Coffin therapy is gaining popularity in Russia: what will the grave fix

An unusual wellness service has become popular among Russians – the so-called “coffin therapy”, it is also a “therapeutic funeral”. Simply put, this is a temporary burial alive, after which, according to the “grave doctors”, any life will seem like a holiday. Grave therapy is not cheap – 2 million rubles. for the service, but customers are also chosen: not all numerous applications are satisfied.

What will the grave do?

According to the organizers, staging their own funeral will help inspire those who have lost the meaning of life and do not understand what to do next. This is a comprehensive treatment of attitudes towards the “mortal” earthly existence, including both getting rid of fears and anxieties, and “updating life scenarios with subsequent improvement.” They also promise “closure of gestalts” and “travel in a time loop, followed by a rise from the ashes and the flight of the Phoenix.”

– We launched our project based on the totality of today’s requests, – says Ekaterina, the organizer of the burying alive. – Alas, today the titular desire of many people is to hide, burrow, escape from reality, disappear. They think that this will save them from problems. And the staging of a burial, a therapeutic funeral, is designed to show that the head is in the sand, and the body is in the ground – this is not a way out, not getting rid of the problem, but an escape from its solution. Of course, we are not going just like that, without preliminary preparation, to take and bury someone. This should be preceded by several sessions of psychotherapy. And if we understand from them that the person is fit, his application will be accepted.

– And who is suitable for coffin therapy?

– One who has a condition that can be corrected by such a shock method. We do not cater for suicidal people who really want to end their lives, or pranksters who see it as only original fun. Our idea is based on philosophy and psychology, and not at all “black” entertainment. But to be honest, we did not expect such an influx of applications! It will take time to figure out the personality of each person who wants to.

– On the resources of domestic ritual services it is said that the grave treatment takes place on the basis of the cemetery in St. Petersburg. Has such a bureaucratic sphere let you into its territory?

– We have certain agreements. Although not all clients want to be buried in the cemetery. One of the clients, for example, set a condition: in the cemetery, she says, I’m afraid, just dig somewhere in the woods. Technical performance is not the main thing, the psychological background is important.

According to Ekaterina, the burial process will in any case be as plausible as possible – this is necessary for the psychological renewal of the “deceased” himself. And the details of the ceremony depend on the wishes of the customer and the thickness of his wallet, but in general everything is possible – religious rites, commemoration, professional photography, press invitations and deeply grieving “wedding”, or rather, funeral “generals”.

– The ceremony and the case in general can be both 100% secret, – the organizer clarifies, – and public – this is the will of the client.

– The last one?

– By the way, you can also choose any time in the grave – from 20 to 60 minutes. But the customer must clearly understand that at this time he will really be in a small enclosed space, alone with himself, in deathly silence in the literal sense, without any connection with the outside world. No matter how much he shouts, outside will not hear him. In such conditions, even 5 minutes can seem like hours and even days. Therefore, in order to avoid unforeseen panic attacks and bouts of claustrophobia, preliminary consultations with doctors and psychotherapeutic sessions are required.

– And what is more expensive, longer or shorter?

– Longer more expensive, everything is like in life. The longer and richer the service, the more expensive it is. Those who paid 2 million or more after therapy received a coffin as a gift. For those who are afraid of full immersion, there is another option for an online funeral, it is much cheaper. But you need to understand: the more immersive the therapy, the higher the likelihood of the desired result for the patient – to re-aware life and love it, to understand one’s mission and reveal one’s potential. It is highly likely that after our procedure, new talents, extrasensory abilities will open in a person, or a “third eye” in business will open.

Involuntarily, a completely earthly thought about abuses arises: what if they take it and don’t dig it up ?! Or will someone give 2 million in order to be considered dead, say, for an ex-wife who owes alimony? But the organizers assure that their main goal is the psychological health of the client, and for all other cases there are competing organizations. And these have really blossomed in recent months. For example, a startup called “pseudocide” (from the words suicide and pseudo) offers to solve not psychological, but urgent problems through the grave, giving as many as seven reasons to die: surprise relatives, friends and the public, annoy the boss, annoying spouses and lovers, solve problems with debts, bailiffs and in litigation, etc.

“This is a business idea that is in the air,” explains a “pseudo-cidal” businessman named Roman. – Now many people want to reset, disappear, and then start all over again, and we just help with this. We will calmly and professionally stage your death, giving you time for respite and rethinking. We take care of all the formalities.

The website of grave entrepreneurs is decorated with the motto: “Tell a friend – and live forever!” By the way, in enlightened Europe coffin therapy has long been not a start-up, but a familiar, albeit expensive, shock therapy: some companies even order it as a corporate training, believing that it saves middle managers from burnout.