May 5, 2023
When planning care for a loved one in their end-of-life disease progression, talking about death and dying can be scary. Hospice care plays a vital role in end-of-life care, focusing on maximizing comfort and peace for both the individual nearing the end of life and their loved ones. With a deep understanding of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs that arise during this delicate time, hospice care providers offer specialized care to make death and dying less scary and keep your loved one at the most symptom relief they can be to enjoy their days with as much quality as possible. Choosing hospice is not giving up or hastening death. It’s acknowledging the reality of the situation and fostering an atmosphere of comfort, acceptance, and peace. In this episode, Lisa Pahl shares more about hospice care and support and provides valuable strategies to help you facilitate open and safe death and dying conversations to orchestrate the departure your loved one desires in a compassionate way.
Lisa Pahl is a social worker and co-creator of The Death Deck and The E•O•L Deck, games that inspire meaningful conversations on what matters most in our lives and in our deaths. Lisa is also an expert contributor for Help Texts which provides expert grief and mental health support via text messages. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over fifteen years of experience in hospice and emergency medicine, Lisa helps people cope with illness, dying, and grief. With a passionate belief that peace at the end begins with meaningful conversations over time, Lisa engages people in talking about and preparing for this important stage of life.
Tune in!
Key Highlights from the Episode;
[00:30] Episode intro and a quick bio of the guest; Lisa Pahl
[01:43] Lisa’s backstory and what she does as a clinical social worker
[02:35] Lisa’s experience in the emergency department for seven years
[04:42] The services Lisa offers in hospice care as a clinical social worker
[07:54] How Lisa helps families make decisions regarding the burial of their loved one
[11:36] About Lisa's products; Death Deck and The E•O•L Deck games
[20:52] How to open up and create a safe space to talk about death and dying
[23:14] The difference between Death Deck and The E•O•L Deck games
[26:36] Lisa’s top questions she wants to be asked as a social worker visiting a home of a hospice patient
[30:14] Lisa’s advice on choosing hospice care to get a little more comfort at end-of-life
[33:24] Help Texts and the support they provide to the caregivers and bereaved
[37:57] The art of practicing talking about death and dying now
[38:36] Wrap-up and end of the show
● There are different options for burial that may sound unusual, but we should amp up our comfort level with death and the willingness that we have to approach death head-on instead of keeping it in the shadows or like something that should not be discussed. [10:56]
● Even though people think they don't want to talk about death and dying, most do; once they are given the prompt, permission, and a place to discuss, most people have a lot of thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and stories. [20:10]
● Most of the time, when people start talking about death and dying, they become eager to talk more about it because usually, we don't give many opportunities to have this conversation. [21:47]
● When patients and their families are able and willing to acknowledge the reality of the situation, there is so much beauty and a lack of regrets in terms of things being out in the open. [29:18]
● Choosing hospice is not giving up. It’s not hastening death or doing anything to make death come sooner; it’s keeping a person at home with the most symptom relief they can have to enjoy their days with as much quality as they can have. [31:03]
● Talking about death and dying takes practice, and it’s much easier to practice now before a diagnostics or a medical crisis of you or your family member so that when that time comes, you have a place to start from, and it doesn't seem so scary. [38:01]
Lisa Pahl
Website: www.thedeathdeck.com
Email: Lisa@thedeathdeck.com
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