Gérard Apfeldorfer is a doctor, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist, a member of the French Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. He is the author of many books, notably Maigrir, c’est simple et c’est dans la tête, Mangez en paix and Les Relations durables.
How can one learn to confront death in a society that doesn’t want to touch it? That enormous task is tackled in this book. Our modern societies, which place value on the quest for happiness and success, consider death to be an anomaly. But the more one refuses to think about death, the more disturbing it becomes. The many stories recounted here testify to this. And yet, it is possible to embrace death. If one accepts the idea that there is an end, one can live one’s life fully.
This is the message offered in Dr. Apfeldorfer’s book, which is based on the therapeutic work he has undertaken with patients. Cognitive-behavioral therapies have shown progress in the treatment of phobias, and the fear of death is no exception. Eradicating that fear and the disorders it engenders – anxiety disorders, hypochondria, insomnia, and depression – is possible.
This book proposes a concrete, two-part approach to deal with the inescapable question: the first part discusses how religious and philosophical traditions, as well as science, have sought to master a fear of death; and the second part, focusing on therapeutics and practical implementation, proposes a path for escaping a fear of death. It is accompanied by a self-therapy manual and therapeutic audio files. A book that also doesn’t avoid the question of choosing to die.