Taphephobia

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Death: a word that most people gain an adrenaline of fear when thought of. Could you ever imagine the feeling of being buried alive? What could you do or how would you react? Conceive the idea of being stuck in a hole alive, deep in the murky ground without a soul in the world to know. It seems that this may frighten one due to the lack of control in the situation. This possibility or extreme fear that one might dwell on may lead many people to struggle with phobia tendencies. This specific phobia is called Taphephobia. One of the most extensive aversions in the nineteenth century was taphephobia. It has been a primal fear since the human race has been around, deeply embedded into our instincts. This medical term is derived from the Greek, “taphos” meaning “grave” and “phobia” meaning “fear” – fear of a grave or being put in a grave while one is still living. The death lead from premature burial is caused by a few different reasons, such as asphyxiation, dehydration, starvation, or hypothermia. Throughout history there has been a variety of tests to indicate that one is pledged dead prior to burial. Before medical science, people would wait to bury a person from days to even weeks, just to ensure the person was dead. Nowadays, doctors can usually determine when the fullness of death is certain by brain death. “Doctors must wait at least 24 hours after an electroencephalograph (EEG) has shown no brain activity, and then check again. If the second EEG is as flat as the first, the doctor can then assume that even if machines are keeping the patient breathing, his brain, and thus the patient, has died.” (Time Magazine 9) Prior to the nineteenth centuries, people were so terrified of being buried alive that they often included i... ... middle of paper ... ...7 in his home. Once his corpse had been decomposed, his ashes were buried next to his wife located in their family grave. Works Cited "Fear of Being Buried Alive." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 15 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. . "IDEAS EXPLORED IN MAGIC-EYE." MAGIC-EYE. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. . Mcphee, Isaac M. "Taphephobia: The Fear of Being Buried Alive | Suite101.com." Isaac M. McPhee | Suite101.com. 3 Feb. 2008. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. . "Medicine: Defining Death - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Time Magazine. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. .

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