End of life care has rarely been as important as it is now. With a global pandemic on our hands, people are dying from this disease everywhere. The current environment can magnify or heighten fears and anxieties around death. If someone is approaching the end of their life and they live somewhere which is in lockdown, their family and loved ones might struggle to even see them before they go. This is a truly traumatic experience for anyone to go through, and it’s the kind of situation that requires a great deal of compassionate care and expert support and guidance. That’s where a doula comes in.
The Role Of The Doula
A death doula is a trained and practised individual whose expertise is helping someone with their end of life experience, aiding them in making it more peaceful and meaningful, and with less suffering. They can help to create empowering plans for the end-of-life process, provide spiritual care of all kinds depending on the beliefs of the individual, help with some of the essentials of physical comfort, and help those around the dying individual understand and come to terms with what is happening.
Death Doula Care During A Pandemic
At the moment, with COVID19 ravaging countries across the globe, it is becoming increasingly important for people to be able to feel closer to their end-of-life processes. Many people in this stage at the moment will not have anyone around them, especially if they are in lockdown and their families are not even allowed or able to visit them. There is a good chance that the funeral can’t be planned much yet either. With all of that uncertainty going on, it is far from being a perfect time to die, and that is going to cause a lot of stress for many people who are currently in this position.
That’s why having a death doula during this time is going to be so helpful. With the right doula on board, the end of life process can be made much easier and simpler, and they can even help to deal with some of the emotional impacts of the corona virus situation as it currently stands. Having a death doula is always a good idea, but it might be an especially good one during a pandemic like the one we are in the throes of now.
Finding A Death Doula
When you are looking for a death doula, you will be keen to look out for a number of specific qualities in particular. For one thing, they should be compassionate and involved, and should be the kind of person that you feel you can be comfortable around fully. They should also be well trained and have practice in dealing with death in the past – it’s no use if they seem easily upset for squeamish about death and its related medical difficulties. If you come to us at You Are Not Alone Elder Care, you can be sure that we will provide you with a death doula who has all these qualities, and who you can trust to guide you through this most important part of life.
Understanding The Role Of Death
In a pandemic or not, it’s important to try and understand the role of death in your life as you approach it. A death doula can help you to do that, and in so doing can ensure that you are in as peaceful and rested a place as possible before you go. In our culture we place a lot of emphasis on caring for those in different stages of life, but not nearly as much as we should on those approaching their end of life. The end of life is one of the most important parts of life, and it’s vital that you are able to approach it in the way that is most meaningful for you. A death doula will help you do that.
Transforming The Death Process
With one of our doulas by your side, the process of dying may be transformed into something much more spiritual and welcoming than you might have imagined. You will find that you can approach it much more safely and calmly and with a better sense of what it all means in relation to everything else. These things remain important during a pandemic, and it is therefore a good idea to have a death doula by your side. If you or someone close to you is approaching the end of life, consider a death doula to ease the process.