137 Being wiser about menopause with Tania Elfersy

Dr Kathryn Mannix has devoted her life to the palliative care of the dying. In this episode, she talked about death, the process of it and how we can all prepare better for it. She also wrote a remarkable book called With The End In Mind which everyone should read! It was such a pleasure to talk to her about death! This is a much longer interview than usual but I thought the topic deserved it. Kathryn came back on the podcast to talk about her second book, Listen and you can listen to that episode here.

We talk about:

Why Kathryn was inspired to write her book, With The End In Mind

Opening up conversations about death

How our experience of death is much improved by honest communication

Denial is one way of coping which works for some people but isn’t ideal

Thinking about accommodating immobile older relatives

Sometimes being practical is better than sacrifice when it comes to caring

What normal dying actually looks and feels like – it is very gentle

Why it’s important for people to understand the stages of death

What the ‘death rattle’ really is

Asking for more pain control if death is not progressing normally

The importance of discomfort management as people approach death – otherwise the process of death itself is prolonged

The opioid crisis – how Western addiction concerns stop pain relief availability in poorer areas of the world

Morphine used properly for pain relief is safe

Dan’s death plan and how he went on TV to talk about it

The impact of faith on death

How many of us start a process of reckoning as we get closer to death

The importance of some form of belief (not necessarily religious) when it comes to evaluating our lives

The importance of being clear about what you want for your own death

And lots more!

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Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel’s book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

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Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #15 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

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