Barely do most of the world's population know about advanced health care planning and its significance. Mostly this is because most people feel that they are too young or they have never been diagnosed with killer diseases. Also, ignorance of the findings of studies and researches as well as healthcare professionals' advice has led to the lack of proper advanced health care among the world's population. Generally, an advanced health care planning is a directive that addresses health care wishes not only when individuals are critically ill and cannot express the method of treatment they want but also when they are healthy too. Advanced health care planning has tremendous positive impacts on individuals who have enrolled in it and their family members too. Due to this, family members have minimal stress, depression, and anxiety whenever an accident occurs. Moreover, health care professionals have an outline to follow to avoid unnecessary treatment. Significantly, it ensures individuals receive the kind of health care treatment they want thus improving ongoing and end-of-life care.
A few years ago, I lost my grandfather due to colorectal cancer and dementia. He was so close to me that I spent months of mourning since I did not believe that his death had separated us forever. Precisely, he lacked an advanced health care plan because my relatives decided most of the treatment operations. I tend to think that if he had a proper advanced care plan, he could not have left so soon. From his death, I learned that having a decisive care plan usually plays a crucial role in an individual health care life and some of the dangers and complication which occur due to inappropriate health care.
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Unquestionably, many people have thanatophobia (the fear of death) something which I have been struggling with since the death of my grandfather. According to Mizzi (2017), psychologists affirm that environmental, social and emotional factors instigate death anxiety. However, Neimeyer (2015) agrees that health specialists have linked it to panic disorder, anxiety disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Sometimes I console myself by thinking that sooner or later I will have to die; however, the death anxiety comes along when I think if my death will be caused due to health-related problems. Currently, I have high hopes about my health conditions because I exercise regularly, I am always keen on my diet, I visit the hospital for regular health checkups, and maintain healthy body weight.
Despite all the high hopes, I have intense fears too. One of the most significant concerns is that I currently lack an advanced health care plan due to the complexity of medical conditions and treatment options which Kalanithi (2016) believes that they to extend the life of an individual. This means that if an incapacitated catastrophic illness or accident occurs, I might receive the healthcare that I did not want. Besides, I have the fear that I might have genetically inherited an altered gene from my grandfather which increases my risk of developing colorectal cancer and dementia.
However, sometimes I don't feel death anxiety at all due to some experiences, religious, and cultural beliefs that shed light on the meaning of a happy life. I have developed a sense of inwardness to boost my psychological development, happiness, and reduce death anxiety since they mean a quality life to myself. Pursuing this further, I have been focusing on what brings me joy, thus leading to emotional stability (Mizzi, 2017) . I frequently enjoy my hobbies which include swimming, traveling, reading novels, and cooking. Moreover, I spend most of my free time with my friends and relatives since everyone is prone to death and accidents happen without even noticing (Merin, 2017) . Also, I have to align myself with death sometimes to avoid death anxiety- micro-suicide. For instance, I visit sick people, regardless of whether they have an advanced care plan or not, in hospitals, and attend funerals regularly to come in terms with death.
Additionally, cultural and religious beliefs have helped me live a stress-free life. For instance, our religion believes that for one day we were born, one day we will have to die. Also, people who die after living a God-appealing life have better places to rest their souls (Neimeyer, 2015) . Moreover, I would like health care agents to consider my lifestyle when making future decisions since I would never want my relatives to develop stress and depression whenever any tragic incident happen to me. In case I develop fatal health complications, I would like to sign a contract that when I die my functioning body organs be donated to the patients in need.
In conclusion, I will not sacrifice the happiness, emotional stability of my relatives and myself as well as the acquisition of proper treatment if any tragic incident occurs to me. Due to this, I will plan of acquiring appropriate advanced health care plan from an experienced advance care planning institution so that I can ensure that my healthcare will be on the safe side in case of any tragedy. Besides, Kalanithi (2016) says that near end-of-life care can be very complicated since predictions of the future can be obnoxious such that the treatment wishes will have to change that why the planning institution recommend that individuals appoint a health care agent and inform their relatives.
References
Carney, M. (2016). Newsday | Long Island's & NYC's News Source | Newsday. Retrieved from https://www.newsday.com/opinion/it-always-seems-too-early-until-it-s-painfully-too-late-1.11669052
Kalanithi, L. (2016). What makes life worth living in the face of death. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/lucy_kalanithi_what_makes_life_worth_living_in_the_face_of_death?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=tedspread
Merin, I. (2017). Let’s Talk About Death. Retrieved from http://theconversationproject.org/lets-talk-about-death-isabel-merrin-tedxtufts/
Mizzi, M. (2017). I’m Young And Healthy: Why Do I Need An Advance Health Care Directive?. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/im-young-and-healthy-why-do-i-need-an-advance-healthcare_n_58ef23cbe4b04cae050dc4ba
Neimeyer, R. A. (2015). Death anxiety handbook: Research, instrumentation, and application . Taylor & Francis.
