Dying is a 'happier' experience than most people imagine,

say scientists
Final accounts of terminally ill 'filled with love, social connection, and meaning'
Katie Forster Health Correspondent
@katieforster
2 days ago
139 comments

6K

Click to follow
The Independent Online

There were 529,655 deaths registered in England and Wales in 2015 Dan Kitwood/Getty
Dying is a more positive experience than most people imagine, psychologists have
claimed.
A recent YouGov survey found 68 per cent of people in Britain fear death but according
to the authors of new study, dying is less sad and terrifying and happier than you
think.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina analysed blogs written by terminally ill
patients and last words of prisoners on death row.
READ MORE
Fear of talking about dying 'leading to thousands of traumatic deaths'

The emotions expressed in the accounts were not lonely and anxious but in fact filled
with love, social connection, and meaning, they said.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, compared the real words of the
dying to similar compositions by volunteers asked to imagine they only had a few months
to live.
Assistant professor Kurt Gray and his colleagues used algorithms to scan both groups of
blog posts for words associated with positive and negative emotions.

They found that as death approached, the words used by the dying became more positive
in emotional tone, with an increased focus on meaningful topics such as family and
religion.

When we imagine our emotions as we approach death, we think mostly of sadness and
terror, said Dr Gray. Humans are incredibly adaptive both physically and emotionally
and we go about our daily lives whether were dying or not.

In our imagination, dying is lonely and meaningless, but the final blog posts of
terminally ill patients and the last words of death row inmates are filled with love, social
connection, and meaning.

Funeral Director explains how 'Big Death' corporations dominate the funeral industry

The patients in the study had terminal cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
while the prisoners were facing a death sentence in Texas, with their testimonies collected
by the US Department of Justice.
Blogs examined in the research had to have at least 10 posts written over three months.
The number of entries and overall word count was taken into account by the scientists to
ensure the increase in words associated with positive emotions was not simply due to
writing over time.

READ MORE
Dead or alive? Experts seek universal definition of moment we die
Leak reveals plans for 'truly shocking' cuts to NHS after election
Brisk walk each day 'may cut risk of death from cancer'

One post included in the study said: All water and nutrition now through gravity bags
drip, drip, drip. Need assistance for every movement. Surrounded here by so much love
and care I feel I am ready for the next step.

I have no regrets at all I have had a full life, touched and been touched by such
wonderful family and friends. So if there is to be a final lesson for me it is that love is the
ultimate gift love and honesty.

An overwhelming fear of death can develop into a phobia known as thanatophobia, or

death anxiety.

There were 529,655 registered deaths in England and Wales in 2015, according to the
Office for National Statistics.

Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia is the leading cause of death in England and
Wales, claiming more than 61,000 lives 11.6 per cent of recorded deaths.

Health news in pictures

In 2015, around twice as many women than men died of the brain condition, which
mainly affects people over 65.

Coronary heart disease the number one cause of death worldwide was responsible for
11.5 per cent of deaths registered in 2015 and is still the leading cause of death for men