{"id":139,"date":"2021-10-26T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=100639"},"modified":"2021-10-26T12:14:08","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T10:14:08","slug":"why-its-healthy-to-think-about-your-own-death","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/why-its-healthy-to-think-about-your-own-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Why it\u2019s healthy to think about your own death"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jules Howard\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 26 October 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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According to data from the company Statista, just 11 per cent of us consider death in our daily lives<\/a>. Most of us are clearly busy with the subject of life, perhaps only considering the subject three or four times a year.<\/p>\n

We in the West are, in the words of social psychologist Sheldon Solomon, masters of \u201cburying existential anxieties under a mound of French fries\u201d. But that\u2019s understandable, right? Death is horrible. We live. We die. And then it ends. What possible reason could there be for thinking about death more? Plus, French fries are delicious.<\/p>\n

According to some scientists, however, there are advantages to thinking about death more. Psychologists, in particular, point to a number of studies that suggest that thinking about death (\u2018mortality salience\u2019) can raise people\u2019s self-worth<\/a>, encourage them to be less money-orientated<\/a> and even make them funnier<\/a>. Buoyed by research like this there are social movements, such as so-called Death Caf\u00e9s and the Death Salon collective, that provide space for people to meet and talk openly about death.<\/p>\n

In many ways, groups like these mirror Eastern philosophies, which have urged people to consider death and the frailty of human existence, for centuries.<\/p>\n

Buddha, for instance, was an advocator of \u2018corpse meditation\u2019 where dead bodies are observed in various states of decay. \u201cThis body, too,\u201d one text states\u2026 \u201csuch is its nature, such is its future, such its unavoidable fate.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the very notion of \u2018yin and yang\u2019 \u2013 the dualistic idea of \u2018light and dark\u2019 and \u2018fire and water\u2019 and \u2018life and death\u2019 \u2013 appears to inspire in non-Western audiences a greater appreciation of everyday things than in Western audiences.<\/p>\n

So, are we in the West thinking about death wrong? I would argue, no. Because there\u2019s no \u2018wrong\u2019 way to do it.<\/p>\n

But we could certainly do with thinking about it more. Not loads more, just as much as each of us feels is right. In so doing, our perspective on day-to-day events might be imperceptibly improved. After all, to those of us that know that life is impermanent, the French fries have never tasted so good.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n