Death, therefore, was considered an intimate part of life. In modern society death is denied. The subject is not discussed openly and many people are confined to institutions to die surrounded by medical technology. This loss of intimacy with death has left many people ill-equipped to deal with death and dying. Death has been reduced to scientific terms and delayed by medical science and technology.
Death is seen as an intruder and feared when it touches life.
Many human beings, fearing the unknowns of the dying process, the finality of death, and the unknown of after-death, have searched for confirmations other than religious and cultural, to prepare for the unknowns of death. Many interpretations of these near-death experiences are that death is not a fearful event. Many near-death experience reports are similar to religious teachings of immortality after death. Elderly people have less fear of death and dying than younger people. However, many elderly individuals do fear death, dying and the unknown of after-death.