What people regret most as death approaches
Few people regret something they did. Many regret what they did not do.
When researchers speak with people nearing the end of their lives, the answers they receive are surprisingly similar.
The dreams I never pursued. The talents I never got to use. The journeys I never took.
The relationships with other people that I let fade away.
The decisions I was too afraid to make.
When death draws near and people are asked what they regret in life, many find themselves dwelling on what they left undone.
Few regret not spending more time at work.
“Yes, I recognise this from research we have done on palliative care,” Per Nortvedt tells Science Norway.
He is a former nurse and now professor emeritus of medical ethics at the University of Oslo.
Palliative care focuses on relieving suffering and making the final stage of life as good as possible.
“In a research project I took part in, there was one thing the patients described as the very worst: Having to die while carrying unresolved conflicts with their loved ones,” he says, adding:
“Seeing people struggle with such existential pain on top of physical pain that was already difficult to ease was one of the worst things I experienced.” [Continue reading…]