Explain How a Person Who Is Coping with the Threat of Death May Use Denial

Explain how a person who is coping with the threat of death may use denial.

We all have our own way of dealing with the threat of death or the death of a friend or loved one. However, we all at some time in our lives experience a defense mechanisms known as denial. Denial existence of unpleasant internal or external realities is kept out of conscious awareness.

There are many different ways people cope with denial in their lives. There is a term called selective attention in which a person, inadvertently cannot pay attention to every detail of everything that is going on at a given time. For example, when you begin your search for a nursing home for an elderly loved one some people focus on the amenities and activities available for their loved one to enjoy. They do not tend to ask about the quality of care the assisted living facility at the nursing home can provide until later on down the road. This does not mean the person is in denial. They are just focused specifically on the immediate needs of their loved one.

Selective response is another term used for when describing a form of denial. This is when a person is fully aware of an imminent situation at hand but portrays that now is not the time or place to deal with the matter. An example of this is when a person who is advised that they have terminal cancer and only three weeks to live goes home and begins cleaning their house from top to bottom. They then start labeling items that they want specific people to have after they die. Therefore, this does not mean this person is in denial that they are dying. They are just taking care of things that they feel need to be done before they die.

Compartmentalizing denial is when a person makes plans for the future even though they are fully aware that their prognosis is poor. They take full advantage of their treatment and logically discuss their illness. This person is fully aware of the reality

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