At present, specialists tend to recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to people who face severe death anxiety. CBT is based on discussions and exposure, and it is often used to treat depression and many different kinds of anxiety and phobias, such as the fear of flying.
Talking therapies, behaviour therapies, and medication can help a person overcome their death anxiety. Some of the common therapies for fear of death include: Psychotherapy: Talking about your thoughts, feelings, and fears with a mental health professional can help you get to the root cause of the phobia.
As in any anxiety-related condition, avoidance is one of the most prevalent strategies employed to manage death anxiety. It is not uncommon for people to completely avoid thinking about mortality, and instead, to live as though they were not going to die.
Benzodiazepines (also known as tranquilizers) are the most widely prescribed type of medication for anxiety. Drugs such as Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Valium (diazepam), and Ativan (lorazepam) work quickly, typically bringing relief within 30 minutes to an hour.
Fearing death also makes it harder for us to process grief. A recent study found that those who were afraid of death were more likely to have prolonged symptoms of grief after losing a loved one compared to those who had accepted death.
While a fear of death sign can be a symptom of OCD, it's also a fear that affects many people from time to time, without necessarily indicating any greater mental health concern. It may also indicate other conditions, most commonly a specific phobia called thanatophobia.
Thanatophobia is an intense fear of death or the dying process. While it's natural to feel anxious about death from time to time, thanatophobia is an anxiety disorder that can disrupt every aspect of your life. Don't be afraid to talk to a healthcare provider about your fears.
Anxiety can both cause and contribute to a variety of fears. An overwhelmingly common concern is the fear of death. Some anxiety problems actually create the fear of death on their own. Sometimes the fear of death is a symptom of other anxiety disorders, and sometimes it is its own standalone issue.
Grief, which is the series of emotions that accompany a significant loss, can drop you to your knees. That feeds anxiety. Grieving people can begin feeling anxious about their own health or the safety of other loved ones.
The studies claim that death anxiety peaks in men and women when in their 20s, but after this group, gender plays a role in the path that one takes.
Obsessive thoughts of death can come from anxiety as well as depression. They might include worrying that you or someone you love will die. These intrusive thoughts can start out as harmless passing thoughts, but we become fixated on them because they scare us.
Whilst death anxiety itself isn't a disorder, existential fears lie at the core of many anxiety and depressive disorders. This means that it is often linked to these kinds of mental health issues – Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in particular, which is characterised by frequent and uncontrollable worrying.
Humans also fear death because they view death as an annihilation of their person, a radical personal transformation, a threat to the meaningfulness of life, and a threat to the completion of life projects.
Death anxiety is a conscious or unconscious psychological state resulting from a defense mechanism that can be triggered when people feel threatened by death [4]. The North American Nursing Diagnosis Association defines death anxiety as a feeling of unsafety, anxiety, or fear related to death or near-death [5].
A person with thanatophobia can fear their own death or they might fear the death of someone they love. Fortunately, thanatophobia can be treated, such as by engaging in psychotherapy.
Fear of Missing Out
Missing out on the joys of life is a common reason why people fear dying alone. Especially since many people may not want to burden their loved ones with their heavy emotions, these emotions can also further isolate them.
Thanatophobia, or death anxiety, is a form of anxiety disorder that involves an intense fear of death. It can lead to an overwhelming anxiety about a person's own death or the process of dying. Death anxiety is not defined as a distinct disorder, but it may be linked to other depression or anxiety disorders.
The presence of death anxiety is reported to peak in middle age and disappear in the elderly (20, 24, 25).
There are many misconceptions about death and grief that can make mourning an even more difficult experience. Our society expects people to get used to grief as they age and lose more of their loved ones. However, no matter how many times you've experienced loss, it never truly gets easier.
Common medications used in grief treatment regimens include antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds and medications to promote sleep.