Death, Dying, and Living Unit 1A Test Study Guide

Suffering

An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with being alive; to suffer is to endure death, pain, distress, loss, damage, disability, or handicap.

Acute pain

Sharp, severe pain that begins suddenly and lasts a short time.

Chronic pain

Long-term pain or suffering that may never be relieved.

Physical pain

Acute or chronic bodily pain, such as illness, injury, or a migraine.

Psychological pain

Mental and emotional pain, such as anxiety, rejection, fear, grief, guilt, loneliness, or depression.

Spiritual pain

Pain connected to a person's relationship with God and faith, including doubt, uncertainty, loss of hope, or feeling separated from God.

Neurosis

An unhealthy mental condition involving an endlessly recurring pattern of emotional suffering, such as anxiety, obsession, self-centeredness, paranoia, or fatalism.

Moses Maimonides

A Jewish philosopher who said suffering is caused by three types of evil.

cause of suffering

Natural limitations of being human and living in an imperfect world, such as sickness, aging, death, natural disasters, genetic defects, hunger, and accidents.

Second cause of suffering

Evil that people inflict on each other, such as violence, abuse, war, crime, prejudice, discrimination, and broken relationships.

Third cause of suffering

Evil that we bring upon ourselves through our own thoughts or actions, such as harmful choices, obsession, envy, guilt, or revenge.

Paradise

A perfect world or heaven on earth where people walk and talk with God.

Nirvana

A blissful state of perfect happiness with no suffering or death.

Utopia

A perfect or ideal society.

Why might a world without suffering not be ideal?

Pain can protect us, help us grow, build character, give work and relationships meaning, and create chances for courage and compassion.

Passion

From a Latin word meaning to suffer; it can mean intense emotion, strong love, or deep devotion.

Compassion

To suffer with someone else and be moved to try to ease their suffering.

Faith

The theological virtue that enables us to believe God exists and loves us, have a relationship with God, and live by Gospel values even during suffering.

What does Jesus' suffering teach Christians?

Suffering does not separate us from God; God cares about our suffering. We do not face suffering alone; God is with us, lightens our burdens, and gives us strength. Suffering is not the end; it does not have to defeat us or destroy the possibility of eternal happiness in God's kingdom.

What does Jesus' suffering teach Christians? Part 2

We do not face suffering alone; God is with us, lightens our burdens, and gives us strength.

What does Jesus' suffering teach Christians? Part 3

Suffering is not the end; it does not have to defeat us or destroy the possibility of eternal happiness in God's kingdom.

Resilience

The ability to handle whatever life deals us. Resilient people do more than survive; they thrive despite their problems.

Death

Permanent cessation of total brain function, spontaneous respiratory function, and spontaneous circulatory function.

The three vital functions that permanently stop at death

Total brain function, spontaneous respiratory function, and spontaneous circulatory function.

Coroner

A public official who determines the cause of death when it is not natural or apparent and is responsible for unclaimed bodies.

Deceased

A person who has died.

Decedent

A dead person, including a stillborn infant or fetus.

Cryonics

Freezing someone after death in hope that future science can revive them when a cure is found.

Algor mortis

Cooling of the body after death. The rate depends on environmental temperature, clothing, and body fat.

Rigor mortis

Stiffening of muscles after death. It usually begins 5-10 hours after death, often with the jaw muscles, and relaxes after 3-4 days.

Livor mortis

Staining after death: gravity pulls unclotted blood downward, causing reddish-blue discoloration on parts of the body.

Blood clotting after death

Blood clots shortly after death; sometimes clotting begins before the heart stops.

Cell breakdown after death

Cells break down because they no longer receive a blood supply.

Putrefaction

Decomposing bacteria and fungi produce gases, greenish tissue discoloration, and a foul smell.

What can death teach us?

Death can motivate us to make sense of life and being human, especially our identity and destiny.

What can death teach us? Part 2

Because death is inevitable, we should prepare wisely; after death, it is too late to prepare.

What can death teach us? Part 3

Death gives perspective on the little deaths of life, including loss, failure, disappointment, rejection, change, and grief. It reminds us to live fully now.

Why do people deny death?

Most Americans have not experienced large-scale death, such as war on home soil, in a long time.

Why do people deny death? Part 2

Death and executions are less public than they once were.

Why do people deny death? Part 3

Medicine and better nutrition have made people live longer.

Why do people deny death? Part 4

Death has been removed from everyday life; people often die in hospitals or care centers instead of at home.

Why do people deny death? Part 5

Society glorifies youth and can treat older people unfairly.

Fear of losing life itself

Fear of separation from loved ones or leaving goals unfinished.

Fear of the process of dying

Fear of losing control, pain, indignity, or being a burden.

Fear of death itself

Fear of the unknown, personal annihilation, or eternal punishment.

Fear of those who are dead

Fear of ghosts, evil spirits, or scary images from media.

Gerontology

The study of aging.

Thanatology

The study of death.

Necromancy

Supposed communication with the dead.

Spiritualism

Attempts to communicate with spirits or departed souls through séances, Ouija boards, or similar methods; the Church considers it a violation of the virtue of religion.

Heaven

State or mode of existence in which one is in complete and total union with God.

Purgatory

A state of purification after death before someone experiences heaven.

Communion of saints

The union of all faithful people, living and dead, who belong to God's family.

All Saints' Day

November 1; honors all saints, including unknown saints.

All Souls' Day

November 2; remembers and prays for the faithful departed.