Almost everyone fears death to some extent, but if it's a fear that hampers your normal behavior or holds you back from doing things you really want to do (unless you really want to gargle lye or something -- it's probably good to hold back from that), it crosses the line into phobia territory.
In a sense, it isn't really a phobia, though. Phobias are irrational fears; fearing death is pretty damned rational, and since it eventually happens to everyone, some unease about it is normal. You can find ways to work through the fear, though. Therapy might help; if you're religious still, you might try talking to your pastor or priest. Philosophers have wrestled with questions of mortality too, so you might try reading something positive.
Loss is never easy to take, but if the fear of loss becomes crippling, you need to find a way to ease those fears even though they are always a possibility. If you live your whole life in fear of death, you don't get to enjoy life much.
Is it normal to fear death this much
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Almost everyone fears death to some extent, but if it's a fear that hampers your normal behavior or holds you back from doing things you really want to do (unless you really want to gargle lye or something -- it's probably good to hold back from that), it crosses the line into phobia territory.
In a sense, it isn't really a phobia, though. Phobias are irrational fears; fearing death is pretty damned rational, and since it eventually happens to everyone, some unease about it is normal. You can find ways to work through the fear, though. Therapy might help; if you're religious still, you might try talking to your pastor or priest. Philosophers have wrestled with questions of mortality too, so you might try reading something positive.
Loss is never easy to take, but if the fear of loss becomes crippling, you need to find a way to ease those fears even though they are always a possibility. If you live your whole life in fear of death, you don't get to enjoy life much.
I wish you luck; thanatophobia is a tough one.