16/01/2026
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🤍Not everyone who is dying wants visitors🤍
🖤As the body begins the dying process, energy is limited. The nervous system shifts inward, prioritizing essential functions and reducing tolerance for stimulation.
🖤Conversation, eye contact, noise, emotional intensity, and even loving presence can be overwhelming. I notice when I am sick I feel this way.
🖤This inward turning is not a psychological rejection of others. It is a physiological and neurological conservation process.
Some dying people may
• Ask for fewer visitors
• Request only certain people
• Become quieter or less responsive
• Appear withdrawn or uninterested in interaction
• Prefer dim light and minimal noise
• Sleep for long periods and wake briefly
These changes are commonly misinterpreted as depression, giving up, or relational conflict. In reality, they often reflect the body’s instinctual preparation for death.
🖤Families frequently arrive at the bedside carrying urgency, fear, love, regret, and unfinished emotional business. There is often an unspoken belief that being present, talking, or gathering everyone together is necessary for a “good death.”
🖤Without education, families may push for more interaction than the dying person can tolerate, unintentionally increasing distress.
🖤Depression is characterised by hopelessness, loss of meaning, and emotional despair.
🖤End of life withdrawal is characterized by inward focus, reduced sensory tolerance, and conservation of energy.
Many dying people who limit visitors still feel emotionally connected, deeply loving, and at peace internally, even if they no longer have the capacity to engage outwardly.
🖤This is where a Death Doula can advocate, educate, and empower.
✨Join us March 9th for our 6 week Death Doula Course✨
Ontarioschoolofenergy.com