Why is talking about Death a taboo

Talking about death is a taboo. Death is one of the most challenging and conflicting subjects encountered by anyone. No wonder there is so much unpleasantness in this word. The mention of death itself brings sadness. It is hard for most of us to accept this reality of life. While alive, we pretend that it does not exist. Some of us even refrain from pronouncing the dreaded word lest its utterance cause death to make a sudden and unwelcome call. One certainty in life is that we will die one day. Not knowing what to say, how to act or what to do are common questions. The widespread deaths and untold losses generated by the pandemic has profoundly affected almost every family. In the wake of these tragedies, we realized that adults are generally ill-equipped to help children deal with bereavement. Yet we are content to leave our children vulnerable because we get nervous at the very thought of discussing with them the taboo topic of death. 

Death is an unanswerable question for humanity, literally the question that always remains unanswered since it lies beyond human experience. 

It is natural:

Death is a natural phenomenon that we can neither escape nor ignore. Death is a part of life. Talking about death doesn’t bring it sooner. It only makes us more prepared. As we get older, a few of us begin to prepare for death in a practical way. ‘Death cleaning’ is a Swedish practice of organizing and decluttering your home before you die to lessen the burden of your loved ones after you've passed. In which ageing people are a method to try completing the pending tasks, set their affairs in order, so as not to leave behind a thankless mess for one’s family to disentangle. It helps us better support those living our own biggest fears.

Adults deal with death in different ways. When we are relatively young and death seems far away and unreal, some of us grandly declare how we wish to die, what kind of funeral or memorial service we want and how we would like to be remembered. Perhaps we should emulate this practice. A child may reflect on death on her own but is likely to ask adults questions. It is up to adults to make the child accept reality, make her feel loved and secure and at the same time abstain from filling her mind up with falsities. While talking to children about death, some people refer to heaven as the place where all good people eventually go. However, unwittingly, they portray heaven as a singularly unattractive place. I certainly did not wish to be perpetually good in order to be ultimately transferred there. 

Death is inevitable:

Your bedroom temperature can have a huge impact on your sleep quality. Infact, one study Grief is among the most intense, painful human emotions, but it's time we stopped running away from it. When a person dies, the preferred terms are ‘demise’, ‘passing on’ (or ‘away’), ‘going to her heavenly abode’, ‘attaining liberation’ and so on.

Breaking the taboo of talking about death:

We adults don’t know what children’s minds make of death and disappearance. Children are taught about the life cycles of living creatures, their reproductive systems and about their birth, growth and development, but we keep them ignorant about the process of ageing and death. Children believe that death happens to very old people. Perhaps they don’t think too much about it till it actually happens to someone they love. Eventually, Grandma becomes a bright star in the sky and Granddad looks down from a picture on the wall. It is time we begin to think about the incompleteness of our education. Instead of being in constant ‘death denial’ mode, we should talk freely, openly and naturally about death. This will help children in the long run. I believe that if children are brought up to understand that life is just a span of time on earth.




We should talk freely, openly and naturally about death. Another coping mechanism is to joke about death to make it less fearsome. Grandma exclaims, “Do you know what Rana said when I told him that he would get my coin collection when I die? He asked, "When will you die, Granny?” This exchange causes much laughter and there the matter ends.

Many believe death is not the end

What happens after death is, of course, related to individual beliefs or the belief systems of different cultures and religions. Most creeds promote the belief that a person moves into a new phase after death, but some individuals may not believe in life after death. Most of us wish to believe in the immortality of the soul, its liberation from the body and its new life beyond worldly cares — indeed, in some subcultures, death is a cause for joyous celebrations.