Choosing How To Die. Does it Make a Difference? Stan Goldberg October 17, 2010 End of Life 10 Comments If you could choose the way you will die, what would it be?” Many people cavalierly answer “old age” or “in my sleep,” as if either of these answers will offer relief from an event they’ll do...
What Makes You Think You’ll Live Forever? Stan Goldberg August 19, 2010 End of Life 3 Comments The opening line of the pamphlet was straightforward: Join us in a workshop where you will experience your own death. Six months prior, I would have thought it an interesting exercise. But having received a diagnosis of “aggressive prostate cancer,” it had the relevance of a guidebook for an upcoming trip.
Dying the Way We Live Stan Goldberg June 13, 2010 End of Life People who were dying in the Middle Ages said their goodbyes, gave away the furniture, and just stopped breathing. The non-event was witnessed by friends and family, who, at the moment of death absconded with anything of value. Later, they might gather to either celebrate or deride the person’s life. Today, although we rarely fight over furniture, we do something worse.
Memories: A Call to Reconnect Stan Goldberg April 26, 2010 End of Life 2 Comments Did you ever have a memory that rode into your consciousness on the back of a passing odor, object, or random word? Something you desperately tried to forget? But despite your best efforts, it still seeped through your emotional protective wall as if the wall was made of cheesecloth.
Dying Stands Logic on its Head Stan Goldberg January 13, 2010 End of Life 2 Comments We often harshly judge behaviors we don't understand. They can involve someone's ingratitude, anger, or actions we label as foolish. I recently was guilty of the same thing here in the San Francisco Bay area with one of my hospice patients.
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-1: Introduction Stan Goldberg December 30, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos 3 Comments Introduction. An introduction to the major themes of the...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-2: Sitting Stan Goldberg December 29, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos 2 Comments Lessons for the Living-2: Sitting. Few people understand the importance of sitting down next to a person who is dying rather than standing at the...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-3: Create a Positive Environment Stan Goldberg December 28, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die:3 Create a Positive Environment. The focus should be on life, even as a loved one's life is slipping...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-4: Simplifying Life Stan Goldberg December 27, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die: 4-Simplifying Life. As a loved one comes closer to dying, interests become more defined. There is much you can do to help them simplify...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-5: Listen More, Talk Less Stan Goldberg December 26, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die: 5-Listen More, Talk Less. We tend to fill periods of silence with words, almost as if it was a requirement. Yet, it's during those periods of silence that loved ones often reveal...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-6: Don’t Rely Just on Words Stan Goldberg December 25, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die: 6-Don't Rely Just on Words. There are many emotions that can't be conveyed to loved ones just by...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-7: Talk About Death Stan Goldberg December 24, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die: 7-Talk About Death. People who are dying usually know it and if given permission to talk about it, will want...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-8: Forgive and Ask For Forgiveness Stan Goldberg December 23, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die:8-Forgive and Ask For Forgiveness. Two things that make dying more difficult is not being forgiven for unskillful acts and words, and not forgiving those caused...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-9: Give Thanks Stan Goldberg December 22, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die: 9-GiveThanks. People who are dying want to know they've made a difference in the lives of their loved ones and...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-10: Private Experiences Stan Goldberg December 21, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die:10-Private Experiences. People close to death may relate visits by loved ones who have died. Whether or not you think the experiences are real, accept...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-11: Giving Permission to Leave Stan Goldberg December 20, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos Helping Our Loved Ones Die:11-Giving Permission to Leave. One of the hardest things you may have to do is give permission to a loved one to...
Helping Our Loved Ones Die-12: Final Thoughts Stan Goldberg December 19, 2009 End of Life, Helping Our Loved Ones Die Videos 2 Comments Helping Our Loved Ones Die:12-Final Thoughts. Some final things to think...
Cudos to 60 Minutes Stan Goldberg November 23, 2009 End of Life The 60 Minutes segment on end of life expenses did more than highlight inappropriate medical costs. It spoke to the role of medical technology in our cultural denial of death. As medical technology becomes...
The Hard Work of Dying Stan Goldberg November 1, 2009 End of Life 2 Comments Imagine that you’re preparing for a thirty-day trip to a foreign country and you’re limited to taking only what can be carried in a backpack. Your decisions on what to take or leave behind will determine the quality of your experience. Too many items and the weight will be burdensome. Not enough of the right ones and you might be forced to neglect some basic needs. We make decisions of this type daily. Take what’s important, leave behind what isn’t. But we tend to oblivious to the importance of these decisions for possibly the most momentous journey of our lives—our death.
Hospice care. False charges from Health Care Bill Opponents Stan Goldberg October 11, 2009 End of Life As Congress debates the new health bill, whipping boys are paraded out to create fear. The latest, and most deplorable is that hospice will be used to save costs by forcing people to die rather than be...