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[personal profile] dianeduane

Or, "The fear of death in literature."

A British book retailer plans to set up a counseling hotline for all heartbroken fans of Harry Potter, in case he dies in the much awaited next book.

As a former psychiatric professional, I can kind of see the point.  ...But I do start wondering, sometimes... Are human beings actually less robust, more fragile, than they used to be -- or are we just being encouraged to believe we are? 

And I remember clearly the resilience and fortitude of my younger patients as compared to the so-called "adults". The kids were endlessly more pragmatic and better at handling pain than the grownups. Any bets on the percentage of over-eighteens who wind up being counseled, as opposed to the under-eighteens?...

Date: 2007-02-04 08:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] squirrelette.livejournal.com
Give someone enough prompting that they require support to deal with a situation and they will begin to believe it before it has even happened.

I always cry at something in LOTR and I've read that for years, I cried at Bambi when I was little and at the end of Shanghai Triad as an adult. I'm good with crying at fiction. But traumatised, no. I can go back and watch or read those again and know I'll have an emotional response. And none of that sets you up 100% to cope with having a parent/spouse/friend die. Counselling or no, death is fact.

Date: 2007-02-04 09:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] haikujaguar.livejournal.com
And none of that sets you up 100% to cope with having a parent/spouse/friend die.

So true.

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