Ways to say goodbye
You might set aside a time to talk to each person individually. Or, if you are physically up to it, you might have a gathering for friends and family. Other ways to say goodbye include documenting insights, requests, thanks, advice, recipes, memories or anything else that is important to you.
Call up happy memories.
Remember your loved one and feel close to them by listening to special music or making a playlist, looking through old photos, watching a favorite TV show, or reading a certain book. Remembering past times with them can help you say goodbye.
“The hardest goodbye is the one shared with someone you've spent the most time. The unbearable pain of losing someone woven into the tapestry of who you are is a lingering agony that reminds you with each breath a part of you is missing.
In order to cope with goodbyes big and small, we need ways to make ourselves feel better. Listening to music, taking a walk, watching a movie, talking to a friend, writing about your feelings—all of these are small but important techniques for soothing painful feelings.
Goodbyes leave a lasting impression. When parting ways with a loved one, a botched farewell can leave both parties feeling uneasy. In professional encounters, the last thing you say is just as important as the first impression.
Visions and Hallucinations
Visual or auditory hallucinations are often part of the dying experience. The appearance of family members or loved ones who have died is common. These visions are considered normal. The dying may turn their focus to “another world” and talk to people or see things that others do not see.
“Mama” is one of the most common last words that people speak. Some people's last utterances are curse words. Others may mumble a word that holds significance to them – but it may mean nothing to their families – for their final words.
Honesty is usually the best policy. Be honest, but not hurtful. There is a reason you're deciding to move on and that this person is not “the one.” Just say that. “I don't think you and I are meant to be.” Be mindful of the other person's feelings and avoid saying deliberately hurtful things.
While “All the best” may seem like a generic, farewell closing and “Best of luck” might refer to something more specific, it's unlikely anyone would find fault with either phrase. Both are merely ellipses of the longer sentence that unites the two: I wish you all the best of luck. I wish you all the best of luck.
Cheerio – No it is not just a breakfast cereal but also one of the many words used to say goodbye in the UK. “Ta ta” is popular in the North of England and you will also hear “laters” and “see ya”. Cheesed off – is a quirky euphemism for being unhappy.
Let them know how they have meant to you (great friend for years etc). Wish them luck with any ambitions they may follow. Be a little lighthearted but not too much, only to the point where you can have a little joke with the person. Physical contact such as a hug, kiss on the forehead or a handshake goodbye.
Hospice has a program that says that no one should have to die alone, and yet this hospice nurse is telling me to take a break? Some patients want to die when no one else is there. Hospice professionals know that companionship while dying is a personal preference.
They Know They're Dying
Dying is a natural process that the body has to work at. Just as a woman in labor knows a baby is coming, a dying person may instinctively know death is near. Even if your loved one doesn't discuss their death, they most likely know it is coming.
Dying is often a process.
For people who know death is approaching — whether from sickness or old age — there are certain signs. These signs include slowed breathing, weakened heart rate, and a change in color, says Zachary Palace, MD, medical director of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York.