title: How to cope with disaster loss and mourning: Galen's paper which was lost for centuries.
abstract: In 2005, a paper, previously considered lost, by the famous historical physician Galen was found. It is entitled "On the Avoidance of Sorrow" ("[Greek characters: see text]") and it is a philosophical treatise concerning the handling of sorrow. Despite mainly talking about personal experiences and loss of fortune, Galen also makes some recommendations. His medical writing gives us the opportunity to find, in a seemingly autobiographical text, health perspectives on how to cope with disaster and loss and confront grief and mourning. Even compared to modern literature, Galen's views seem remarkably up to date.
authors.affiliation: History of Medicine Department, University of Athens, Greece. antonis.kousoulis@gmail.com
authors.forename: Antonis A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kousoulis
authors.forename: Ioanna-Maria
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Athanasopoulou
authors.forename: Effie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poulakou-Rebelakou
mesh_terms: D006117:Grief; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D010686:Philosophy, Medical / Q000266:history*; D010820:Physicians / Q000266:history*