Sublime

In summary, then, the patient’s first reaction may be a temporary state of shock from which he recuperates gradually.

“Old age and fear of death allows for sudden changes of the heart,”

If one is interested in human behavior, in the adaptations and defenses that human beings have to use in order to cope with such stresses, this is the place to learn about it.

I once read a letter written by a young invalid, in which he told a friend that he had just found out he would not live for long, that even an operation would be of no help. He wrote further that he remembered a film he had seen in which a man was portrayed who waited for death in a courageous and dignified way. The boy had thought it a great accom

je me rappelle un jour, je marchais dans le quartier, je venais de jouer au flipper dans une supérette, et l’idée m’a traversé soudain que j’allais mourir comme n’importe qui, n’importe quel être qui vit ou qui vivra. Je sais que c’est la première fois que j’ai pris conscience de ma propre mort, que je n’ai pas gardé cette idée longtemps à l’esprit

That’s what happens when you’re told that death is around the corner: you change, life doesn’t change.

En 1980, dans Existential Psychotherapy, publié en français en 2008 sous le titre de Thérapie existentielle, Irvin écrivait qu’il est plus facile d’affronter la mort si la vie que l’on a vécue laisse peu de regrets.