MANY PEOPLE ARE UNPREPARED OR UNWILLING TO CONFRONT THE REALITY OF DEATH. DRAWING ON YOUR PRACTICE, PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OR A CASE STUDY IN BLOCK 2, DISCUSS THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN DEATH AND DYING.

People only die once which is a universal characteristic of all humans (and all living creatures), irrespective of age, sex, gender, race, culture and religion.  However thoughts about dying can evoke strong feelings of fear and anxiety, leading individuals to deny the reality of death and their mortality.  Because death is a complete unknown entity which ends life, it is a hard concept for individuals to accept.  Death is communicated via media news stories, books, TV and films on a daily basis, yet it continues to be a mystery bringing fear and uncertainty to many people.  Images of death in the media are often portrayed in a dark, mysterious and frightening manner reinforcing peoples fear of death.  Death brings pain, sorrow and tragedy with an end to hopes, dreams and termination to life and in many western cultures it is viewed as a negative entity.  This paper will discuss diffi…(short extract)