Describe Your Fear
It's like you say in the article--just any kind of focused thinking about my own, personal end. If my imagination and consciousness becomes too focused on it, I start to get this panic-attack type of reaction. When I was a child the idea that death was this far-away thing kept it at bay, though I still got scared if I faced a dangerous situation. As I've aged, it's become more clear and solid that this is something that's actually going to happen someday.
How I'm Coping
You say "other than avoidance", but in a sense that is how I cope. You can't go around focusing on death--you have to focus on living your life. It's a very Zen thing to say, but really, whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Contemplating the how's and when's will only drive you crazy. I think finding a spiritual solution is useful as well--if we fear death because of the unknown, then consider what else is unknown. The chances of a continued existence beyond what we've been told is Life are just as fair. I've always been sort of split on the subject of science vs. faith, and I think there is room enough for both. Avoiding the thought of death entirely may be unhealthy, but if I can learn to accept it, and tell myself that it's not worth the time spent fearing (precious time I could be using in my life) that's something. I'm also a writer and artist, and a lot of my drive for that--besides the joy of creation--is that I like knowing I'm leaving behind evidence of myself, that I'm making a (however small) mark upon the world I know. There's also a little solace to be found in science--we are learning new things every day, about biology, about physics. Maybe by the time I'm 80 years old (more positive thinking) I'll actually have another good 80 ahead of me. Maybe we'll all be able to upload our minds, who knows? Personally I've been telling myself that I want to make a nice, round 100 years old, and we'll go from there. With that goal in mind, I'm just going to live the best I can, and do my best not to give death the time of day.
Advice
- I take an antidepressant which actually has the side-effect of increasing anxiety. In the past year my insurance had forced me to take a different generic brand, which required me to take it in two doses, one in the morning, one in the evening. What my doctor and I discovered was that taking a dose just before bed was amplifying my fears--because it was mostly lying there in the dark, especially if I woke up in the early hours of the morning, that I got myself locked into these dreading thoughts. Since I stopped taking the nighttime dose, I have not been having the panic attacks related to thanatophobia.
