This question might be strange and abstract: Can dying have a deeper emotional aspect? In my opinion, it can since we are preparing for death in our whole life. Even though this preparation is unconscious, it is all present throughout our lives. Moreover, everything can be accelerated if we become ill, which puts our environment and us in a more difficult life situation. We need to be conscious of our disease, to face our health problems, our mortality, and to know the limits of our lives. In such situations, it is necessary to know clearly and self-consciously how much time we have left.

In order to do this, help from experts is essential, as well as the cooperation with a traditional hospice team. They are able to support you beside your close family and friends, and they can help you find a painless and balanced way towards death.

Pain can make the last stage of their life excruciatingly difficult and reduce the chances of a peaceful death. It is crucial to receive appropriate pain relief in order to have a clear mind in the remaining time.

How can death become artistic?

Some lives are full off difficulties and troubles that can be intensified if these patients face their incurable disease. This is why the physical and psychological care offered to us by hospice experts is important. Professionals working in hospice care have to attend a psychological training, but the role and presence of mental specialists, like psychologists and psychiatrists in the team are essential. Artistic can be defined as human effort with a constructive purpose, creative intention, human aspiration.

How can all this be related to the process of dying?

Life is indeed about creation, and the end of it can be interpreted as a striving after otherness. Death is the otherness we approach, and it is an inevitable process. The last purpose and creation of our lives might be to face and accept it. It is important not to deal with this alone and to have someone on our side, family, friends, or, if there is none, hospice experts.

During this period, we have to go step-by-step, gradually towards complete acceptance of the last stage of life.

Sincere conversations become significant, as well as the understanding of unsettled parts of life.

If your belief is honest, religion can play an important role in this process, regardless of which one you follow. Every hospice expert has to accept this kind of bond by every patient. They have to support the patients’ belief, since it can strengthen their connection to spirituality. The power of belief must not be underestimated.

Creative purpose and human effort

Supposing an optimal case, this usually becomes part of the process of dying. Our dying should become a natural and accepting process. We need to understand and accept our death, and create harmonic conditions and circumstances. Mental experts play a significant role in honest and calming conversations. Our creative intention should be present in honest confrontation and support in order to prepare for and accept our demise. Of course, we have to be honest, and we have to share all information with the patient and create and ensure ideal and optimal conditions and circumstances.
We need to endeavour the acceptance of painless and peaceful death.

Ensuring human dignity is prominent

Doctors play a significant role in pain relief so that the patient is able to live with a clear mind – depending on their disease. Since we need to take care of patients with tumour, all of this is dependent on the type of tumour.

Endeavour to give patients fresh and new impulses in the remaining time. Be confident and authentic, since patients can feel your hesitation. It is important to represent our role and place in this procedure consciously. It is an outstanding task to provide a psychic and mental shelter and to show and strengthen positive thinking.

I believe that we have to support the arising requests concerning the patients’ changing lifestyle, diet etc. Their requests should have a high priority in our view even if they seem to be very trivial. Relationships with family and friends should eventually be settled, and the fulfilment of missed opportunities and requests is important, too. Nobody should suffer and die alone. We should take care of the preparation of the family and friends and convince them that their role is important. They also need particular attention.

Members of this combined and complex hospice team are able to provide these conditions. To be honest, I believe that death should not be a punishment but redemption of a severe and incurable disease. Do not forget: the process and the end of dying is different for every patient, the basic rule is that everyone has a unique, irreplaceable soul living only once.