Once we accept that our days are numbered, we can relax and just take it all in. The realization that we have just one life means that we can live it any way we please. And we're sure the heck not going to spend it worrying, arguing and fretting, because - well, we're going to die anyway.
Death is an unavoidable part of the cycle of life, yet many of us do everything we can to avoid accepting our mortality. But coming to terms with the inevitability of death can help teach us to live more fully in the here and now.
It provides us context on the preciousness of life and what really matters. Knowing that our story is finite brings a richness to life. When we learn to embrace the reality of death, we choose to live differently. Some people act like they'll live forever, always assuming they'll have one more day.
Advances in health care make death more difficult to accept than ever before. Death is no longer an inevitable reality for many, the end point of having been born. Death is viewed as a defeat, and anything less than heroic measures to keep someone breathing is considered a failure to treat fully.
People experience a variety of different emotions when in mourning, and it's okay to feel whatever you feel. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. It is important to grieve so that you can accept death and move forward with your life in the present. As time passes, your feelings of grief will become less intense.
Accepting death comes with time, patience, and understanding the feelings you're experiencing aren't permanent. It also involves accepting the fact that things won't be exactly as they were before your loved one died; it's okay to adapt and move forward.
Thanatophobia is an intense fear of death or the dying process. While it's natural to feel anxious about death from time to time, thanatophobia is an anxiety disorder that can disrupt every aspect of your life.
Older people tend to fear death less.
But interestingly, older age is associated with more acceptance of death. This could be because older people have experienced more of life, so they have less fear of missing out. Or it might be because they have more experience with witnessing and handling the death of others.
It might just mean that you process grief differently than others. And that's perfectly normal. There are many different ways to grieve, and not all of them involve crying. Just because you don't cry doesn't mean you're not grieving or that you don't care about the person who died.
In nature, death is a returning of nutrients to be remade into new life. Spring flowers will emerge where the turtle died to nourish bees, deer and other animals. We think of autumn as a time of harvest and brilliant color, a time when we can start to read more books and slow down and not feel so guilty doing so.
Life after death centred on a passionate belief that just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives forever, so will the righteous be raised and live forever with the risen Christ. Belief in this is an essential part of the Christian faith.
Death is a natural part of life, and it's normal to think about it from time to time. But it's very common for people experiencing mental illness to think about death more than usual.
Talking therapies, behaviour therapies, and medication can help a person overcome their death anxiety. Some of the common therapies for fear of death include: Psychotherapy: Talking about your thoughts, feelings, and fears with a mental health professional can help you get to the root cause of the phobia.
About The Book
How to Face Death without Fear has been compiled from years of Rinpoche's teachings and has been lovingly edited by Venerable Robina Courtin. Rinpoche provides detailed advice on how to help your loved ones prepare for the end of their life with courage, acceptance, and a mind free of fear.
Existential death anxiety is the belief that everything ceases after death; nothing continues on in any sense. Seeing how people deeply fear such an absolute elimination of the self, they begin to gravitate toward religion which offers an escape from such a fate.
Experienced Business Coach and Digital… Surprisingly, the fear of public speaking ranks in the number one spot of all fears, higher even than death, which takes the second spot on the list of top ten fears.
“Our greatest fear is that when we die we will become nothing. Many of us believe that our entire existence is only a life span beginning the moment we are born or conceived and ending the moment we die. We believe that we are born from nothing and when we die we become nothing.
However, to be anxious about one's demise, ultimately, is to fear life in itself as one cannot separate one from the other. Existential theorists would argue that at the root of all anxiety is ultimately a fear of death.
The seven emotional stages of grief are usually understood to be shock or disbelief, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, and acceptance/hope. Symptoms of grief can be emotional, physical, social, or religious in nature.
The five stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – are often talked about as if they happen in order, moving from one stage to the other. You might hear people say things like 'Oh I've moved on from denial and now I think I'm entering the angry stage'.
The fear of dying is quite common, and most people feel that death is scary to varying degrees. To what extent that fear occurs and what it pertains to specifically varies from one person to another. While some fear is healthy because it makes us more cautious, some people may also have an unhealthy fear of dying.
Focus on What You Can Control
Meditation and breathing techniques can help quieten those intrusive thoughts about mortality and bring you peace. So focus on your health – make healthy choices so you can live longer naturally. Listen to your body. Get enough sleep.