Fear of dying

[dingdongmrs]

Does anyone here have a fear of dying? if so, how do you deal with it?

i have postnatel anxiety, im over the majority of it, but i have been left with this one fear of dropping down dead and leaving my children motherless!!

I dont quite know how to overcome this fear??! i have managed to overcome all my other fears and the anxiety but im left with this one fear that does play on my mind occasionally. granted its worse when i am on my af because of my hormones so maybe this fear will settle down in time like the rest of my anxiety has??

Im not sure how to deal with it, saying that death is going to happen and i have to get used to the idea doesnt help because im not so worried about actually dying, just leaving my kids and dying unexpectantly one day without warning!!

im 27 this year so im not old, im not overweight, im not unhealthy, although i do smoke but have cut down and will quit this year (news years resolution!!) ive got a cold at the moment but thats it. i know deep down imnot dying of any illness although for some reason my anxiety wont let me believe that because i havent asked a doctor to do all tests under the sun to prove it!!

On good days (when imnot on my af) i know im fine and i dont think about it but on bad days i have to try and ignore these feelings of "omg im about to die" and its getting annoying more than anything!!

I can sit here now and laugh at myself for being silly but when the fear strikes i dont feel silly i feel terrified. i dont want to do cbt as i only get 5 hours free on nhs and cant afford to go private so theres no point. i dont want to take meds because ive managed this far and beat most of the anxiety without it. what else can i do??

If you google tips for overcoming the fear of death you get result and result of sites asking for money for the magic cure! theres no real info or tips and dealing with it!

Help!!

Hello. I think you have to look at it like any other phobia and treat it the same way. For many years I had a 'fear' of a specific illness and it was unbearable: lonely, frightening and so hard beause loved ones couldnt understand my irrational fear. At times i could be so convinced that the grim reaper was days away I couldn't eat or sleep- my DH eventually lost patience and told me to get myself tested afro everything i could think of, not understanding that this wasn't an option - i was too paralysed by fear.

Eventually someone suggested CBT and a couple of sessions really helped. It made me realise that the fear was worse than any reality and gave me ways to deal with the fear. Eventually without any anxiety I had a full medical and got past it.

Good luck

Dh has this, he's awaiting for CBT as everytime he gets ill it obviously gets worse!

He tried anti-anxiety drugs but they didn't help him.

5 hours of CBT may actually give you the help you need to learn how to overcome it?

I can remeber thinking like this after I had my DS. It took a while to pass. I had PND and was being treated but some things were still there. And this was one of them things like oh god what happens if Im chaging my DS and I die? or if he is crawling around and I die and he hurts his self? All thses things went around in my head it is a weird stage I must admit. It did pass but i cant remember when it did Im afriad. I worked with a lady once who said the same thing I dont know if its a common thing and linked to PND? And its hard for some mums to admit they feel this way. Good luck it is really hard. I found doing stuff with DS like playing and making sure he was safe as much as I could just in case made me feel a little better. Hope this helps?

Hi everyone! Your posts resonate with me. I wanted to ask you all, how do/did you realise that your fears were irrational?

I'm asking because I recently feel that there is something not right (have always been prone to anxiety). I have a couple of physical symptoms that could point to anything really (think sinus infection), that just will not go away. The doctors can't find anything causing them, and it's driving me demented imagining what it could be. At what point do you decide your fears are irrational (and your 'symptoms' phantom)?

when ever you get the thought that is distressing/annoying ask yourself:
1)What evidence do i have for and against this thought ie. am i ignoring evidence that actually helps me to realize that this thought isn't true
2) Is there an alternative way of thinking about this that is more balenced/rational eg. Everyone dies, if i did die it would be very sad but i know my children would survive and eventually be ok or i'm not unwell at the moment and i want to focus on living in the present - any little counter argument that you can use when the thought pops in your head.
3) Will thinking and worrying about this, change anything? Ummm i suggest that worrying about dying won't prevent you from dying.
4) how likely is it that this will come true some time soon.

5 hours of CBT is not bad and might be enough, maybe worth a go!!

Just some ideas, hope they are helpful
x
PS. Also, i sometimes just say to myself when i get a horrible thought "oh there's that thought again, Hi thought, you're welcome to hang out for a bit, but at the end of the day you're JUST A THOUGHT"
distraction can also be good!!

What is CBT?

Cognitive behavioural therapy - a method of thinking stuff through and modifying your behaviour (and thoughts) using evidence.

You might want to try moodgym: here

It's free CBT.