Worried about death

[mumtojoe1]

My son is 8 months old now & I don't think I've had or got PND (although I did have a bout of depression a few years ago) but I do get preoccupied about my son dying.
I worry not that something will happen to him in his sleep or he will get ill, as I know lots of mum's do (although obviously I do worry about those a little I am not preoccupied by them). Instead I worry about him getting old and dying. When he was first born I worried about this a lot and thought it was so cruel to bring someone into the world when he will eventually die. But now it is just every now (a couple fo times a month max) but when I do think about it I find it really hard not to get really really upset and struggle to get it out of my head for a while.
My mum died from Pancreatic cancer when I was 20 weeks pregnant and I think I coped remarkably well with it but think it might have something to do with me feeling like this.
Does anyone else worry about this? Is it even a little bit normal?

So one of the closest people in your life died barely more than a year ago and in that time you went through this enormous thing of bringing a new human being into the world...it is quite a brush with mortality and a lot to deal with. We sometimes forget how enormous childbirth is as it is a happy event usually.

It seems quite normal to me how you feel in the sense of nothing to worry about. But if it bothers you maybe get some advice/counselling from cruse?

I think you're normal although I think there must be some people who just go through life blocking out all thoughts of it.

I had an ectopic pregnancy 2 weeks ago and, while it was stressful and sad, I thought I was fine with it and grateful to have got through it relatively unscathed.

Then about a week ago I had the hugest panic attack about just the things you describe. It was a panic attack but, like you, the thoughts wouldn't go away straight away and I got v upset about it for a few days afterwards.

So I guess I'm saying a few things - firstly that you're not totally abnormal. Secondly, I think the thoughts are linked to an event, even if it feels unrelated. Thirdly, the thoughts can fade and you can go back to living your life without them bothering you all the time. However, if they persist, it's definitely worth speaking to a GP about it as it may be some sort of anxiety that you could get help with.

It's always a difficult area, because it is an issue that it's actually quite rational to worry about and nobody can really come along and 'fix' the problem. But it does nobody any good to fixate on it on a day to day basis, so do seek help if it is not improving.