How to Get Over Your Fear of Death

               How to Get Over Your Fear of Death

                  Death is a normal, necessary fact of life.  But that doesn't make it any less scary.  Generally, being human is to enjoy being alive, even with the pain and suffering that brings.  The one guarantee is that we will all die.  And for many people, there’s a deep fear associated with mortality.

This fear begins in early childhood when the child first faces the notion of himself – and usually, his parents – not existing.  Everyone knows that fear often feels worse than its object.  Feeling nervous about death can ruin a whole lifetime, while death itself might take only a moment.

It’s important to face mortality so that living becomes more enjoyable and less plagued by worry, regret and fear.  Getting over your fear of death is as simple as accepting that it will happen and guiding yourself to adopt ways that embrace life as it is.

Find Meaning

The fact is, death will happen to you.  So the task is to find meaning in your everyday life.  Some people find it very reassuring to believe in an afterlife, where they will meet their departed family members and loved ones again.  Also, adopting a faith can affect the motivations behind your actions.  You might start to consider that you exist for the whole of humanity, not only for yourself.  When you think of all the good you can do during a lifetime, death loses a bit of its sting.

Find Solace in Others

You are part of a whole world of people who, like you, will die someday.  Everyone is moving over to make room for others that are waiting to be born.  Some people find it helpful to picture it as giving other people their turn to live.  If nobody died, there wouldn’t be any room left on earth!  As well, imagine all the people who have gone before you, bravely facing illness, accident, sudden death, or death from old age.  If they can do it – so can you.

Spend Time with the Dying

Many people who volunteer in a hospice or palliative care setting possess a kind of tranquility when it comes to the notion of death.  They are used to seeing people through the passage of death, holding someone’s hand or feeding them that last bit of food. Once you have encountered death in all its phases, it becomes less mysterious, challenging and frightening.  Rather, it becomes just another part of life.  Many dying people crave compassion, comfort and help.  There are plenty of ways to become trained and to volunteer in a setting where death is commonplace.  It takes the sting out of what is quite a natural process.

Live Fully

Many people who feel desperately afraid of dying are somehow failing to live life to its fullest.  Maybe there is some potential that needs to be met, or some old dreams that could be attended to.  Breathe fresh air into your life; go about in a spirit of wonder, enjoying what you have.  When you accept that your physical existence is temporary, you’ll realize it makes a lot of sense to live a good life doing the things you want to do and serving the people you love.