CHAPTER 7
DEATH ANXIETY
Death anxiety: A person’s anxiety or fear of death and dying.
Death anxiety could also include anxiety about of the death of other significant
persons such as family members.
Although death often brings release from physical and emotional pain and most
people believe that the spirit or soul is immortal with the result that the afterlife is
without pain or sorrow, the large majority still fear it intensely.
Reasons people fear death:
Fear of physical suffering.
The fear of terminal illnesses such as cancer is especially prominent.
The pain and even the removal of parts of their bodies (e.g. limbs and
breasts) that are associated with these illnesses are overwhelming.
Dependency and loss of control that are often associated with illnesses
and other forms of deterioration may also result in fear.
Fear of isolation and loneliness.
People often act strangely and unnaturally towards dying persons
because they do not know how to handle the situation.
o This could cause the dying person to feel 'different.
Some people fear they will be isolated and die alone.
Fear of non-being.
It is alleged that human beings are the only creatures on earth who live
with the constant awareness that they will die someday.
This knowledge of our ultimate non-being can lead to intense anxiety.
Fear of cowardice and humiliation.
Many people fear that they will become cowards in the face of death.
The result is that a fear of fear itself can develop.
Fear of failing to achieve important goals.
Some people define the length of their lives not in terms of years, but
rather in terms of accomplishments.
o People may fear death because it will deprive them of achievement.
Fear of the effect of death on those who outlive you.
, Many people fear the financial, psychological, and emotional effects that
their death may have on their loved ones and other survivors.
Fear of punishment or of the unknown.
Some religions preach that sinners are doomed after death and, for
example, will burn in Hell forever.
o The fear that they may fall into this category evokes intense fear of
death in many people, even those who are deeply religious.
Religion can also have the opposite effect in that many people find that
their faith significantly reduces their fear of death.
Fear of the death of others.
Many people are also afraid that they may lose a loved one and that they
therefore have to experience psychological suffering, especially
loneliness.
Financial and caregiving concerns also play an important role
Thanatophobia: An abnormal and excessive fear of death and dying.
o This could consume one’s thinking and behaviour to such an extent that it
becomes difficult to engage in normal daily activities with any pleasure.
Several factors determine the occurrence and intensity of death anxiety.
Age.
Young adults avoid thinking about death, there are times when they are
most afraid that they may die too soon - before they can live out their
dreams.
o Eg. When taken ill or when seriously injured in an accident.
During middle adulthood, the fear of dying mostly centres around the
effect that their possible death might have on their family members.
People in late adulthood are less anxious about death than individuals in
middle adulthood are, with young adults falling somewhere in between.
o Older adults have reduced emotional reactivity and a better ability to
manage their emotional states.
o Their grief reactions are shorter-lived and less intense.
o Emotional reactivity declines in late life because of a variety of factors:
Biological reduction in autonomic arousal.
Better adjustment to emotional life events.
Adherence to cultural norms that the elderly should not be too
emotional.
Shifts in the relative value of emotion vs. cognition in late life.
DEATH ANXIETY
Death anxiety: A person’s anxiety or fear of death and dying.
Death anxiety could also include anxiety about of the death of other significant
persons such as family members.
Although death often brings release from physical and emotional pain and most
people believe that the spirit or soul is immortal with the result that the afterlife is
without pain or sorrow, the large majority still fear it intensely.
Reasons people fear death:
Fear of physical suffering.
The fear of terminal illnesses such as cancer is especially prominent.
The pain and even the removal of parts of their bodies (e.g. limbs and
breasts) that are associated with these illnesses are overwhelming.
Dependency and loss of control that are often associated with illnesses
and other forms of deterioration may also result in fear.
Fear of isolation and loneliness.
People often act strangely and unnaturally towards dying persons
because they do not know how to handle the situation.
o This could cause the dying person to feel 'different.
Some people fear they will be isolated and die alone.
Fear of non-being.
It is alleged that human beings are the only creatures on earth who live
with the constant awareness that they will die someday.
This knowledge of our ultimate non-being can lead to intense anxiety.
Fear of cowardice and humiliation.
Many people fear that they will become cowards in the face of death.
The result is that a fear of fear itself can develop.
Fear of failing to achieve important goals.
Some people define the length of their lives not in terms of years, but
rather in terms of accomplishments.
o People may fear death because it will deprive them of achievement.
Fear of the effect of death on those who outlive you.
, Many people fear the financial, psychological, and emotional effects that
their death may have on their loved ones and other survivors.
Fear of punishment or of the unknown.
Some religions preach that sinners are doomed after death and, for
example, will burn in Hell forever.
o The fear that they may fall into this category evokes intense fear of
death in many people, even those who are deeply religious.
Religion can also have the opposite effect in that many people find that
their faith significantly reduces their fear of death.
Fear of the death of others.
Many people are also afraid that they may lose a loved one and that they
therefore have to experience psychological suffering, especially
loneliness.
Financial and caregiving concerns also play an important role
Thanatophobia: An abnormal and excessive fear of death and dying.
o This could consume one’s thinking and behaviour to such an extent that it
becomes difficult to engage in normal daily activities with any pleasure.
Several factors determine the occurrence and intensity of death anxiety.
Age.
Young adults avoid thinking about death, there are times when they are
most afraid that they may die too soon - before they can live out their
dreams.
o Eg. When taken ill or when seriously injured in an accident.
During middle adulthood, the fear of dying mostly centres around the
effect that their possible death might have on their family members.
People in late adulthood are less anxious about death than individuals in
middle adulthood are, with young adults falling somewhere in between.
o Older adults have reduced emotional reactivity and a better ability to
manage their emotional states.
o Their grief reactions are shorter-lived and less intense.
o Emotional reactivity declines in late life because of a variety of factors:
Biological reduction in autonomic arousal.
Better adjustment to emotional life events.
Adherence to cultural norms that the elderly should not be too
emotional.
Shifts in the relative value of emotion vs. cognition in late life.
