Is there life after death: what does psychology say?

Outsiders of the primitive era

Modern white crows are lucky: in ancient times, renegades were expelled from society, which led to inevitable and quick death in a hostile environment.

For primitive man, exclusion from social life also meant rapid physical death. What else could a person hope for by violating the laws of society?

He disobeyed the elders, did not keep an eye on the fire, failed the initiation rite - after such offenses, a person’s position in society became more complicated, and if he did not correct himself in the future, he would be expelled from society. Expulsion of an individual from the society of primitive times is the path to certain death.

Contempt from society causes a person to experience deep suffering. Who is a person outside of society? Lonely, alone with cruel, silent nature, deprived of human communication...

Symptoms of psychological trauma

Signs of psychological trauma do not always appear clearly or immediately. Some symptoms are hidden as the brain tries to figure out how to resolve the trauma on its own. Symptoms of psychological trauma in adults and children have minor differences.

Regardless of what event triggered the onset of severe stress, the symptoms manifest themselves in the same way. They are divided into physical and emotional.

Emotional symptoms:

• denial of the situation;
• strong feeling of shame;
• sudden outbursts of anger, aggression;
• sense of anxiety;
• self-loathing;
• feeling of helplessness;
• absent-mindedness and confusion;
• inability to clearly formulate thoughts;
• fear;
• shock;
• fear of sharing emotions;
• withdrawing into oneself;
• apathy and others.

Physical symptoms:

• increased heart rate;
• sleep problems;
• muscle block clamps;
• increased fatigue;
• memory problems;
• chronic pain syndrome;
• problems with coordination;
• purposefully inflicting pain on oneself;
• using alcohol and/or drugs to escape reality;
• ignoring hygiene procedures and others.

Psychological trauma and its symptoms do not appear out of nowhere - perhaps the person is not aware of his actions and cannot sensibly assess the circumstances. If the same traumatic events occur over a long period of time, there is a high probability of acquiring mental trauma.

Mobbing - bullying at work

In modern society, bullying at work, sometimes referred to as “mobbing,” is a common cause of psychological problems. Bullying at work can also lead to suicide.

The story of the France Telecom company is instructive, in which 35 cases of suicide were recorded over two years (2008-2009). The reason for such massive suicides was the company management’s policy of optimizing its staff.

The phenomenon of psychological pressure from the work collective is typical for any country. For example, a study conducted in the United States in 2003 revealed the following features of the phenomenon of bullying in the workplace: women are more often victims of mobbing; men experience psychological pressure most often from male colleagues, and women from female colleagues; Most cases of bullying occur at the hands of colleagues who occupy a higher position in the organization.

They bully for various reasons: the strong to strengthen the weak in order to strengthen their authority; bullying due to envy, when a work colleague is superior to the initiator of bullying in some way; bullying as a way to expel an employee from the team.

There is a funny rule of three “Bs” circulating on the Internet, attributed to the Soviet writer, author of the lyrics of the anthem of the USSR and Russia, Sergei Mikhalkov: – Do you want to avoid bullying? - Be poor, sick and untalented.

The dangers of unwillingness to live: the impact of pathology on life and health

The rapid development of psychological death brings a person a lot of problems related not only to health, but also to other areas of life:

1. Health problems. Psychological diseases affect the physical condition, causing the development of chronic pathologies: diseases of the cardiovascular system, respiratory system and musculoskeletal system.
2. Social maladjustment. The loss of social contacts often leads to complete self-isolation, depriving the individual of the opportunity for self-realization.
3. Suicidal tendencies. Prolonged apathy and lack of positive impressions are a common cause of suicide. Adolescents and older people are especially susceptible to the negative influence of pathology.

Since the insidiousness of psychopathology lies in the patient’s denial of symptoms, it is important to monitor the psychological state and pay attention to the state of loved ones

Timely assistance at an early stage saves from the development of symptoms and reduces the risk of relapse.

Psychological death of Eckhart Tolle

But psychological death can mean not only the death of an individual, but also its rebirth from moral darkness.

Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, whose lectures on human consciousness attract full houses of attentive listeners, became famous for his book “The Power of Now.” In 1977, when he was 29 years old, Tolle was in a state of severe depression. Tormented by severe moral pain, he thought about suicide. One day there came a moment when Eckhart Tolle said to himself: “I can no longer live with myself.”

Instead of committing suicide, Tolle was amazed at the content of this phrase. Who is this “I” and why can’t he live with himself? This “I” suddenly appeared as a kind of mental formation that had little in common with Tolle’s deep essence.

That night, Eckhart Tolle experienced psychological death. The mental structures that kept his mind imprisoned crumbled into dust. It was as if he had been reborn. Deep peace and happiness filled the mind of Eckhart Tolle, tormented by long-term depression.

Isn't this a miracle? A minute ago, the person was in the greatest melancholy and despondency, not a single glimmer of hope for finding joy was visible in his mind. And suddenly a ray of light cut through the black melancholy, dispelling heavy thoughts. It was as if the sun had come out from behind the clouds, and the twilight gave way to a clear day.

Eckhart Tolle's recipe for happiness is simple - and at the same time difficult for most people. He calls not to get hung up on your “I”, the framework of which interferes with awareness. It is necessary to accept reality as it is, to be aware of every moment, and not to protect yourself from losses at the cost of happiness. The fear of impending loss rooted in a person (loss of a loved one, loss of a job, etc.) deprives a person of the ability to see joy in life.

Special signs

The smell of death cannot be explained, but we will not repeat it either. When you pass near such a person, this smell literally stops you, and you want to turn around and look at the person. It’s impossible to say for sure whether it’s rotten earth or pain, but you understand that soon the person will be gone (no matter how old he is!). But if this is your loved one, then it is difficult to smell him; people are together and get used to the smell of partners and loved ones.

The mark of death - the look becomes absent, as if the person is no longer here, the pupils become dull (like those of older people).

Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun wrote about this when she painted a portrait of one king:

“I saw death in his left eye. He was so dim as if he wasn’t alive.”

Fussy behavior - about some people they say that he is in a hurry to live. It seems to a person that he does not have time, he does everything quickly, as if he strives to enjoy life. At first glance, these are very fiery and cheerful people, they often change partners (or lovers, if married), they are successful, they can achieve a lot at an early age, and sometimes they are fussy. They can be noticed by their strong energy, ... and haste.

Photos - how often when we look through photos of our departed people, we see signs. Some darkening or scratches, inconsistencies that we mistake for a dummy photo or damage to the film, sun glare, accidental objects falling into the frame, etc.

Here I will show a photo of my husband, who passed away two years ago, at the age of 38. I took a photograph of him on the day of his death, he asked himself, but I saw it after he was gone. For two years I couldn’t post a photo, but now I’ve decided to.

Looking through the photo, I saw that the face was somehow unnaturally deflated and there were blue-violet shadows under the eyes, and there was some kind of gaping hole in the mouth - this was no longer my husband (on the left side of the photo, as he remains in our memory).

The mark of death was imposed on the physical body. (I was afraid to look at this photo, as if the person had been dead for several weeks!).

Humility is another indicator that a person is already ready for biological death.

A simple nurse in an American hospital accurately predicted the death of already recovering patients. She explained this by saying that they were behaving somehow wrong!

The patients were unusually meek, did not demand anything, were well-mannered and calm, as if they already knew about their death and were ready for it.

Farewell words - when a person leaves for another world, we suddenly remember that literally on the eve of death we saw him, and he said goodbye to us.

Someone remembers encouraging words: “hang in there, you will succeed!”

The wife may remember an unusual goodbye before work, a long gaze, a kiss, or an unusual phrase...

Women's opinion on the phenomenon of psychological death

Psychological death is a gradual, but sometimes rapid and even sudden change that occurs within a person, as a result of which his cheerfulness and resistance to stress factors and frustrations decreases. A person who experiences the stages of such psychological death doubts the value of life and thinks about whether there is any point in living further.

Boredom and despondency often accompany the phenomenon of psychological death. The feeling of freedom, the desire to explore the world goes away.

Psychological death can be accompanied by indifference, and it is chronic in nature. Indifference fills a person’s entire life: they told him - he did it, they called him - he picked up the phone, they asked him a question - he gave an answer, and then, probably, he will stop doing even that. This behavior indicates the degradation of the individual.

The proverb “hurt means alive” is very suitable for the main signs of psychological death. The fact is that pain is the main sign of life. Therefore, often, having experienced pain and not coping with it, people try to avoid everything that is connected with it: emotions, relationships, emotional contacts, as well as people in general. A person tries to close himself off from the whole world, from his emotions and feelings, even from full awareness of himself. A person has no idea how to take care of himself, what can be done to begin to feel the true joy of life. Instead of real feelings, people begin to exercise control and try to manipulate each other, demonstrating the so-called “power”.

It is also important that the bearers of real psychological death very often spread their inner state in a close environment, scolding and devaluing all the people next to them who are still alive, creating and changing.

What situation becomes a psychotrauma?

Most often, a psychological trauma is an event during which a person’s life and health were threatened. Main traumatic situations:

• being taken hostage;
• threat to life (car accident, animal attack, armed attack);
• physical violence (including sexual);
• receiving physical injuries and others.

In fact, psychological trauma is a rather subjective concept. Depending on the state of a person’s psyche, fears, problems, and reactions to events are formed. Let's say, for the abstract Masha, a cat bite in childhood is a simple misunderstanding, but for the abstract Olga it is a real shock. Because of this event, Olga has been afraid of cats all her life, while Masha cheerfully talks about the “fight” with the animal and calmly shows off the scar on her finger.

Causes of psychological trauma

Any event can cause psychological trauma. The perception of the same situations differs depending on the state of the person’s psyche. In general, each personality has unique qualities, so reactions vary.

It is well established that the reaction to the same events differs significantly in adults and children. If, for example, the divorce of parents becomes a shock for a child, then an adult may not experience difficulties at all in connection with this.

Consequences of psychological trauma

Emotional turmoil produces different results depending on the type of event that led to the disturbance. The main consequences of psychological trauma are the transition to a mental state and the formation of diseases and abnormalities.

The most common consequences are:

• changing life principles and priorities (immersion in work, ignoring friendly and romantic relationships);
• problems with communication skills (avoidance of contacts with people, isolation from society);
• change in social status from high to low (loss of job, housing, family);
• loss of faith in yourself and others.

Serious and irreversible consequences can be easily avoided if you know how to independently work through the problem that has arisen. It is worth noting that autonomous “work on mistakes” is inherent in individuals with a strong character and a stable psyche. Those people whose emotional state is constantly changing are less able to cope with psychological trauma.

Types of psychological trauma

Different authors identify their own types of psychological trauma. I studied many classifications and compiled one general typology.

By type of traumatic event:

1. Loss (death of a loved one).
2. Own mistakes (feeling guilty for your actions).
3. Relationships (betrayal, difficult breakup).
4. Existential (fear of mortal threat).

According to the duration of the traumatic event:

1. Shock (sudden).
2. Acute (short-term).
3. Chronic (long-term).

In response to a traumatic event:

1. Proactive (constant work on oneself and successful processing of injuries).
2. Reactive (attempting to cope with trauma on their own).
3. Passive (ignoring injuries).

People who proactively work on themselves cope most successfully with psychological trauma. In other words, preventive measures can protect the psyche from serious disorders. This could be working with a psychologist, as well as developing a strong psyche from childhood.

Treatment of psychological trauma

Let's talk about how to cure psychological trauma. The most logical and effective way is to work with a psychologist. The specialist will select the type of therapy and sort out internal conflicts and emotions associated with stressful situations.

Some people are not ready to reveal their personal problems to a stranger, even a specialist. They are interested in the question of how to independently work through psychological trauma. It should be noted that awareness of the existence of a problem is a big step towards a solution. If you notice the corresponding symptoms and understand that you want to get rid of them, you need to act decisively.

To understand how to treat psychological trauma in a particular case, conduct a self-diagnosis. To do this, you need to write detailed answers to the questions:

1. What event caused severe emotional stress?
2. How long ago did this event happen?
3. How do you rate your level of stress resistance?
4. Have you shared your experiences of trauma with anyone?
5. Did you receive the support you needed?
6. Are you ready to seek help from a specialist?

To better understand your condition, you can conduct this survey several times in different moods. After studying the answers, it will become clear how serious the case is and whether you can cope without outside help.