Our final moments of life have one thing in common
Whatever our beliefs are, a fear of what comes after death can spark anything from mild discomfort for some to a panic attack for others - but the process isn’t quite how we expect or fear.
“We live in a death-denying culture,” Dr Merran Cooper, an end-of-life doula and physiotherapist, told news.com.au.
“By denying the possibility we might die, and having conversations about it, we deny ourselves the opportunity to have the most important conversations of our lives with the most important people.”
With between three and ten percent of people reporting feelings of being more nervous than others about thoughts of dying according to Cleveland Clinic, it’s safe to say thanatophobia or ‘death anxiety’ is a common experience.
Though there is fear surrounding the concept of dying, experts who work with death and dying have revealed that it’s more peaceful than we might expect.
Camilla Rowland, the CEO of Palliative Care Australia, told news.com.au that her experiences are “usually very peaceful” and that it’s common to feel someone’s ‘spirit’ or ‘energy’ fill the room.
“My experience has been that usually as the different organs start to shut down, people come in and out of a semiconscious state, and it is usually very peaceful,” she explained.
“I’ve had that experience, and also many other members of my palliative care team have said that as well, that they felt the spirit of the person around them. And that’s not necessarily a religious thing, it’s just a feeling that occurs. I’ve had people from all walks of life and all different belief systems say the same thing.”
CEO of Touchstone Life Care Dr Merran Cooper shared similar experiences, noting that even if it seems frightening or distressing to someone watching, the person dying is having a different experience.
“Everyone dies differently but most commonly, when death is expected, a person begins to sleep more, and breath more shallowly until it is very hard to tell whether they are breathing or not,” Dr Cooper said.
“It can be a peaceful thing to watch. There are noises that worry the person watching, and even bleeding which is distressing to watch, but for the person dying, they slowly move to a place of deeper and deeper unconsciousness until they do not take the next breath.”
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