Death and Dying Articles

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Life's inevitable end brings profound emotions and questions to bear for many - from those dealing with the death of a loved one to those contemplating their own mortality. The following content relating to Death and Dying have been reviewed by the editorial staff at SelfGrowth.com for quality and caliber.

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Coping with a Partner's Terminal Diagnosis - Eleven Survival Tips by Judy Schreiber-Mosher, LCSW - by Judy Schreiber-Mosher, LCSW
Submitted on Nov 12, 2009 from Judy Schreiber
Imagine discovering that your partner, the person you love most in the world, was just diagnosed with a terminal illness. You stop listening: the odds don’t matter at the moment, and medical advances seem irrelevant. All you hear is the collapse of your hopes and dreams with your loved one. ...
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Suicide Survivorship: Sometimes The Answers Are In the Questions - by Ellen Gerst
Submitted on Nov 10, 2009 from Ellen Gerst
No one can know the depth of despair to which a person may sink upon contemplation of suicide. Possibly, the black hole in which one finds him/herself gets deeper and darker as the days go by. Soon, even the smallest sliver of light is blocked from view. And then -- instead of being frightening -- ...
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Sleep Right or Die Early - by Jim Blondin
Submitted on Oct 19, 2009 from Jim Blondin
Pillows: Killing us softly. This is not just a catchy title but a fact. You can not live well unless you sleep well! “We die without sleep”! Our organs shut down without sleep! Proven by a researcher who kept animals awake from 6 months to 30 months and stated “they did not die from not ...
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The Murder-Suicide of Sahel Kazemi and former NFL Quarterback Steve McNair - by Yumi Sakugawa
Submitted on Oct 05, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
A former NFL football star known for giving back to the community is happily married with four children. He is found dead in his condominium with a 20-year-old Dave & Busters waitress he had been secretly seeing for the last six months, who was also found dead next to him. The man died of ...
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Good-bye, Michael: For the Rest of Us, What Now? - by Yumi Sakugawa
Submitted on Oct 01, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Michael Jackson's memorial ended just today in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Though I was not there in person, I was watching the event on the television screen from start to finish with countless other citizens of this world. Whether you are a fan, a hater, or completely neutral, there ...
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Michael Jackson: Another Look at The Man in the Mirror - by Lissa Coffey
Submitted on Oct 01, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Since Michael Jackson’s untimely death last week we’ve been inundated with stories and speculations about his life. I’m in the generation that grew up with Michael. We watched him as a child singing on TV with his brothers, ABC and Rockin’ Robin, and tried our best to copy his moves. As ...
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Good-Bye to a TV Host, an Angel, a Legendary Entertainer, a Quarterback, and a Guru - by Rebecca Pacheco
Submitted on Oct 01, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
With the deaths of superstars Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson last week, and Steve McNair on Saturday, it seems we’ve bid farewell to an inordinate number of icons recently. While the losses of Jackson, 51, and McNair, 36, are more tragic and untimely than McMahon, 86, and ...
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3 Things We Can Learn From Recent Celebrity Passings - by Darlene Mininni
Submitted on Sep 28, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
If you're like many people, you may be scratching your head, wondering how to make sense of the untimely deaths of three high profile people within the span of a few days. For anyone who has ever carried a Michael Jackson lunchbox to school or taped a Farrah Fawcett poster to your dorm room ...
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The Man in the Mirror is the Man I Choose to Remember - by Creo Mundi
Submitted on Sep 28, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Mallika Chopra's blog, Bloodsuckers and The World of Michael Jackson (http://www.intent.com/mallikachopra/blog/bloodsuckers-and-world-michael-jackson) hit the nail on the head with a great big smack. I’ve avoided blogging about Michael Jackson because I did not know him personally – only his ...
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Bernie Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison: Let Us Not Forget the Victims - by Yumi Sakugawa
Submitted on Sep 27, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
On Monday, Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison. He ran one of the biggest investor frauds in Wall Street history which spanned two decades and ran up to $65 billion dollars. Now that Madoff will be spending the rest of his life in jail, details of his life--his high school ...
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Bloodsuckers and The World of Michael Jackson - by Mallika Chopra
Submitted on Sep 24, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
In the aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death, I found myself in a surreal situation that gave me a glimpse into the dark side of bloodsuckers, media and celebrity. In those few hours, I saw a side of humanity that saddens me – where people try to take advantage of vulnerability, confusion, ...
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Michael Jackson - A Changing Face - by Sarah Maria
Submitted on Sep 24, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
I never knew Michael Jackson personally, so it is impossible to make any type of comment about him or his self-esteem or anything else, without it being a complete projection of my own psyche. Given the recent and unexpected death of this icon, however, it seems appropriate to discuss the topic of ...
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Did Michael Jackson have Cancer? - by Lori Hope
Submitted on Sep 23, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
It’s hard to believe the world lost another cultural icon yesterday. Michael Jackson was so different from Farrah Fawcett, but he mattered just as much, or some would say even more. It depends on what you value, how old you are, and so many other factors. And, really, don't we all matter ...
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Saying Goodbye to Farrah and Michael - by Dr. Deb Brown
Submitted on Sep 23, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
The world was saddened by the death of Farrah Fawcett yesterday and shocked by the death of Michael Jackson on the same day. Both celebrities were loved by millions of people around the world. Farrah’s recent documentary about her three-year battle with cancer won critical acclaim, and ...
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A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson - by Deepak Chopra
Submitted on Sep 23, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Michael Jackson will be remembered, most likely, as a shattered icon, a pop genius who wound up a mutant of fame. That's not who I will remember, however. His mixture of mystery, isolation, indulgence, overwhelming global fame, and personal loneliness was intimately known to me. For twenty years I ...
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Setting a relaxing space for care-givers and the rest of us - by Marcus Padulchick ND
Submitted on Sep 21, 2009 from Marcus Padulchick
Running here and there, picking up children from after school events, stopping at the grocery store, making beds, dressing and feeding a new born baby, making business appointments, doing bill paying, mowing the lawn… sounds exhausting? These are just a fraction of the daily activities you ...
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The Legacy of Neda Agha-Soltan: A Young Iranian Woman's Death Captured on YouTube - by Yumi Sakugawa
Submitted on Sep 17, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
I watched a YouTube video this afternoon that made my blood run cold. Someone captured on his or her cell phone camera a 40-second montage of a young Iranian woman dying within seconds of a gunshot wound in her chest. As she collapses to the ground, the people surrounding her try to block the wound ...
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Challenges: Three Ways of Overcoming Death Three Years Later - by Cassaundra Vergel
Submitted on Sep 17, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
I never felt that I was close to my grandmother. I was always slightly scared of her because she always had something to say about the way I look, my choices, and any other small detail she could pick up. I loved her - but I never felt close to her. Three summers ago, she passed away from ...
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Such Great Heights: Epic and Everyday Tragedies - by Tamsin Smith
Submitted on Sep 13, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
The tragedy of a plane crash hits me hard. I imagine the free fall, the shock, the finality, the sadness. Returning to my senses, I follow the hunt for the “Black Box,” wanting answers. What happened? Human error, mechanical failure, a flock of birds, a simple twist of fate? We people need to ...
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Give Back to Come Back - by Deidre Combs
Submitted on Sep 13, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
For it is in giving we receive – Saint Francis of Assisi I know something to be true. My friend Jerry White, has built his organization, Survivor Corps, around this same fact -- if you want to fully return to your life after tough times, it is critical that you give back what you have ...
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When the pain comes..... - by Martine Brennan
Submitted on Sep 13, 2009 from Martine Brennan
When the pain comes….. Don’t be afraid when the pain comes. It is natural to feel pain when someone we love dies. It is natural that the death of someone close to us will throw old memories into sharp relief. It is natural to feel for a time that the world doesn’t make sense. It is natural ...
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Moving Through Grief on Foot - by Julie Lange
Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from FSB Authors
After my 16-year-old son Justin died, I learned that some journeys can only be made on foot, and grieving is one of them. You can't fly across it to avoid touching down in the pain. You can't cruise through it by car and watch the landscape through a half-open window. You can't swim through the ...
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Avoiding Unhealthy Grief and Choosing Healthy Bereavement - by Mary Chamberlin
Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from Mary Chamberlin
Certain factors can contribute to unhealthy grief, while there are a number of ways to encourage healthy bereavement. Following is a list of bereavement don’ts. Do not avoid emotions - we must not bury how we feel – we must allow ourselves to feel and work through bereavement – ...
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*** Today Is A Beautiful Day, The Preciousness of Each Moment - by Christine Breese, Ph.D., The Official Guide to Enlightenment and Psychology
Submitted on Sep 29, 2009 from Christine Breese
If you have fallen into the routine of life, or find it to be a chore, you have fallen asleep to the preciousness that every moment in life is. It is a great phenomena that we are all living in this physical reality, with a body, an identity, and we have people who we love and are connected with. ...
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Dreaming of Those Who Have "Crossed Over" - by Laurel Clark, D.M., D.D.
Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Laurel Clark
"I have absolutely no fear of death. From my near-death research and my personal experiences, death is, in my judgment, simply a transition into another kind of reality." - Dr. Raymond Moody Most people fear death. Although we know that death is inevitable, there is often a difference between ...
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The Sweetness of the Leaving - by Regina Rose Murphy
Submitted on Aug 23, 2009 from Regina Murphy
Many years ago, I fell in love with the movie “Pay It Forward” and the theme song “Calling all Angels” by K.D. Lang which was also the theme song of the TV show “Beauty and the Beast”. I really couldn’t understand the meaning of the words at first and was sure I heard the words ...
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Soul On Fire - by Arthur Rosenfeld
Submitted on Aug 04, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
CNN recently ran a story about the devastating wildfires raging across southern Australia, a natural disaster that may have involved climate change, normal weather patterns, and even arson. 200 people have died so far and the loss of homes and property is stunning. The story included an interview ...
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How to Know When it’s Time to Say Goodbye to a Pet Cat - by Pamela Merritt
Submitted on Aug 01, 2009 from Pamela Merritt
It’s always a difficult choice to make; deciding it’s time to say goodbye to a beloved cat. The heart of the dilemma is absent when a cat meets their demise through misadventure or a sudden terminal episode. While, being human, we search for ways we could have averted this situation, we did ...
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The Top 10 Ways To Give A Great Eulogy Speech - by Tracy Phaup
Submitted on Jul 31, 2009 from Tracy Phaup
Being asked to give a eulogy can be a daunting occasion to rise to for a countless number of possible reasons. Giving a eulogy for those that meant the most to us means trying to come to terms with our loss enough in order to even be coherent and to also fulfill our deep need to do them justice. ...
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Learning to Forgive Your Mother - by EJ Young
Submitted on Jul 27, 2009 from patsy yusten
It'll Take Dyin' to Get It Done Story of a 40 Year Forgiveness Sideways, in the back, running away, standing still and about any other way one could get it, I did. Don't be confused here. We're talking mental abuse-not physical, so relax. Messing with the mind is not such a biggee. No one can ...
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Trust and Love: A Dream Journey through Fear - by Dawn Baumann Brunke
Submitted on Jul 19, 2009 from Dawn Brunke
Six years ago, just before my birthday, I dreamed of being in an enclosed trailer with three huge elephants. The trailer had room for the elephants to stand and sleep as well as a small living area for humans. Between the elephants and myself, however, were only a few thin wires. As I stood in ...
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First Language: A Journey into Animal Communication - by Dawn Baumann Brunke
Submitted on Jul 16, 2009 from Dawn Brunke
I first made the acquaintance of Queen, a brown tabby cat with yellow eyes and a tiny orange spot on the top of her head, just as she was approaching death. Her human caretaker, Rain, was understandably sad, but wanted to ask Queen a number of questions. At the time, I was learning some basic ...
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Natasha Richardson - by Yumi Sakugawa
Submitted on Jul 07, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Two days earlier, British-born actress Natasha Richardson was taking skiing lessons on the bunny slopes with her 13-year-old son at Mont Tremblant Skiing Resort in Montreal and accidentally fell. One hour later, she was complaining of terrible headaches. She was immediately rushed to the hospital ...
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Talk and Die: Six Questions (and Answers) About Natasha Richardson's Ski Accident - by Ben Sherwood
Submitted on Jul 07, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Natasha Richardson's death is a shock and tragedy for so many reasons. The 45-year-old actress was taking a private lesson on a beginner's run in Mont Tremblant, Canada. When she fell at the bottom of the trail, everything seemed okay. She didn't hit anyone or anything. She wasn't wearing a helmet, ...
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Solving Social Security - by Dr. Susan Corso
Submitted on Jul 05, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Watching Bill Maher last week, I was arrested by his suggestion that those who qualify for Social Security and are well-off should not collect their government checks, but should instead let their share continue to nourish the severely undernourished Social Security system. I think it’s a good ...
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Getting Through the Sadness - by Karen Rowinsky, LMSW
Submitted on Jul 05, 2009 from Karen Rowinsky
Many say the first year after the loss of a loved is the hardest but most people find that different seasons or dates bring up sadness and feelings of grief years after our loved one has died. There are things we can do to ease our pain during these seasons of sadness no matter when they ...
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Grief; What Is It? - by Linda Nusbaum, MFT
Submitted on Jul 02, 2009 from Linda Nusbaum
Grief; What Is It? We all hear about grief, it’s something we are trained to know something about, even when we are small. It’s that thing that happens to us when someone dies. That’s grief, the word for that place we must visit when we are suffering a loss. But exactly is it? Or, could ...
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Consider Your Own Mortality in the Wake of Michael Jackson's Death - by James LeGrand
Submitted on Jun 29, 2009 from James LeGrand
The deaths of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and pitchman Billy Mayes has many of us seriously thinking about our own mortality. Most of us never consider our own mortality. Our own death is never thought about or discussed. In fact, the American culture is extremely afraid of death – so ...
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April Showers Bring... Genocide? - by James Boyce
Submitted on Jun 18, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Here in New England, people look forward to April as the days turn longer, and warmer and the first signs of Spring emerge. The young, and young at heart, often recite the old standard, "April showers bring May flowers." Unfortunately, in far too many parts of world, April is not a month to look ...
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Life on the Other Side - by Lily M, Ph.D.
Submitted on Jun 16, 2009 from Lily Mars
Many years ago I experienced something incredible, bordering on mind-boggling. I glimpsed and felt what it was like to die and cross over to the other side. In essence, I experienced what mirrored a near death experience (NDE) without any of the trauma or crisis that typically accompanies such an ...
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"Grandma, Are You Old?" - by Carole Lynne
Submitted on Jun 10, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
We took two of my grand daughters to Friendly’s for supper and some ice cream. We asked them to choose from the Kids Menu, and my husband and I, both over 60, picked items on the Senior Menu. WHAT a bargain! However, I did not bargain for the conversation that followed with one of the ...
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Who’s in Your Space? - by Renay Matthews
Submitted on Jun 08, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
I have witnessed people close to death with loved ones by their side, they have not spoken to in years. There appears to be a lot of pain there. I think bonding is organic. It comes from love, it cannot be forced. I’m sure we all have had someone we just can’t bond with, and that is okay. ...
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Everyone Deserves a Second Chance - by Alex Blackwell
Submitted on Jun 04, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 My mother died today. Her body finally gave up. It had enough. My mother’s liver, exhausted from working so hard to filter the toxins she put there, finally reached its limit. So, it’s over. A life of abuse found a quiet end. There will not be a viewing of her body, ...
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Holocaust Remembrance Day: The Remarkable Strength (and Success) of the Survivors - by Ben Sherwood
Submitted on Jun 03, 2009 from Intent.com Authors
Nine million Jews lived in Europe in 1939 as World War II erupted. By 1945, six million had been slaughtered. In the most basic arithmetic, three million European Jews managed to escape the Nazi Final Solution. They fled. They hid. They resisted. The survival rate varied greatly from nation to ...
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The Illusion of Death - by Rev. Joan M. Newcomb, CPC
Submitted on May 11, 2009 from Rev. Joan Newcomb
I've had an unusual number of people I'm acquainted with die recently. Three were men in their fifties, one was a ten year old girl, and one was a woman in her eighties. And then this week Dr. Oz did an Oprah show 'on death', except it really was about living - one woman had lived with stage 4 - ...
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Death – A Life Lesson in Personal Change - by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran
Submitted on Apr 27, 2009 from Dorothy Tannahill-Moran
How would you know what the lesson is? You don’t live to tell it!? As a person focused on personal change and transition, it does strike me that this is the ultimate transition. The lesson is in the observation of the process. It’s either the pre or post death experience of those left ...
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On Death and Dying - by Joy Vanderbeck, Ph.D.
Submitted on Apr 24, 2009 from Joy Vanderbeck
In recently watching “The Last Samurai”, with Tom Cruise, I began to contemplate the subject of death. I have come to realize that each culture deals with death in a unique manner. Samurai consider death to be sacred, an honor. In our culture, death is a subject that is so often avoided. We do ...
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Yes Dad, You'll Be Here in the Morning - by Rose Lauharn
Submitted on Apr 23, 2009 from Rose Lauharn
1997 was a very hard year for me. I was 30 years old and came back home to take care of my dad. He had been ill for a number of years and I had been his primary care giver. My dad was 72 and had several mini strokes over the course of a few years and diabetes, dementia and heart disease. He was in ...
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Passing On: Playing the Dark Role - by Jelaila Starr
Submitted on Sep 04, 2009 from Jelaila Starr
During these times of great change, it seems that every day brings another opportunity to learn from the painful challenges that come our way. In some cases several lessons are learned through the same challenge. Such has been the case with the passing of my father and the circumstances surrounding ...
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Passing On: A Time of Lessons and Blessings - by Jelaila Starr
Submitted on Sep 04, 2009 from Jelaila Starr
The ancients have said that this time we are in now would be one of great pain and suffering. One only has to turn on the TV or read the newspaper to know that we are seeing the fulfillment of their words. In the midst of such pain it is easy to loose sight of the goal. As the higher perspective ...
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