3. Talking about feelings The time approaching death can be an emotional time for everyone. The person who is dying, and people who care about them, like you, may go through a range of emotions. These may include shock, anger, upset, fear, denial, helplessness, relief, frustration, and acceptance. These feelings can come and go in any order. Both you and the person you care about may go through all of them, or some of them, or none of them.
People respond in different ways. There is no right or wrong way to deal with these feelings.
This part of the booklet aims to give you some ideas about what you can do or say to support the person when they are going through these emotions. This section outlines: • what you can do to support the person who is dying • talking about dying and death • talking to children about dying and death • touch • being quiet together • letting go What you can do to support the person who is dying
Sitting with the person and listening is very important at this time. Careful listening helps the person who is dying to share their feelings. It may also help you to understand their concerns.
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