What are your feelings on dying?

Question

In my profession, I watch people die-many times at their bedside at the exact moment-on a seemingly daily basis. One moment they are here-and the next moment they are not -although the body remains in a type of "caricature" (not meant in any way to be disrepectful) of the soul that once was there.The person who has passed could have been comatose and very ill-but I always feel "strange" around the bodies of those who have passed. Any similar experiences or thoughts on this?

Answer 1

good point, when the spirit leaves there is just an empty shell left behind.

Answer 2

I too have been with many people when they died- more than I can count. The feelings are not always the same. There are "good deaths" and "bad deaths"- the difference being, people who were at peace and died with a minimum of suffering, and people who struggled physically and emotionally right up to the end. The latter kind leaves my nerves more torn up than the former. The bodies themselves do not bother me. I feel that human remains should be handled with respect and love for the sake of the person who has passed- how I handle a person's dead body is the last gesture of caring that I have the opportunity to make. Post-mortem care is sometimes part of my job: washing the body, removing any medical attachments like IVs or catheters, dressing, and arranging the limbs in a natural pose. When I am with a person who is dying or who has just died, I try to stand in the place of a family member and render the same dignity that I would want to be treated with. I hate for anyone to die alone, and it often happens.

Answer 3

Yes. I feel strange when I'm at a funereal and I see the dead body. No, I've yet to be there when a person passes. However, the dying part is the part that creeps me out a bit. What I know will occur afterwords makes me wish it was then now. Yet, there is much work needed to be done here as for now.

Sure, I think it is gonna hurt when my soul leaves this body. But, it is like birth. It hurts. But you really don't remember the pain. I don't anyways. And yes, there dose seem to be a "shell". After all, our bodies are simply temples.

Answer 4

Have you ever been to the funeral home where you stood over the deceased and thought to yourself, " I wonder where you are now "? And then you realize that wherever that person is, he / she might somehow be thinking the same thing about you. For all we know, the so - called living and the so - called dead might well be equally confused and mystified. I don't know about you, but I always come away from such an occasion with a somewhat eerie feeling.

Answer 5

I have been to several open casket funerals and have been around the dying. It's kind of strange to know someone is going to die and then to see them dead. So I agree with you about the "strange" absent feeling. But I also look at it as death is the natural conclusion to life. There is a strange comfort in the presence of death. One thing I've learned, for myself anyway, is that dying isn't that bad. I mean, it really is a natural thing. I don't know how else to articulate my feelings except that I don't fear dying anymore. When I was younger the thought of death just freaked me out.

Answer 6

I agree. It's almost unbelievable that the person just seizes to exist anymore. One minute here the next gone. It shows you have an appreciation for life, I think. I feel creepy when in the same room as someone who died (I don't mean at the wake) and they're not evil or disgusting but it's like I don't want to touch someone who's dead almost as if it's contagious or disgusting. Is that how you feel too?

Answer 7

I understand what you mean. I spent months w/ my grandmother while she was in hospice. She outlived eight "roommates." I got to know each of their families. After seeing what my grandmother went through, and all of the other patients and their families - I know I would rather die quickly in my sleep. I do understand how hard it is. We were often left with the body of the person who had died, until hospice took it away.

It is a difficult job that you do, with little reward. But keep doing it -- all of us w/ a family member in hospice need someone like you to support us. I call the women who helped us when my grandmother was dying "our angels." And they truly were. Just know how much of an affect you have on your patients and their families. We appreciate it!

God bless.

Answer 8

My thought . . . While I don't wish myself dead any time soon...I also don't fear death. When I DO die...my thought is "How great that will be...I will be released from this body and be simply soul / spirit again...how great is that ! !"

These magnificent bodies carry our souls to experience human experiences. A person lives a few days, years, decades . . . whatever the purpose that soul has. Then when they die...their soul is released from that body...that shell...what wonderfully 'carried ' that soul.

That body, that shell that is left behind is to be honored for the purpose it had...so honor that body / shell and respectfully, honorably set it to rest through cremation, burial etc.

Answer 9

I am a nurse and i watch people pass though life on a daily bases. I know for a fact they are dead as we check that first before we prepare the body for the undertaker or the morgue...I have not felt anything strange in ths and its just that thier body is devoid of life. Period

Answer 10

reminds me of cars, that move about so freely when new, and after so many years start having moods, and eventually die on the road, at the time you need them most.
but cars can have their battery replaced and they are alive again.
maybe we should look for a way to replace our battery when we die, and we could live again, for a while at least.
on the other hand, old cars, when they stop working are better in the junk yard, recycled into new cars, so maybe we should be recycled too, when we die.

Answer 11

I've seen people die, slowly and painfully of disease. I do not want to go that way. I want to not want to die of old age or illness.

Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about, it's as if the eyes become hollow, with no spark of life. I don't know how else to describe it. It's like when you look at them, they are no longer there.