The Influence Of A Tragic Experience On Human Development

Throughout our lives, gender, heredity, social setting, education, ethnicity and etc., play a leading job in human development. Human Development initiates in the womb and during childbirth, and proceeds through life vivaciously depending on particular components and factors. From the minute infants are conceived, experiences begin to play a role in Human Development. In addition, the environment encompassing us continues to apply an impactful influential effect on our actions and conduct through our life expectancy.

On an everyday premise, there are numerous factors that acquire a significant job in shaping and building an individual's life. Specifically, these components determine how an individual functions, communicates with others, looks and lives their everyday life on a daily basis.

Death of a Loved One (September 11, 2017)

September 11, 2017. A day recognized and acknowledged for 9/11 but also another tragic experience committed to my mind. My uncle (mom’s brother) Palwinder Singh Chouhan had committed suicide by jumping off the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway just last year at 12:07pm. From the instance I was born, my mom’s brother had been there for me and my sisters through everything; to me he was not only my uncle but my best friend. From when I was young, him and my grandma lived with us and eventually moved to Brampton for a better opportunity for my uncle to get a job, but that didn’t stop us from having a relationship with them. When he had no money, he would still drive all the way to Kitchener and pick me and my sisters up and buy us food and take us out to places with no complaints. He never complained and he always told us to go through with life no matter what obstacles are thrown our way. Around 2003-2005, my uncle had been sick and we were unaware of his diagnosis at the time; he would claim he hears voices, that he didn’t have the capability of working or he sees things (hallucinations). For a few months he would be healed, but then that would suddenly change; it was like a repetitive chain.

Physical Development

Death can take a toll and can affect your body, mind and behavior. During the time of my uncle’s death, I encountered different forms of physical mourning. The death of my uncle took an impactful toll on my life as I would spend days in tears and coming to realization that he had left us forever and won’t be returning. The second of which, I would constantly receive unwanted pain and aches throughout my body due to the amount of stress (that was being carried on my shoulders). At moments, I observed the difficulties I had sleeping; which eventually affected my daily routine and sleep schedule. Furthermore, I have to say the biggest impact that affected me physically was my loss of appetite. Ranging from the day of his death to around 3 weeks, I acknowledged and noticed the difference in my appetite as I would eat shorter proportions or wouldn’t have an appetite at all. Returning to our daily lives took a toll on me as I started to realize the amount of difficulties I had concentrating in and outside of school. This changed me to be the person I am today, because as of now, I am aware I have my family members and my friends by my side through all of this. Furthermore, it taught me to assist other individuals in a similar situation.

Emotional Development

When dealing with death, different emotions come into play, based on how well an individual copes. Death of a loved one leads to a lot of damage to people ranging from depression to self-harm. From my experience, this heartbreaking death affected me emotionally as I instantly detached myself from the world which led me to feel lonely and miserable. It made me think, that I could’ve been there to talk to him, not only me but anyone in general just before he jumped. Each time memories of my uncle crossed my mind, I received an affectionate and welcoming sensation in my heart, but that all changed the moment I received the saddest news of my life which confused me. On the day of September 11, the one hour long journey to his house felt like an entirety. As we headed towards his home, the memories of the many happy moments we spent together kept crossing my mind and as the thoughts kept approaching, I could not help but to feel intense grief. Seeing him lay down, calling him and shaking him to open his eyes made me realize that he really did leave us forever. This left me devastated as I lost my best friend. This changed me as I was more aware of how to deal and treat individuals who are going through a similar situation to which I had experienced. For example, during the time of my uncles death, I had a sensation of guilt leading me to think that I could’ve done something. If an individual is in a similar situation, I can acknowledge my friends feelings of guilt, which can assist them in realizing that they are not to blame for.

Intellectual Development

After my uncles death report came back, we were aware that he was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. By classification, Paranoid Schizophrenia is described by the overwhelming positive manifestations of schizophrenia; these symptoms consist of: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and etc. These side effects often obscure the line between what is genuine and authentic to what isn’t. These factors make it challenging and insufferable for individuals to have an ordinary life span. The death of my uncle eventually made me more open to suicide, as suicide is reality and it is more common than you think. Specifically, before I wasn’t as attentive to suicide but now that I have experienced a death of a family member due to suicide I am more open to situations related to suicide and individuals diagnosed with different types of schizophrenia. From this experience, hopefully I have the capability of helping other individuals who are thinking about suicide or have lost a family member.

Social Development

As mentioned previously, the death of my uncle took a major toll on me as I detached myself from the world. This affected my personal life as I didn’t socialize and communicate with my family members or friends. From my experience, I noticed that I made adjustments to my life such as the way I related and communicated to my family members and friends.