Death Anxiety

[Caveman24]

Ok I just discovered on my own by doing some reading on the internet that I actually have death anxiety which is basically a severe fear of dying. I was wondering if any of you suffer from this type of anxiety and if so how you cope with it?

[arab2533]

I'm in the philadelphia area.  If there is a recommendation of someone who is expert in helping people with fear of old age and death problems, let me know.

Ira

[MayMayMeemers]

alot of people have that fear. I think I am dying when I have attacks BUT like what everyone has said..go see a dr. online doesn't help it may just increase the issue. GOOD LUCK!

[scooby09]

Im 18 and i think about the same exact thing.. I can look at someone random and say "Man they're gonna die one day, where will they go?" But i dont want to take any antidepressant pills... I can stop thinking about it for a while then thats when it pops right back up in my head... I just want to be happy like everyone else and not think about this right now... I m hoping this will pass.. I lost my appitite, i dont really eat like i am suppsed to.. Things that i love i still wont eat it... Last night i got on my knees and prayed to God, and asked him to let this pass... Im hoping it will soon, very soon because i do not like thinking like this... Before all of this a was a very happy person, who loved to laugh, and talk on the phone with my bestfriend. But now i barely laugh, and i realy dont talk to my bestfriend like that anymore either.. Right now i dont even have my phone turned on.. I m asking God to please let this be something that i can get over... I went to church yesterday to hoping while i was in there i would come out stress/depress free, but that didnt seem to work either. Im asking God to please deliver me from this because i don't like feeling/thinking this way...

[cillasoill]

i'm scared of it too.  superstitions and dreams meanings are what triggered my worries and fars.  all i could say is just try to think positive.  

[Autumnx1003]

There's a really good book that you might find enlightening called "Staring at the Sun" by Irvin Yalom.  It is all about overcoming death anxiety.  You can get it online pretty cheap :)

[scaredjo]

im scared of dying too, so scared its unbelievable, none of my friends even think about it, but sometimes i cant even sleep for thinking. i have seen close family die and as lydia said i never saw fear on their face. i suppose it effects some of us much harder, at night if i cant sleep cause of it i play alphabet games in my head haha just to take my mind off it, cause i only find when im not busy i think about it deeply. i hate it when people say it comes to us all cause I DONT WANT IT TO HAPPEN but it does. enjoy your time and live your life. im trying too cause really we only get one shot arghhhhhhhh haha.

[Caveman24]

I am not disagreeing with you on the therapy I believe I need it and I am trying to work with my insurance so I can get it. And I hope that them not having fear on their faces means something. My mother told me a story of my grandmother just today and how here children that were there when she past away pretty much got a play by play of her death everything she was seeing and what was happening before she walked through that door so that kind of gave me some peace of mind. Anyway Thanks for caring this is why I am glad I found this place because you guys can relate to some of what I am going through.

[RubyWitch]

You say you didn't always have this intense fear, so that means something triggered it. Which is why I recommended therapy. If you find the cause of this fear, you can face it, deal with it and move on. We ALL die Cave, and none of us knows how much time we've got, which is why we are told to live each day like it's our last.
I work in a hospital and I see people die way more often than I'd like. But ya know something Cave? Young or old, at the end, I have NEVER seen fear on any of their faces. That HAS to mean something, right?
I have taken some comfort there.
Peace
Greenlydia  

[Caveman24]

Thanks to all of you I appreciate your advice. I don't know where my fear comes from I never used to have it but it seems to be the only thing on my mind of late. It's not about the bumps or bruises or anything medical it's only about the actuality that someday I am going to have to face and maybe when I am old and grey it will be ok, but I think it is, if it happens tomorrow that bugs me.

[RubyWitch]

I agree with Mike 100%. Self-diagnosing off the Net is a really bad idea. But, putting that little reprimand aside, is "coping" with your severe fear of death all you want to accomplish, or would you rather understand where it came from and why YOU have it? With very few exceptions, most of us do fear death. It is, supposedly, one of the benefits (?) of being at the top of the food chain. We are, or so they say, the only species who is aware of our own death. This is a rather huge burden to haul around for the vast majority of our lives. Puts a damper on a lot of things. My dog Axel, on the other hand, doesn't have a clue that in a few years he's gonna be toast. He lives so permanently "in the NOW." I envy him. I know I'd be happier if I could do that.
An intense fear of death is keeping you from leading the best life you can. It is robbing you of all the joy life has to offer. My humble advice is to get hooked up with a good therapist or psychiatrist and overcome this intense fear, which you can.
I personally agree with Woody Allen who says "I don't fear dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens!" Do any of us?
Get some help and get back into LIFE!
Peace
Greenlydia  

[kalie1979]

mike is right, knowing to much can hurt u to. but when i first had anxiety i always thought i was going to die. every little thing to a bump to a bruse i thought i was going to die. i always thought i had throught cancer when to my doc, like three times a week, to have him check me. and he always smiled and said u are going to live to 100 yrs old. which i don't know about that. but anyways that was 9 yrs ago and i am over that. it seems like its a stage of anxiety. have u went to your doctor yet? are u on any meds for this?

kalie

[silverberg]

Ditto mike,

[Caveman24]

Agreed Mike it could be something deeper that is bothering me and I am working on getting a therapist but my insurance is being a pain. Anyway thanks for your thoughts much appreciated.

[Mike85281]

Be careful of self-diagnosing from what you read online. It's best to speak to a professional about what's bothering you. I made this same mistake once. I ended up driving myself into a higher state of anxiety. Sometimes having too much information available is a bad thing. I don't know of anybody who has positive thoughts on dying. I don't take life too seriously anymore as nobody gets out alive. ;-)