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The Taboo of Death

Written by tragic.sense — March 4, 2021

Fear of dying is normal in healthy individuals. Excessive fear of death (thanatophobia) may show as symptoms of anxiety, panic, dizziness, sweating, heart palpitations or irregular heartbeats, nausea, stomach pain, sensitivity to hot or cold temperatures.

Causes for thanatophobia vary:

  • Fear of pain and suffering
  • Fear of cessation of consciousness and non-existence
  • Fear of the unknown
  • Fear of loss of control
  • Fear of illness and associated pain
  • Fear of loss of dignity
  • Fear of abandoning relatives
  • Related fears (of seeing blood, graveyards, funerals)

Treatments encompass counseling, cognitive-behavioral or psychoanalytic treatment, even short term medication.

Recommended reading:

  • psychologytoday.com: Facts to Calm Your Fear of Death and Dying
  • Ralph Lewis, Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even If The Universe Doesn’t. 2018.

This article is under the CC-0 license.

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