Fear of Dying?!?!?

Question

I have the absolute worst fear of dying and I want to know if anyone shares this with me...I actually wake up in cold sweats and hyperventilating. I have been like this since I was about 7 years old and since I've had kids it has gotten a 1000x worse. It is affecting my life and I don't know what to do...is there anyone else out there???

Answer 1

I have never feared death, even as a child, I just accepted its part of life. I have been at deaths door a couple of times. I think what most people fear is not death itself, it is what happens after. If you put your trust in God, you will not fear death or anything for that matter. Remember death is not the end, it is the beginning of life eternal.

Answer 2

I used to have that fear but not to that extent.
When a friend of mine lost her husband and was left with 3 little kids, that made me scared.
When my dad died at 52 I was scared the whole year I turned 52.
My mother died. By then I was a more spiritually stable person, probably because I had taken care of her for 9 years and watched her go slowly downhill.
During that time I think my whole outlook on life slowly changed.
I do fear dying because I will not be here with my family any more, and I do not know what is coming. I do accept the fact that I will die.
I answered your question about church and I think that would definitely help you.
You could join a group that talks about that or get one formed, there are probably a lot of people that have your same fears.
Knowing that God is looking out for you helps, too.

Answer 3

I have had this myself. While it is a spiritual thing, because we are not separate from our spirits, it can be treated by treating our minds(souls). We are body, mind(soul) and spirit. So your question is appropriate here but not completely answered here.

Of course prayer is the first and spiritual step. If you are a Christian, you know, as we all know, that to die is not death but life with Jesus, who is our God and in Heaven with the Father. But some of us still "sweat it out."

My own irrational fear of dying, some fear is rational, came from what is called "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Having this intense fear goes back to when I was 8 years old. It only grew worse as I had my daughter. Your symptoms are similar to mine. I have many more symptoms than these though.

Through much therapy, I no longer have these nightmares. I still have what is called anxiety dreams (dreams of stressful situations that don't wake me up) but no longer wake up in an intense state of stress.

You may want to look for some help in the area of psychotherapy.

I pray you do well.

Yours in Christ Jesus, Grace

Answer 4

my sister is affected by this very much
she has panic attacks if she feels anything is wrong with her
and has to feel her pulse each day in reassurance
it has in many ways taken over her life
and she is creating illnesses that aren't there and even giving herself some she didn't have
which is strange since she wants to live so much
but these fears are never logical
she has been going to therapy
but she knows that she must do a lot of work to get through this
she tries to speak to herself when she has these attacks that she is not ill , that it is in her mind etc
reassuring herself that all is well

and yes having kids does trigger this
we naturally worry that we will survive long enough to see our kids grow , to take care of them etc
that part is natural
but it is how far we let this fear take over
we need to control it
there isn't a mother I know who doesn't fear this to be honest
so dont be so hard on yourself
but find that control xxx

Answer 5

I think the majority of people out there do not fear death. We all know it's a part of the life cycle, it's inevitable, so fearing it makes no sense. Instead, I do think the vast majority of people fear, "dying." The difference being, we all know we are going to eventually stop breathing. What we don't know is the "how" of it. Will we die peacefully & painlessly in our sleep? Will it be violent? Will it be a long and painfully drawn out process? Or will it be sudden - like being hit by a bus? Not knowing the "how" can and often does generate fear. A classic case of fear of the unknown. But...

In your case, given what you have described in your post, your fear is firmly planted in the "morbid phobia" arena. Given that there is a clear date when this started, my felt sense tells me that perhaps this morbid phobia is associated with an event from a past life. Perhaps in your most recent past life, you died violently at the age of 7. If that is the case, it is not at all surprising to me that you would bring the "feeling" of that memory into your current life. Add to it having had children in the present and that fear increases exponentially due to this fear being transfered to the lives of your children. You fear that they might die at a young age.

My humble opinion is, you should seek the help of a good therapist who works in past life regression. If the incident did not occur in a past life - doesn't matter. You will discover what indeed did happen at age 7 that created this fear. If nothing did happen in your current lifetime at the age of 7, the therapist will move you further back until you discover the source of the fear. From there, the therapist will help you through it so that it no longer impacts your life in the now.

Having done past life regression myself, I know how valuable it is. It quite frankly changed my life. In my case, it was a morbid fear of insects dating back to the Nazi death camps.

Answer 6

that suggestion to go counseling is the best...and i can also add, enjoy your life more and stop focusing on dying, u probably have bad experience with death...when someone u know dies, go to their funeral..and u will realize that dying is not that bad...that is when we stop existing in this dimension. I will not impose to you my belief, of the after life, but even there's no after life...life here in earth as we know it stops when we die. Remember when u sleep. if you dont have nightmares and its just regular calm sleep...thats exactly how death is, only its more permanent. I see people die at least once a week or 2 x a month and with the suffering they go through..as hard as it may seem to accept, and how heavy it feel in my chest, i feel better for them. Yeah go for counseling to find out the root cause of that fear. Take good care of yourself. Life is too short. You will enjoy it when u stop preoccupying on the fact that it will end. of course it will end sometime but on your way there...skip, dance, run and sing.

Answer 7

I share a similar fear. Pretty much because of the concept of forever. For me a near death experience helped me get over it a tad.
Think about it. Everyone has to die, it's a apart of life.

Answer 8

When I was a kid I used to suffer from that too. One of my loved ones is going through the stage that he thinks he is dying. All the test results come back normal but he has the symptoms and he has convinced himself that he is dying.

Well, we all are. We all will die with 100% odds. Try to seek help and talk to someone who can talk this thing over with you. We have so much to enjoy here. Enjoy today the best you can. : )

Answer 9

Face it everyone will die it is part of the natural order of things I know it can be depressing but rather than focus on the end of life why not go out and experience life

Answer 10

What I'm really afraid of is the suffering you have to go through in the process of dying and knowing at that time that you are dying.
May God grant us peace and relieve our fears!