Although the fear of death is a fundamental human trait, eventually many people, when the end of life is approaching, express unexpectedly positive emotions.
This is the conclusion of two new American studies, which show that, contrary to popular belief, the "taste" of death is often much more positive than most people expect it to be.
Researchers, led by Kurt Gray of the University of North Carolina and published in the American journal Psychological Science, conducted two studies that came to a similar conclusion: while in the human imagination death seems scary ( , suffering, anxiety, lonely encounter with the unknown, etc.), the last moments may be less negative, if not even positive emotionally.
The first study analyzed - with the help of computers - the emotional content of blogs (blogs) that have created end-stage cancer patients and other patients with incurable diseases. A comparison with texts by healthy people who were asked to write about how they imagine how they would feel when they die reveals that the posts of those who will soon die are more emotionally positive than the preconceived notions of death. In fact, the closer death approaches, the more positive they become and the greater the frequency of words such as "love" and "happiness", instead of "fear", "anxiety" etc.
The second study analyzed the latest words and poems of future deaths in American prisons who had been sentenced to death for serious crimes. In this case, too, the emotional content of their writings was - on average - unexpectedly positive and less negative, compared to poems written by other non-dying prisoners. The minds of future deaths are particularly attracted to concepts such as religion and family.
"When we imagine our emotions as we approach death, sadness and terror usually prevail. But it seems that dying is less sad and scary - even happier - than we think.
"The last posts of those suffering from incurable diseases and the last words of future prisoners are full of love, social connection and meaning," Gray said.
Of course, one could add that if one, on the verge of death, finds the courage to write blogs and poems, then there is indeed an increased chance of finding some positive meaning in death. But many more people probably do not have that courage…
But when exactly does death come?
Although in life, as they say, two things are of course, taxes and death, there are still doubts about one of the two - and this paradoxically is not taxes. Doctors and other scientists are still struggling to find a common definition of death and apply it around the world.
The issue was raised again at the European Society of Anesthesiology's annual Euroanaesthesia conference in Geneva (3-5 June). Most doctors around the world - at least in the Western world - now agree that death is ultimately brain death, a concept that has been around for at least 40 years.
But there is still some controversy surrounding the exact time of death based on a number of neurological criteria. Thus, there is no unanimity as to when exactly death occurs.
Some doctors insist that it is enough to confirm the death of the brain stem, the oldest and lower part of the brain responsible for vital autonomic functions, such as respiration, as well as consciousness. If the relevant medical examination reveals the death of the brain stem, then they take it for granted that the death generally occurred.
But some argue that the death of the whole brain, not just the stem, must be confirmed. Among other things, they argue that it is not uncommon for the brain to show electrical activity for several minutes after the death of the brain stem.
As Giuseppe Kiterio, a professor of anesthesiology and intensive care at the University of Milan School of Medicine and Surgery, told the conference, "With all the modern technology available today, one would expect the diagnosis of death to be easy, but it is not."
He strongly argues that if the brain stem is dead, the person is dead, even if other parts of his brain function for a while longer. Therefore, no additional tests such as electroencephalogram are required, as required by e.g. his country, Italy.
Source: RES - EIA