Deathbed Phenomena: Its Role in Peaceful Death and Terminal Restlessness

Dying patients and their caregivers frequently experience that which is known as deathbed phenomena, that is, visions of past deceased relatives or friends, religious figures, and a visionary language pertaining to travel. Collective research supports mounting evidence that deathbed visions typically yield peaceful deaths. Yet within the literature, numerous hospice patients experience the symptoms of terminal restlessness and frequently succumb to anguished deaths. Why are some patients and caregivers guided by peaceful deathbed phenomena and others are not? Does a relationship exist between the lack of deathbed phenomena and the onset of terminal restlessness in dying patients? This clinical paper intends to answer these questions and might elucidate the factors that contribute to a dying patient’s death ending as either a peaceful event or the one affected by terminal restlessness. This knowledge gained could lessen the occurrence of anguished deaths and perhaps change our way of viewing dying.