ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a few words about the importance of self-care and suggested a classroom exercise that might deepen understanding through the telling of own story and listening to the stories of others. Researchers complain that the folk wisdom spun off by practitioners seldom contributes much to the scientific understanding of death, dying, and bereavement. The notion that Western society may be in denial about death implies people are really incapable of dealing with life and perhaps lose out on experiencing important parts of their own humanity. The pioneers of death education came from a very broad range of professions and academic disciplines—medicine and nursing; psychology and counseling; anthropology, sociology, and social work; theology and chaplaincy; and many others. At the core of terror management theory is the notion that culture gives people a way of managing the potential terror of death by helping people see ourselves as having enduring significance.
