More than half of the Dutch would have liked to say a better goodbye to someone who has died, reports SIRE based on research. The foundation concludes that the Dutch don’t communicate enough about death.
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An incomplete farewell leads to more grief and complicates the mourning, among others because people are left with regret.
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A third of those interviewed said they found it difficult to talk about their own death; a similar group was afraid of death. Only a quarter of those questioned said they would start a conversation about death themselves.
“Every person has to deal with loss and every person would prefer to stay far away from it,” says clinical psychologist and grief expert Manu Keirse, who is involved in the SIRE campaign. “We have to re-learn that death is part of life.”
