By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-24 18:15:51 | Updated at 2024-10-01 17:32:45
6 days ago
No one knows what they'll think towards the end of their life, but one doctor has an idea of what you may regret.
Shoshana Ungerleider, a doctor of internal medicine, has worked with terminally ill patients and witnessed people sharing what they are most remorseful about as they inch towards their end of their lives.
Dr Ungerleider, 44, shared the top five things people have regretted on their death bed - advising people to use it as a reminder to live in the present.
'Being proximate to the end of your life really allows you — pushes you — to be present because that's all you have,' says Dr Ungerleider, who is based in San Francisco, told CNBC Make It.
The doctor, who is also set to host of the upcoming Before We Go podcast, launching October 8, says this is applicable to all of us.
Shoshana Ungerleider, a doctor of internal medicine, has worked with terminally ill patients and witnessed people sharing what they are most remorseful about as they inch towards their end of their lives
'Throughout our lives, this present moment is all we have,' she pointed out.
Dr Ungerleider listed the biggest regrets as:
- Not spending enough time with the people they love
- Working too much
- Letting fear control their decisions and not taking enough risks
- Not being brave in the face of uncertainty or opportunity
- Focusing too much on the future and losing touch with the present
The doctor also said that along with recommending diet and exercise, she encourages people to reflect on their own mortality at a younger age to help drive them to live their life to the fullest.
'Reflecting on our own mortality throughout life, whether you're 20, 50, 80, whatever, allows us to live better every day with more meaning and purpose in our lives,' she pointed out.
End of life carers often share what their patients regret as they near the end of their lives.
Hadley Vlahos, from New Orleans, Louisiana, has worked as an at-home end-of-life carer for over eight years and often posts to TikTok, sharing what clients have told her over the years.
According to the hospice worker, one of the biggest regrets that people often have at the end of their lives is wishing they spent less time working and more time with their loved ones.
Dr Ungerleider, 44, shared the top five things people have regretted on their death bed - advising people to use it as a reminder to live in the present (stock image)
'A lot of people feel like they don't know their kids at all,' she explained. '[They realize that] what they thought were necessities weren't actually necessities. Maybe they could have worked 40 hours instead of 60.'
Hadley - who has written a book about her encounters, called The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments - said that others have voiced remorse over caring so much about physical objects.
'I remember leaving this ginormous mansion, and [the patient] was in her hospital-style bed, and she realized that you can't take things with you when you go,' she continued.
'I left her home to go to another house, where the walls were falling down, and she was in the same hospital bed.
'All that mattered in the end was the people around caring for her. They were both dying no matter what their money situation was.'
