Fear of death. What should I do?

I have had a fear of dying since I was ten... and I'm not sure how to accept that I'll die someday. any advice?

Existential therapy is all about dealing with this kind of fear. Fear of dying, fear of living, fear of being forgotten. I doubt that there is a short or simple answer, but you can know that you are not alone since so many people have the same fear that there is an entire branch of theory and philosophy that deals with it.

Solutions could include finding the root of the problem (what happened when you were ten that triggered your fear of dying?) and attempting to resolve it, or finding a spiritual or religious answer that helps you to accept it, or finding a way to make your life more meaningful, and many more too.

Some information on Existential therapy:
http://home.earthlink.net/~andyda/ps.../keyexist.html

Ask yourself how would be living, what would you be doing if you knew you were going to die today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year? Then make yourself a list and start doing all those things. You'll be so busy living and enjoying yourself you won't have much time to dwell on the "I'm gonna die" thoughts. Also remember you won't be alone or unique, all human beings will die and most will eventually - after all their friends and family are dead - will be forgotten. So join the club and live your life the way you want to until you die.

Thanks everybody.

Or you could ask yourself, if life went on forever with no end, would it have value???????

I thought Pomegranate's suggestion was right on. From time to time I'll notice that I'm not dead yet so I still have some options available. Then I pick the most attractive of those and see if I can get some use out of them.

Hey Bri,

I think it's normal for people, especially someone as young as you, to feel this way. Hell, my husband felt this way when I married him and he was 58 then!

At some point in our lives, each of us realize that we are mere mortals and it is part of human nature to die. We each explore and decide on a way to deal with it.

Good luck on your journey.

Hi Bri, it's me again,

I have something on my shelf which I forgot about. You might find it interesting.

James VanPraagh wrote a book titled Looking Beyond: A Teen's Guide to the Spiritual World. He talks about what lies beyond death and what he has learned in his contact with spirits that have crossed over after they have died.

I am a great believer in life after death. I am sorry if I seemed insensitive to your fears. I can imagine that it was not fun to feel afraid of dying when you were ten. When I was ten, I was having nightmares because I was trapped in a dysfunctional family so the nightmares were desperate dreams where I was in danger and couldn't help myself. So I can imagine how afraid you were.

This book can be ordered on Amazon and is not expensive. I really, REALLY like James VanPraagh and have also read a lot of Sylvia Browne's stuff, too.

Another thing that might help you......find out statistics on life expectancies. Sometimes, when you have fears, statistics are a good thing to have on hand to help you fight those fears.

Bri ,
Is it a fear of dying or how you are going to get there ?
That's what it is for me . I KNOW I will die .
It's the UNKNOWN I sometimes fear.

At some point we will all come to it. i just wish i could give myself the strength to do it. It is not what anyone should do. Find a reason day to day to ennoy one thing. That is what i do.