How long before death will a dying person withdraw from friends and loved ones?

Answer 1

Every human being is different, so there is no absolute in whether or not they will withdraw from friends and loved ones! There are some guidelines after much study and research in the field of psychiatry and "death and dying" professionals who offer some reasons for when a patient DOES withdraw from friends and loved ones, and they offer this: Often times, a patient will go through the 4 (some say 5) stages of grief and loss themselves before they can fully accept the diagnosis that they have a very specific time before their death, and in these stages, some "pulling away" from loved ones can occur, often as a defense mechanism so that the pain of having to "leave" and sometimes even guilt about leaving them behind will lessen. The first stage is denial. A patient might not accept their impending death, or seek a second opinion even when the first opinion is solid and widely accepted. The second step is bargaining. Bargaining is when a patient begins to think that in some way they can "barter" their way out of having to experience their death. They might ask God to spare them, if they do "such and such". The third step is often anger, and this may be when the "withdrawal" from loved ones may occur. This is not a definite behavior, as previously stated, but isolating from those people who they love the most and even being "angry" at them over perceived wrongs or actions is, again, usually a defense mechanism. The fourth step is ACCEPTANCE. Often times the patient will begin to speak about their own death in real terms, and even express their wishes for their loved ones after their death. They may want to assist in planning their own funeral or ceremony/celebration of life, and if they have withdrawn from loved ones, they most likely will pull them closer- and express how they feel more readily.