Essay Example on Death, Dying and Grief

In the event I am diagnosed with the HIV virus, the first thing that will affect me is hopelessness. Being one of the natural parts of coping with such a life-changing state of the body (CThe determination of the disease would become one of the hardest times of my life despite hopelessnessole et al., 1995). However, despite being diagnosed with the disease, I would not take it as a red flag towards living a healthy and happy life. This is because scientists have discovered that with proper diet, support from friends and relatives and physical exercise, one can live longer just like other healthy people. Additionally, having a positive attitude towards the situation and avoiding the perceived misconceptions about the state could boost my lifetime.

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HIV being a killer disease that has claimed many lives in the recent past, the common consequence of diagnosis is grief, hopelessness and death. Though death has not yet got a precise definition, the medical field has tried to define death as the state that the working of the circulatory system fails thus leading to the failure of the body organs. Death has also been defined as the complete cessation of all the functions of the brain that is irreversible (Corless et al., 2008). Biblically, death is the state where the soul moves from the body to the eternal life that is provided by the creator (Verhey, 2011). Biblically, death was also experienced by Christ when he died for the salvation of Christians (Sanders, 2007), but for his case, he resurrected after death something not experienced to date. Despite the different views of death, it has remained one of the bitterest parts of life. The health sector has been instrumental in trying to discover the cause of death since they have an experience with the dead people other than the religious people. Today, death and grief are the leading causes of pain and hopelessness.

Grief would also be the other challenge after being diagnosed with HIV virus. The first stage of grief is denial where I would disagree with the state claiming that it’s impossible to be diagnosed with the disease. Another stage of grief that I will undergo after the diagnosis is anger where I would be outraged why the results of the diagnosis came to be the way they are. I would take a step to negotiate with the doctor whether the reversal of the results would be possible. After all this has failed, depression would take over since I would have been convinced that I can do nothing. The last stage of grief would be accepting that it’s a fact that I am infected and I cannot change the situation thus I will accept the situation and live positively.

Among the many emotions, I will undergo after being diagnosed with the disease are shock, fear, sadness, and denial. Fear is one of the feelings that one has immediately after being diagnosed with the illness (Kanopy, 2016). Fear comes in because I will not be at the capacity to know the next step after the diagnosis. I may also be afraid of telling my parents, relatives or even friends that I am infected. The effects of fear could range from lack of sleep, being nervous, a feeling of short of breath, feeling dizzy to even increased heart beats.

References

Corless, I. B., Germino, B. B., & Pittman, M. (2006). Dying, death, and bereavement: A challenge for living. New York, NY: Springer Pub.

Cole, J., Winer, L., Salvo, C., KQED Video (Firm), & Independent Television Service. (1995). Positive: Life with HIV. Place of publication not identified: AIDSFILM, Inc. for Independent Television Service.

Sanders, F. (2007). Chalcedonian categories for the gospel narrative. In F. Sanders & K. Issler (Eds.), Jesus in Trinitarian perspective (pp. 6-8). Nashville, TN: B&H Academic.

Verhey, A. (2011). The Christian art of dying: Learning from Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans