Simon Boas, who wrote a candid account of living with cancer, died on July 15 at the age of 47. In a recent BBC interview, the former aid worker told the reporter: “My pain is under control and I’m terribly happy — it sounds weird to say, but I’m as happy as I’ve ever been in my life.” It may seem odd that a person could be happy as the end draws near, but in my experience as a clinical psychologist working with people at the end of their lives, it’s not that uncommon.
There is quite a lot of research suggesting fear of death is at the unconscious centre of being human. William James, an American philosopher, called the knowledge that we must die “the worm at the core” of the human condition. But a study in Psychological Science shows people nearing death use more positive language to describe their experience than those who only imagine death.
This suggests the experience of dying is more pleasant — or at least, less unpleasant — than we might picture it..
