Dancing Around The 'D' Word

The good news is that, according to a survey, most people feel talking about death is less of a taboo than it was 20 years ago.

The not-so-good news is that around two thirds of people surveyed admitted they’d not spoken about the type of funeral they’d like.

And it seems we’re still avoiding the ‘D’ word – with 57% of people opting to use the phrase ‘passed away’.

No one is arguing that talking about death can be a very uncomfortable subject but it’s worrying, for instance, that 59% of people said they were scared of dying in hospital – when that’s where most people do in fact draw their last breath.

We see how families sometimes struggle to agree what form a funeral should take – and we strongly advise people to make their wishes known, to spare those left behind unnecessary additional distress.

If you’re one of the 9% who want to live past 100 perhaps you may feel there’s time later for all that – but please don’t leave it until it’s too late!

The survey was carried out to mark Dying Matters Awareness Week 16-22 May (www.dyingmatters.org.uk).