Getting more comfortable with death could benefit all of us – and one TikTok star is making that her mission.
Death is inevitable, but feared by many.
When you lose a loved one, there’s no rulebook that details how exactly you need to behave in order to cope with your loss.
For most people, the funeral is the pinnacle point of closure.
The ceremony in which people make their final goodbyes is typically the biggest form of closure for most.
However, what happens before the funeral?
Many of us must learn to deal with grief as a loved one approaches death.
And one hospice nurse believes this is hugely important.
Removing the stigma around death is key to finding peace with it.
Hospice Nurse Julie has taken to TikTok to enhance the internet’s understanding about death.
And she has shared some truly incredible insights.
“I love educating patients and families about what to expect with hospices and what to expect with the specific disease they are dying from,” Julie, who works in Los Angeles, told the New York Post.
“I also really like giving the patient and family some comfort knowing we will be there to manage their symptoms.”
Julie has plenty of experience in the field.
“I have worked as a hospice nurse for about five years and before that, I was an ICU nurse for nine years so I’ve been doing this type of work for 14 years.”
She believes that the more people know aboutt the end of life, the less fear they’ll have surrounding the subject.
“The best part about my job is educating patients and families about death and dying as well as supporting them emotionally and physically.”
“Also, helping them to understand what to expect is another part of my job as a hospice nurse.”
Julie has shared some of the physical changes families can expect when a loved one is approaching the end.
“The symptoms of the actively dying phase include changes in consciousness (unconscious), changes in breathing, mottling and terminal secretions.”
“These are normal and NOT painful or uncomfortable.”
“Our bodies take care of ourselves at the end of life — the less we intervene, the better,” she reassured viewers.
Julie also uses her platform to dispel common misconceptions about terminal illness and death.
She explains that it’s not true that people die quickly once they arrive at a hospice.
Julie also dispels the rumor that morphine helps bring about the end of life faster.
“There are some assumptions that people make. Another one that’s completely not true is that hospices kill people.”
It was these common misconceptions that inspired Julie to start her TikTok channel to educate the world.
“I knew I had a lot of interesting information about death and dying that most people don’t know about.”
“I want to normalize death by educating people about it.”
“I went home to visit my family, and my tween nieces were on TikTok making dance videos.”
“I later went on TikTok to see their dances. This gave me the idea of starting my own TikTok about death and dying, four days later I did it and it took off.”
And it certainly seems as though the internet is interested in the taboo topic.
“I’ve been doing it for six months now and have over 340,000 followers — it’s crazy!”
But there was one revelation Julie shared that has truly touched the internet’s heart.
She shared the most common thing people say in their dying moments …
While it sounds rather salacious, it turns out many peoples’ deathbed words are actually simple and pure.
And, strangely enough, they don’t vary that much from person to person.
“There is something most people say before they die and it’s usually ‘I love you.'”
“Or they call out to their mom or dad — who have usually already died.”
Which is rather heartwarming, if you think about it.
Huge thanks to Julie for educating the world about something so important – and check out her TikTok here.