Death and Death Anxiety

Abstract

In a recent meeting with physicians from the pediatric emergency room, I had them do an exercise that we also do with the second year medical students. Each person was asked to write down five goals and dreams for their life. They then shared their list with the person sitting beside them. I asked them what their list would be if they knew they had 1 year to live. Then they revised the list again supposing that they had 1 month to live and finally 1 day. What was surprising, although expected from our experience with medical students, is that as the imagined time left became shorter, their lists became more and more similar and their primary concern became expressing love and feeling love from members of their close family.