Avoiding conversations about death doesn’t help us when we’re faced with the reality
3 years ago

Avoiding conversations about death doesn’t help us when we’re faced with the reality

The Independent  

Where living things are, death follows,” Hayley Campbell wrote for Voices last Thursday. Campbell is the author of All the Living and the Dead: A Personal Investigation into the Death Trade, and she eloquently explores our discomfort around addressing the subject of death, highlighting how we are so desperate not to “bring the mood down” that there’s never really a “good” time to talk about this absolute inevitability. Maybe it’s a hangover of our famed stiff upper lip, an inclination to shy away from the subject because death brings with it such a multitude of uncomfortable emotions – but it’s ultimately unhelpful and doesn’t serve us when we are face-to-face with the reality of end of life care, or of sudden tragedy. To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment, sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here Many of us struggle with language around death, choosing to avoid the topic altogether, offering unwanted platitudes or even skirting around people who are grieving due to feelings of awkwardness or discomfort.

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History of this topic

I'm a death doula. There are four things that have convinced me dying is not the end and even atheists agree
2 weeks, 4 days ago

I'm a death doula. There are four things that have convinced me dying is not the end and even atheists agree

Daily Mail  

When I was an oncology nurse, a 44-year-old patient named Madeline forever changed my perception of death. Suzanne's experience with dying patients led her to change career path So, even though it made little practical sense, I listened to my heart and went into hospice nursing. Regardless of someone's cultural background or religious beliefs, there are four common things that …

Preparing for goodbye: How honest talks about death can ease the pain of loss
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Preparing for goodbye: How honest talks about death can ease the pain of loss

Hindustan Times  

Dr. Vanessa Rodriguez is no stranger to talking about death. Palliative care doctor Dr. Vanessa Rodriguez advocates for open discussions about death to ease family anxieties. Start an open and honest dialogue Thinking through details and resolving loose ends can help families cope when the inevitable happens: Where might their loved one like to be buried? “But there are so …

Talking about death can be tricky. Here’s how to start the conversation
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Talking about death can be tricky. Here’s how to start the conversation

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Dr. Vanessa Rodriguez is no stranger to talking about death. Start an open and honest dialogue Thinking through details and resolving loose ends can help families cope when the inevitable happens: Where might their loved one like to be buried? “But there are so many tough conversations we have to have in life, and this shouldn’t be …

We talked to dozens of people about their experience of grief. Here’s what we learned
1 year, 1 month ago

We talked to dozens of people about their experience of grief. Here’s what we learned

ABC  

Have you ever felt a sudden pang of sadness? Grief is often imagined as a time-bound period in which one processes the pain of loss — that is, adjusts to absence and works toward "moving on". "Prolonged grief disorder" is the name given to "persistent difficulties associated with bereavement that exceeded expected social, cultural, or religious expectations". As bereaved daughter …

Is there life after death? People who have 'died' reveal their incredible tales
2 years ago

Is there life after death? People who have 'died' reveal their incredible tales

Daily Mail  

A light at the end of a dark tunnel, the voice of loved ones, a chorus of angels. Lynn Mildner, 69, has a vivid memory of a 'beautiful white light' and talking with her family members who have passed away Lynn Mildner: 'There was a beautiful white light I knew I must head for' Lynn Mildner, 69, from Kings Langley, …

Scared to talk about death? Blame the Victorians
2 years, 1 month ago

Scared to talk about death? Blame the Victorians

The Independent  

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about …

Finding a new way to mourn
3 years, 10 months ago

Finding a new way to mourn

Live Mint  

There were whispers that Raju Mondal had lost his mind the night his wife died. “I just want her to know how sorry I am I couldn’t do more.” With a resurgent covid-19 upending our understanding of how to mourn and handle death, people are finding individualised ways to grieve. “A lot of them are distraught because they feel the …

The year we confronted death
4 years, 3 months ago

The year we confronted death

Live Mint  

You get opportunities to hit reset every once in a while. When we get attached to being ‘safe’ rather than living life, making compromises with our core beliefs, a certain kind of death happens. Sri Aurobindo discusses this in his essay from the early 1900s, ‘The Bourgeois and the Samurai’, where he says that such a mindset of staying within …

Everyone deserves to have open conversations about death, even during a pandemic
4 years, 10 months ago

Everyone deserves to have open conversations about death, even during a pandemic

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. While working as a cancer nurse …

Dying to Know Day: The funeral director who says her job gives her 'a whole appreciation of life'
7 years, 7 months ago

Dying to Know Day: The funeral director who says her job gives her 'a whole appreciation of life'

ABC  

A north Queensland funeral director is opening up about the unspoken parts of her job in an effort to encourage families to have uncomfortable conversations about death and dying. "I think we as a society have become very cloistered as far as death is concerned," she said, ahead of today's Dying to Know Day which is focused on opening up …

Avoiding talking about death is doing us damage
8 years, 7 months ago

Avoiding talking about death is doing us damage

ABC  

We will all die, but few of us are happy to talk about it. Karen Sergeez spends every day supporting people who are dying as the Nursing Unit Manger for Palliative Care at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital on the mid north coast of NSW. "Health has become very focussed on making people better and people are used to thinking they …

The side of death we don’t see
9 years, 7 months ago

The side of death we don’t see

CNN  

Meet the men and women who deal with death every day on “This is Life with Lisa Ling: America’s Busiest Coroners,” Wednesday November 11 at 9 p.m. CNN — Before she started photographing death, Cathrine Ertmann had never seen a body. The imagination of what death looks like is way worse than what I experienced.” Photographer Cathrine Ertmann Cathrine Ertmann …

Discussing death at any age, even over a meal, helps to lead a happy life, expert says
9 years, 8 months ago

Discussing death at any age, even over a meal, helps to lead a happy life, expert says

ABC  

Talking about death is key to busting a cultural taboo that impacts our quality of life, an expert has warned. University of New South Wales professor of sociology Alex Broom says discussing death — even in a casual setting — is important for the individual, loved ones and society as a whole. Professor Broom said campaigns like the Death Cafe …

Is there a right way to approach death?
11 years, 2 months ago

Is there a right way to approach death?

ABC  

Features Is there a right way to approach death? One wonders what its author would have made of the social and traditional media storm currently raging over the tweet-by-tweet demise of Lisa Bonchek Adams – a woman with metastatic breast cancer – and the two newspaper opinion pieces by husband and wife journalists decrying Adams' public and private handling of …

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