Psychological Care for Patient and Family Facing the Problem Associated with Terminal Illnesses
Keywords:
terminal illnes, palliative care, fear of death instinct, psychological interventionAbstract
Death is inevitable. An individual reaches this point in his life through either a sudden or an expected death. People who face expected death usually suffer from terminal illnesses. Terminal illnesses are illnesses caused by chronic, usually incurable diseases, which apparently limit a person’s life expectancy. Although it is well accepted that death is a normal process of development, it is quite difficult to accept this fact. This is under the urge of “fear of death instinct”. Patients who experience terminal illnesses develop psychological problems as they anticipate death. In order to help ease the patients’ pain and worry, as well as to help them cope with the disease, medical institutions and organizations provide the best intervention called, “Terminal Care or Palliative Care”. Palliative Care generally provides relief from pain, although not a cure for the illness, a patient undergoing palliative care develops comfort in his situation and readiness to death, when the time comes. Palliative care for the patients and proper interventions for family members are needed. Some of psychological theories and interventions are proposed and discussed in this article.
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