The extreme fear of death, death phobia, affects millions of people all over the world. Some people feel anxious and troubled by the fear of death. Death phobia is the fear of death itself or one's own death, while "corpse phobia" is the fear of the dead or other dead things. However, both phobias are related to various unknown fears related to death, namely "xenophobia". On the other hand, we are afraid of things that human beings cannot explain. This is especially true for people who are on the verge of death, and the uncertainty brought by the impending death has multiplied. In order to cope with death more calmly, you need to understand the fear of death first, and then slowly overcome it.
Record every time you think about death. To cope with the fear of death, we must first understand how and to what extent this fear affects your life. We often don't immediately realize the environmental factors or reasons that stimulate fear and anxiety, so we can better cope by writing down the situation at that time.
Ask yourself first: "What happens around me when I feel scared or anxious?" For various reasons, this question is not easy to answer. Start with the basics, think back to the past few days, and try to write down everything that happened when the idea of death appeared, including what you were doing at that time. Fear of death is very common. Throughout history, human beings have been paying attention to and even focusing on exploring the mysteries of death and near-death. There are many reasons for fear of death, including age, religious belief, anxiety and gain and loss psychology. For example, people tend to be more worried about the death during the transition period, which includes the ages of 4 to 6, 10 to 12, 17 to 24 and 35 to 55. For a long time, scholars have devoted themselves to discussing the issue of death. According to the existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, people are afraid of death, because death "comes from the outside world and changes us back to the outside world". [6] Therefore, death also shows us the roots of the unknown world that can be imagined (or unimaginable in a sense). As Sartre said, death can change our bodies back to their original inhuman state.
Write down your anxiety or fear. Then, anything you give up because of anxiety or fear is also recorded. Even if you are not sure whether negative emotions are related to death or near death, record them in detail.
Compare thoughts of anxiety and death. List the thoughts about death and the situations that cause anxiety, and find out where they are. For example, you may notice that whenever you see a certain brand of candy, you will feel anxious inexplicably, and in the same situation, you will think of death. At this time, you may think of this brand of candy appearing at your grandfather or grandmother's funeral, which reminds you of death and makes you feel more or less afraid.
The relationship between objects, emotions and situations is quite subtle, and sometimes it is even closer than the above situations. Therefore, using written records can help you pay more attention to them, and then when you are affected by these things, you can deal with them better.
Know the relationship between anxiety and hunch. The power of fear should not be underestimated. It will affect everything you do. If you take a long view, you will find that what you are afraid of is not as bad as you think. When we predict the future direction of things, we are often mixed with anxiety, which is related to the future. Always remind yourself that the fear of death is sometimes worse than death itself. Who knows, maybe death is not as tragic as you think. Be honest with yourself. Face the fate of death honestly and frankly, otherwise the fear of death will always haunt you. Let the limited life shine brightly, and life is more valuable. You know you will die, but you don't have to live in fear. When you can be honest with yourself and face death, the fear of death will slowly dissipate. Focus on what you can control. Death is very frightening, mainly because it exposes the finiteness of life and all kinds of assumptions brought by death. Instead of worrying about the uncontrollable future, it is better to focus on the controllable things at this stage.
For example, you are worried that you will die of a heart attack. For heart disease, there are many uncontrollable factors, including family history, race and nationality, age and so on. Obsessing about these things will make you more anxious. In contrast, it is better to focus on things that can be controlled, such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly and paying attention to diet. In fact, an unhealthy lifestyle is more likely to cause heart disease than those uncontrollable pathogenic factors.
Plan your life. When we try our best to control our lives, we often feel disappointed, depressed and anxious because of unexpected things. Learn to relax and don't control your life too much. Of course, you can still make plans to guide your life, but leave room for accidents.
You can compare life to a river. Sometimes, the riverbank changes, the river bends, and the river accelerates or decelerates accordingly. The river is still fast, but you should guide it in a given direction.
Get rid of useless ideas. When you try to predict or imagine the future, you can't help asking, "What if this happens?" This is making a mountain out of a molehill and worrying too much. Worrying about nothing will only make you feel negative and useless. Our view of things will affect the resulting emotions. For example, if you are worried about being late for work, you may tell yourself, "If I am late, I will be scolded by my boss and may lose my job." If you want to control the result, this alarmist idea will make you anxious.
Don't worry too much, think positively. Deduce your own ideas and tell yourself: "If I am late, the boss will be angry, but I can explain to him that the traffic is too heavy, or I can suggest working overtime to make up for the late time."
Set aside a special period of worry. Set aside five minutes at the same time every day to think about your troubles. It is best not to do it before going to bed, and no one wants to sleep with troubles. If you have worried thoughts at other times, keep them first and think about them during the worrying period. Refute one's anxiety. If you are anxious about death, ask yourself the probability of death under certain circumstances. For example, you can investigate the death data of plane crashes, and you will find that you are too worried, and the real situation is often not so scary. Think about the influence of others on yourself. When other people's worries occupy your mind, you will also become nervous. Maybe you have friends who are very worried about getting sick, which will also make you nervous and sick. Try to get along with such people as little as possible and reduce the frequency of worry. Try something you've never done before. We are afraid of the unknown or incomprehensible, so we often refuse to try new things or enter new environments. In order to reduce this bondage, you might as well choose an activity that you have never thought of and make up your mind to try it. Study this activity online first, and talk to the people who have participated in it, so that you will get used to the idea more and more, and then see if you can bravely try it once or twice before making long-term plans.
This way of experiencing new life and new activities can make people focus more on the fun of life, rather than worrying about death and near death. Taking part in new activities will make you know yourself better, especially in the things you can and can't control.
Make a dying plan with family and friends. When you die, you will find that most things are completely out of control. We can't know the exact time or place of death, but we can also make some efforts to deal with death more calmly.
For example, if you are in a coma, how long do you want life support therapy to last? Do you want to die at home or in the hospital? It may be uncomfortable to talk to relatives at first, but if this unfortunate thing happens and you lose your ability to express yourself, the role of conversation will be reflected. This kind of discussion may help you reduce your anxiety about death.
Think about why life and death are part of the same cycle. We should realize that our own life and death, like the life and death of other creatures, are part of the same cycle, that is, the life cycle. Life and death are not completely different things. In fact, life and death always appear at the same time. For example, the cells in our body die and regenerate in various ways in the life cycle, so that human beings can better adapt to the environment and grow continuously. Imagine that your body is a complex ecosystem. As a fertile ecosystem, the body breeds countless creatures, especially after death. When people are alive, there are millions of microorganisms in the digestive system, which help people maintain health, enhance immune function and even help cognition in some ways. Understand the role of the body. From a macro point of view, life exists harmoniously in a unique way, forming a society and community maintained by physical functions and behaviors.
The human body, like other life forms, has similar life mechanisms and substances. Knowing this, you will understand better that anyone can turn without the earth.
* * * with nature. Calm down and walk in the natural environment. You can also go for a walk and get along with other creatures. Participating in such activities can help you further realize that you are also a part of the wider world. Think about what's behind you. Imagine that you will go to Elysium after death, which is also a point that many religions believe in. If you believe in a religion, its belief in the afterlife may comfort you.