvious, the usual reaction. But let's examine what exactly she's sad about. One thing is a feeling of inadequcy, a lowering of self-esteem because there's the possibility that she wasn't good enough companion, which caused the breakup. Blaming herself, she thinks that it could have been avoided if she'd done things differently, or maybe even been a different person altogether. Another reason is that a part of her life which she was used to having around, something very stable in her world, is missing from her days. What looks like the biggest cause if her depression, however, is not being with him anymore. So what is "being with him"? It's not talking, not kissing, not making jokes, not holding hands, and all the other things they did together. In essence, the loss of such experiences with him, never being able to have those experiences with him again. When someone whom one cares deeply for dies, one can't help but feel some level of guilt-- maybe for not spending enough time with him, or maybe for not apologizing for some wrong-doing. This is much akin to the self-esteem crisis of a breakup. And just as a deep sorrow is felt for the loss of being with a boyfriend or girlfriend, so is it felt for the dying or dead loved one. No longer can you have the experiences that you've been having with that person. No longer will you feel the same emotional connection. Also, a similar void is felt in one's life in both cases. Someone that you're used to having around isn't there anymore, and that in itself is emotionally distressing. Go ahead, consider some other losses: a mother who's son is leaving the nest for college; even a favorite coffee mug, maybe given as a gift, now in broken pieces on the kitchen floor. In fact, consider also the emotional [stages that a dying person experiences]. You might find some suprising similarities. Copyright 2001. Created by a Thinkquest team. Feel free to email us at C0122781@thinkquest.org.