Originally published in Psychology Today
Source: Photo by Luke Southern on Unsplash
Collectively, we are in a unique moment where we are all vulnerable to the ways in which death has seeped into multiple aspects of our modern lives. How we choose to deal with this direct threat to our health is a window into our cultural worldview and individual psychologies.
Psychologist James Hillman (1964/2020) wrote, “death can impinge upon the moral ‘how’ of the individual’s life: the review of life, one’s faith, sins, destiny; how one got to where one is and how to continue. Or, whether to continue” (p. 54).
Hillman continued to discuss the contemplation and acknowledgment of death by noting, "[it] need not be conceived as an anti-life movement; it may be a demand for an encounter with absolute reality, a demand for a fuller life” (p. 52).
In the United States, we are experiencing an increase in the death count of coronavirus cases. Many of us encounter daily reminders of this tragedy by working from home, by wearing and seeing others wear masks, and by isolating from friends and family. Or, by choosing not to.
As we face these daily reminders of our own mortality, how do we respond to it? Do we, as Hillman suggests, use the experience to lead a fuller life? Or does the news of our mortality slip into our unconscious, causing us to feel unaffected by it?
According to psychologists Sander L. Koole, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski (2006), “the psychological confrontation with deep existential concerns occurs most dramatically in the aftermath of extreme negative events—such as a … life-threatening illness, or untimely death of a loved one, or more globally significant ones” (p. 212).
The authors continued, “existential philosophers have maintained that existential concerns exert a pervasive influence on human behavior regardless of whether people realize it or not” (p. 212).
There are many ways to turn away from the reality of our deaths. We may consciously or unconsciously experience cognitive distortion, denial, dissociation, or feelings of invincibility in regard to our mortality. Our minds are cleverly able to filter out reminders of our eventual death, even when surrounded by it.
In July 2020, a study by psychologists Ines Testoni, Lorenza Palazzo, Ciro De Vincenzo, and Michael Alexander Wieser highlighted the fact that “although death is a thought that causes strong anxiety … it is also possible to manage such anxiety by directing emotions and thoughts towards culturally significant existential content. Existential reflection, in fact, if guided by relevant content, can transform fear into a search for meaning” (p. 7).
As we find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic, one way to cope with the anxieties of the moment is to turn toward existential thinking. In these thoughts, we can begin to discover what it would mean for us to lead a more authentic, meaningful life.
We have the option to review our lives now and make changes. We do not have to wait until our deathbed to realize we would have liked to have lived life differently.
References
Hillman, J. (2020). Suicide and the soul. Thompson, CT: Spring Publications. (Original work published 1964)
Koole, S. L., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2006). Introducing Science to the Psychology of the Soul: Experimental Existential Psychology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(5), 212–216. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00438.x
Testoni, I., Palazzo, L., De Vincenzo, C., & Wieser, M. A. (2020). Enhancing Existential Thinking through Death Education: A Qualitative Study among High School Students. Behavioral Sciences, 10(7), 113. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/bs10070113