Join two of the founders of Terror Management Theory, Drs. Jeff Greenberg and Sheldon Solomon, for a conversation with Dr. Lisa Firestone on how fear of our own mortality is currently affecting all humans in the midst of global crisis. Subscribe to PsychAlive (it’s free!) to see more Experts at Home.
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Last night I woke up from a deep sleep in a panic about the possibility of getting the Coronavirus, despite my precautions and social distancing. I tried a mindfulness practice for a few minutes and that did help calm me down. Then my thoughts turned to some of the young children I’ve worked with as… Read more »
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The ultimate tragedy of the human condition is our awareness of our inevitable mortality. Each person is born with a death sentence. The developing child initially discovers the traumatic reality that their parents will die and later that they themselves will eventually die. This reality is too terrifying to tolerate, so the child must resort… Read more »
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When my oldest son called to share the devastating news with us, my mind wandered to memories of Lakers games we’d taken him to in Bakersfield, L.A., and Charlotte. At the time, we were ‘Californians’ and a trip to the Staples Center was quality family weekend time. Kobe was always there. My youngest, a California… Read more »
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“It’s precisely because we’re finite that life is so sweet.” – Sheldon Solomon Last month I got the opportunity to meet Ady Barkan, a progressive activist who’s become one of the most powerful voices in the fight to move the United States to a universal healthcare system, sometimes dubbed “Medicare for All”. The meeting took place at… Read more »
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The conscious or unconscious fear of death can alter many aspects of behavior. Most people, including mental health specialists, have failed to recognize the full significance of the impact of death on life. The fear of death arises as each child becomes aware of death’s inevitability. It is too painful to face our personal mortality… Read more »
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Watch and read our exclusive interview with Jon Kabat-Zinn. In a sense, if the great yogi Bob Dylan, said, “If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying,” we’re all busy dying. The question is not, “Is there life after death?” but, “Is there life before death?” Because a lot of the time, we could… Read more »
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I recently struggled with this question when my dog became ill with cancer. She was a loving 9-year-old black Labrador retriever who slept in my daughter’s bed and greeted us cheerfully whenever we came into her line of sight. She started sneezing one day. Over time the sneeze was an indication that there was something… Read more »
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Human beings are cursed with a conscious awareness of their own mortality. Human beings, unlike other species, are cursed with a conscious awareness of their own mortality. I believe that the tragedy of the human condition is that people’s awareness and true self consciousness concerning this existential issue contributes to an ultimate irony: Human beings… Read more »
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The news of Nora Ephron’s death as a result of leukemia was such a shock. I keep thinking what a terrible loss. She was such a brilliant writer and director. She was also close to my age – just one day short of a year my junior. We grew up at the same time and… Read more »
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