Thanatology

Service Description

Thanatology is a scientific discipline that seeks to find meaning in the process of death, its rites, and meaning. It is conceived as a professional discipline that integrates the person as a biological, psychological, social, and spiritual being, enabling them to live fully and seek transcendence. It also addresses grief resulting from significant losses unrelated to physical death or terminal illness. A more concrete definition is to consider it as "the study of life that includes death." From the Greek words thanatos (death) and logos (study or treatise); therefore, the objective of thanatology is to provide professional help to patients with a terminal illness and their families, or to any person experiencing some type of loss. The study of thanatology includes aspects such as: Helping people develop their own belief systems about life and death, not as a fantasy or punishment, but as an acceptance of death as a natural process. Preparing people to cope with any type of loss. Educate patients to treat those close to death in a humane and intelligent manner. Understand the dynamics of grief from a human perspective, emphasizing the importance of emotions. One of the most important points within thanatology is the principle of autonomy, which allows individuals to make their own decisions related to the dying process or their own life. The dignity of the person is understood only through respect for freedom. Another important aspect within thanatology is learning the different means by which patients can exercise this principle of autonomy. For example, certain actions can be taken, such as making wills (such as a living will or a legal will), legacies, responsibilities, or advance directives (the latter referring to the legal possibility established in some countries to request the rejection of prolonging life by unnecessary means in specific circumstances).