Death doesn’t have to be so scary, according to Hospice Nurse Julie — a TikTok star with more than 1.1 million loyal followers.
Yes, “HospiceTok” videos have racked up more than 600 million views on the platform —and many of them belong to real-life nurse Julie McFadden.
The 39-year-old healthcare worker has witnessed many patients pass away throughout her career — so she knows a thing or two about death.
Now, the Los Angeles resident has revealed a “comforting” fact about dying that many people don’t actually understand. She claims it can even help alleviate one’s fear of going “toward the white light” in an instant.
She explained in one now-viral clip that the comforting concept is called “visioning” — which happens just before dying, when people are often fully lucid.
They see deceased friends, family and even pets before they pass on to the other side.
“It happens most of the time at the end of their life — but they aren’t delusional,” she told South West News Service. “It’s called ‘visioning’ and it’s often very comforting for the person. This helps many grieving relatives feel better about the dying process. It’s never scary — if they’re scared, it’s likely they’re experiencing delirium or paranoid, not visioning.”
McFadden added: “People don’t talk about it much but it’s really common and more than half of people I have looked after have experienced it.”
The nurse acknowledged that it’s “normal to fear death and I’ve had several patients who have expressed their fear — but then a family member came to them and they were no longer scared,” the influencer said.
She also noted in her video how “visioning” usually occurs around a month before a person dies.
Meanwhile, when someone does undergo the experience, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in psychosis or low on oxygen. They are actually fully aware of their surroundings.
“Lots of times people who have experienced this will say ‘I know this sounds crazy’ – they’re very aware of what’s going on,” she said.
McFadden’s viewers took to TikTok to share their own encounters with “visioning” via their loved ones and confirmed how comforted it made them feel.
“I am not scared of death anymore since I started seeing your videos,” one user commented.
One commenter chimed in: “My dad saw his siblings, my mom saw her sister and heard my dad, my grandma saw her son who preceded her in death. It’s beautiful to witness.”
“My father saw his mother a few hours before he died. He reached for her saying ‘mummy I’m so happy you are here,’” another wrote, while another commented, “Yes, my dad told me that he saw his mother. It actually gave me comfort.”