Addressing emotions in palliative care

摘要

The release of a new Toy Story film has been announced for 2019.1 used to dread the release of each film, but the trepidation wasn't from any aversion to computer animated films, but the fact that my wife and I would inevitably try not to cry in front of our children when we watched. I know I wasn't the only grown man touched by the emotional ending of Toy Story 3. Our children had ostensibly seen an exciting, funny film, whereas we had witnessed risque jokes, subtle cultural references, adult themes and poignant moments. On reflection, for someone who has worked within the field of cancer and palliative care, this ubiquitous refusal to acknowledge, accept and address emotions has always seemed somewhat incongruous, and a couple of recent experiences have further challenged the idea that emotions should be contained and unacknowledged.