Hello everyone. We’re talking about death and dying this week as it’s Dying Matters Awareness Week. Understandably, this is a hard topic for many, but, it’s an important one to talk about. Dying is so often regarded as the unsayable word, the thing we absolutely shouldn’t talk about. But, here’s the thing: dying is a part of living. It’s intrinsic to it in fact. We can’t have one without the other.
As speech and language therapists we are sometimes a central part of the team around the person who is dying. Whether that person has end-stage dementia or a life-limiting illness, such as Motor Neuron Disease or cancer – we’re often there with you and your loved one at several parts of the journey. That means it’s important that we understand the importance of talking about dying and death and how to do so with kindness, compassion and bravery.
Dying Matters have released a lovely video called “The way we talk about Dying Matters” – take a look at it here. You can get involved by taking their quiz, which helps you to explore how you feel about death and dying. You can access the quiz here. I took it and found it really enlightening – it shows that death is personal to each person and how it is spoken about varies widely.
If you or your loved one needs support with their communication and/or swallowing, don’t hesitate to contact us here.
