Death anxiety

Death anxiety
Other namesThanatophobia
An illustration from La Fontaine's fable "La Mort et le Mourant" depicting the Grim Reaper
SpecialtyClinical psychology, psychiatry

Death anxiety is anxiety caused by thoughts of one's own death, and is also known as thanatophobia (fear of death).[1] This anxiety can significantly impact various aspects of a person's life.[2] Death anxiety is different from necrophobia, which refers to an irrational or disproportionate fear of dead bodies or of anything associated with death.[3] Death anxiety has been found to affect people of differing demographic groups as well, such as men versus women, and married versus non-married.[4] The sociological and psychological consensus is that death anxiety is universally present across all societies, but different cultures manifest aspects of death anxiety in differing ways and degrees.[5]

Death anxiety is particularly prevalent in individuals who experience terminal illnesses without a medical curable treatment, such as advanced cancer.[6]

Researchers have linked death anxiety with several mental-health conditions, as it often acts as a fundamental fear that underlies many mental health disorders.[7] Common therapies that have been used to treat death anxiety include Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, meaning-centered therapies, and mindfulness-based approaches.[8]

  1. ^ "Definition of thanatophobia". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  2. ^ "Thanatophobia (Fear of Death)". my.clevelandclinic.org.
  3. ^ "Definition of necrophobia". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  4. ^ Soleimani, Mohammad Ali; Bahrami, Nasim; Allen, Kelly-Ann; Alimoradi, Zainab (October 2020). "Death anxiety in patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis". European Journal of Oncology Nursing. 48: 101803. doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2020.101803. hdl:11343/273547. ISSN 1462-3889. PMID 32836000.
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  8. ^ Menzies, Rachel E.; Zuccala, Matteo; Sharpe, Louise; Dar-Nimrod, Ilan (2018). "The effects of psychosocial interventions on death anxiety: A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomised controlled trials". Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 59: 64–73. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.09.004. ISSN 0887-6185. PMID 30308474. S2CID 52965504.
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