How to Deal with Death Anxiety?

Not alone, I had this a few years ago but got over it. How you deal with this depends on your own mental structure. You could try an abstract form of denial. Examples of this include religion with afterlife, quantum immortality, epistemological immortality, or ‘it’s all a simulation’. See also qualia, and extended conscious experience.

Alternatively, you can practice nihilism. Nothing really matters, including life itself. What does it matter if humanity ends? Life has no point so if we die, so why should you care if it happens?

You can practice pragmatism. Death is inescapable, and there is nothing that can be done about it, so don’t worry about it. What will happen will happen. Might as well get on with life in the mean time and worry about death when you’re dead.

Acknowledge that death may be good in some contexts. Some suffering (like depression, torture) is worse than death. Death provides an end to suffering. Death is the great leveller as fuck and poor, success failure alike will all die the same. It takes the pressure of succeeding in life off.

You could also simply be thankful that life exists at all.

Discuss with your friends and family. Often they have good insight. If you find that you are still struggling do add others suggest and seek medical help as this may be the manifestation of a mental health problem which could be treated. But don’t worry, most people go through something similar at summer point of their life, especially if they are the questioning type. I have personally adopted a bit of a mix of all the above, and it’s really broadened my love philosophy and I’ve become a better person for it.

Everything is a bardo[0]. I learned that from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. I tested out the theory and it's the truest thing I ever heard. A bardo basically means 'in between'. We are forever in between something, never having truly finished it, including life itself. It's just one long infinite attempt to get to the next phase, and then once we are in the new phase, we are striving for another phase. For some this is Samsara, or the hedonic treadmill, for others it's a great relief knowing everything is essentially unfinished.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo

Erich Fromm is a psychoanalyst that emphasized human beings are set apart from other animals, one reason dealing us the ominous cognizance of mortality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Fromm

In Terror management theory, we as individuals and society are all faced with the existential inevitability of death, so we try to enforce cultural things and rally around them to ease the anxious feelings. As individuals TMT posits we try to boost our self esteem to that end.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_management_theory, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy4W1s0vyJ4 (covers Fromm, TMT)

Also it's reassuring 1.) You don't love death (Fromm considered that to be the absolute worst of states of mind) 2.) that you're looking for social assurance 3.) finally hopefully you're pleased to find you're not alone in your feelings, mortality salience / death anxiety is an established concept. Why else would people be intrigued by all Doomsday movies / documentaries?

Fromm is very interesting to read on OP. He went into social and political psychology and, despite noting mortality, espoused an optimistic outlook on society and humanity. His concepts of escape mechanisms are genius and understated.

There's no where to go but up from here, hopefully!

There are two kinds of things that happen in life. The ones you can control and the ones you can’t.

By definition, it doesn’t make sense to worry about things you can’t control.

It took my a while to accept that, but once I did life got better. Give it a try.

Some thoughts:

1. Blog or keep a journal. It may help you sort this.

2. Stop reading/watching "the news." Most news is bad news. It's known to negatively impact mental health to focus overly much on it.

3. Actively go looking for positives, a la "count your blessings." It can help counteract our tendency to only not bad news and not acknowledge things that are going right or doing well.

4. You might consider confronting your fear. Perhaps you could volunteer at a hospice.

(This list not comprehensive.)

I went through this recently. Exactly what you went through. Combined with the intense feeling that everything is meaningless. No amount of reading did anything for me. I tried to change my views and everything, but nope.

Then I went to a psychiatrist. Got prescribed benzodiapenes. Two weeks on it, every existential thoughts vanished. I felt normal again. Then my doc stopped it. Got some severe withdrawals from the benzos. I would never ever touch benzos with a 3 foot pole again. Even after 3 months of leaving benzos I have some bouts of anxiety. I use Ashwagandha regularly. To me it's been life changing. The thoughts don't completely vanish but even if it comes, it makes you feel meh. Also travel. Traveling a lot helped me. Made me focus outwards rather than my inner voice. Traveling, going out a lot, Ashwagandha and talking to people is what's helping me by a significant amount.

I am not a native speaker, so if anything confuses you please ask away :)

You are certainly not alone, perhaps investigate more about the subject, it's inevitable, yet treated in a myriad of ways by different cultures. Perhaps there is something going on around you that at this time has posed questions you've not considered before. It's common for people to have a short spell of panic attacks then not be bothered by symptoms again. Regarding the actual attacks, you would perhaps benefit from looking into the physiological background, what process this is triggering in your body, and how you can learn to exert control over it, it is my understanding that a panic attack should not cause any harm in and of itself, though of course, the experience is unpleasant and scary, both for the sufferer and those around them at the time.

I recently went through few death related panic attacks. I ended up going to the doctor who prescribed an anti-stress drug, which made me somehow calmer. The anxiety increases whenever I feel my health is deteriorating, so taking care of your health can be helpful.

But what makes it completely disappear for me is a different thing. I’m religious and I believe in the afterlife. That makes me comfortable with the idea of death, but doesn’t prevent me from having anxiety, as I believe my outcome is tied to how well I’m behaving/avoiding and repenting for my wrong deeds. Basically whenever I’m sufficiently happy with my actions, the anxiety disappears.

I'm have no medical qualifications but suggest that you consider if taking magnesium may help. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/magnesium-the-most-powerf_b_4...

You may already be obtaining sufficient through your diet and should consider your doctor's opinion.

Perhaps religion may provide the answer? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism#The_cycle_of_rebirth

My way of dealing with this is to think that there was nothing (no suffering, no "being stuck in a dark senseless place forever", etc) before I was born, so logically these things will not be an issue when I die either.

My only regret is that all the experience & knowledge I would've acquired before my death would go to waste, but it's not serious enough to be anxious about.

I deal with both situations with the same mindset:

1. my death is gonna happen in my lifetime

2. the doom of humanity will not

So with both statements, what I can do is live my life the best way I can. and of course, I do the best for case 1 to happen as late as possible.

Download headspace meditation app. Pay the money. It’s worth the subscription. Can’t put a price on your (mental) health. Take the courses related to anxiety management.

You can do this. Take care of yourself

possibly magic mushrooms?

https://vancouversun.com/health/local-health/b-c-counsellor-...

IMHO this is the first important existential barrier to break through. Nearly everyone goes through this, the sooner the better.

In this pursuit the Serenity Prayer is great. It sounds cliche, but repeat it enough it and becomes profound and comforting.

three certainties of life you will grow old, you will grow sick, you will die.

the uncertainties come from how you choose to act in the face of these certainties, and from external coincidences that are greater than yourself.

my strategy, strive to read/write something that will make you look good or enigmatic in some way if you are found dead with it open in front of you. create something bigger than yourself, that lasts beyond generations and screams "I was here, and this is what I was!"

Meditate on the thins that you CAN control and do not sweat the things that you cannot. Knowing the difference is wisdom - not intelligence.

CBT, therapy from a good therapist (not easy or cheap to come by), possibly drugs (antidepressants, benzos)

Accept that you cannot control everything. Everybody dies. Make it count