Tanatophobia - what is the fear of a person?

Thanatophobia is a fear of dying. Refers to the number most common phobias in psychological and psychiatric practice.

When such a pathological condition occurs, a person has a panic fear of death.

A phobia has a very negative effect on the psyche and can provoke effectswhich will, indeed, be life threatening.

Tanatophobia has characteristic symptoms. With the appearance of its signs it is necessary to hold as soon as possible. special correction.

What is the name of?

What is tanatophobia in psychology? Tanatophobia is a pathological condition, accompanied by uncontrollable fear of sudden death.

A phobic attack manifests itself in a panic attack or in the form of severe anxiety.

Fear can be completely unfounded. The occurrence of symptoms of a phobic state occurs in the form of attacks of different duration or in a chronic form.

If anxiety is constantly accompanied by a person, then there are additional complications in the form of nightmares, tantrums and the strongest psycho-emotional disorders.

What is expressed?

The manifestations of the syndrome of thanatophobia can be different. The intensity of the symptoms depends on numerous factors. In some cases, anxiety attacks are sudden and short-lived, but sometimes provoke panic attack maybe even the slightest irritant.

For example, a view of a grave, a funeral wreath, a gravestone, viewing of a plot of a film or reporting of mass media. Physiological symptoms join psychoemotional deviations, and it becomes impossible to cope with obsessive thoughts with one's own strength.

Panic attack can provoke following factors:

The news of the death of any person or animal (relative, pet with friends, a famous artist or a stranger).
View stories that imply or show death (news, movies, commercials, etc.).
Obtaining information related to death from printed sources (newspapers, magazines, the Internet).
Attacks can be unreasonable and occur without annoying factors.

Probable causes

Factors provoking tanathobia can form at the subconscious level person Specialists in this case it is difficult to identify the specific causes of the panic fear of death.

To some extent, most people are prone to fear of death, but only if there are certain signs, such fears are considered a phobia.

The most common cause of thanatophobia is specific situation, which provoked psycho-emotional disorder in humans.

Possible causes of thanatophobia There may be the following factors:

genetic predisposition (most types of phobias are transmitted at the genetic level);
emotional disorders provoked by the death of a loved one;
fear of the unknown (as a psychoemotional deviation);
fear of leaving children unprotected as a result of their own death;
excessive susceptibility (as a character trait);
religious fanaticism (there are known cases of imposition of the cult of death by sects);
neurotic overcontrol (the desire to control everything and the fear of not controlling death);
fear of own helplessness as a result of a disease (for example, paralysis);
features of professional activity (guards, military personnel, police officers, etc.);
experienced military actions or terrorist acts.

Why are people afraid to die? Opinion of the psychologist and international psychotherapist:

Phobic Variations

Thanatophobia can be caused by a specific fear or occur for unknown reasons.

Some tanatophobes are afraid of certain events that can trigger a fatal outcome, but in most cases they cannot explain what provokes a panic attack and waiting for death.

Experts identify in separate group some variations of this phobia. The main forms of tanathobia:

fear of sudden death;
fear of "life after death";
fear of a fatal disease;
fear of painful death.

The difference in fear of own death and the death of loved ones

Fear of own death and the death of loved ones have similar causes, but the manifestation of phobias will be different.

In the first case, the person himself becomes the object of fear, in the second - relatives, friends or acquaintances.

In anticipation of his own death, a tanatofob tries to avoid people, diagnoses himself in fatal diseases, and perceives situations from everyday life as a potential danger to his life.

Special features fear of death of loved ones:

Tanatofob tries to control every step of a loved one, constantly telling him about the potential threat to life (in some cases, fears may not be voiced).
People who have experienced a large number of deaths in their environment are prone to this form of phobia.
In most cases, the fear of the death of loved ones arises from mothers or fathers who raise their children alone (fear of leaving the child without protection).
In children, the fear of the death of parents may arise, and if they become overly dependent on them (the phobia may persist throughout life, the fear of losing parents will spread to other people in the environment).

At what age is there a certain risk of occurrence?

Fear of death can occur regardless of age group, but people are in a special risk group after the age of thirty.

In psychiatric practice, two periods are distinguished, during which the likelihood of developing tanathobia increases. middle age and midlife.

People of this age category are prone to the awareness of the past period of time.

They are beginning to be disturbed by regrets about unfulfilled plans, the fear of their own lack of realization and the approaching old age.

If a person is prone to mental disorders or has excessive impressionabilitythen the phobia will develop at a rapid pace.

Do I need to fear death? The answer in this video is:

How does it manifest itself?

Tanatophobia can have temporary or permanent. In the first case, the fear of death can be triggered by specific factors and be a natural reaction of the psyche (for example, the death of a loved one).

With the constant manifestation of a phobia, a person cannot get rid of obsessive ideas and anxiety about his sudden death (or other people). Thanatophobia is manifested by certain symptoms, regardless of the provoking factor.

TO symptoms of thanatophobia include the following states:

addiction to delusional thoughts;
constant nervous excitement;
sudden panic attacks;
mental disorders;
anxiety and worry;
sleep disturbance and insomnia;
excessive susceptibility;
bouts of causeless dyspnea;
tremor and pallor of the limbs;
nightmares (on the topic of death);
fear at the sight of gravestones and funeral paraphernalia.

Pathology or self-preservation instinct - where is the line?

The fear of death is a natural manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation, common to most people. The natural reaction of the psyche to the fear of death is in the diagnosis of certain diseases or in situations that are potentially life-threatening.

If anxiety is caused by a specific factor, then this state is not considered a deviation from the norm. If unreasonable fear persists for several months, there is a risk that a person has tanathobia.

Alarms indicative of thanatophobia are the following states:

unreasonable fear of death (own or someone from close people);
obsessive states associated with potential death;
behavioral abnormalities, accompanied by the fear of death.

What is tanatofobiya and how to get rid of it? Find out from the video:

Special features

The causes and manifestations of tanathobia can differ depending on the factors that provoked the fear of death.

For example, bouts of some diseases can have a negative effect on the psyche and provoke a phobia.

In children Phobic states arise under the influence of the environment in which they are brought up and specific events. In some cases, tanatophobia is a consequence of the progression of other phobias and mental disorders.

Features of the fear of death in the presence of various factors:

When the IRR (Vegetative-vascular dystonia is among the diseases that in most cases cause tanatophobia; during a hypertensive crisis the patient experiences a strong emotional shock, this condition can become regular and turn into a phobia).
In a dream (in this case, tanatophobia can be combined with hypnophobia or fear of sleep, such a phobic condition leads to a sharp deterioration in the patient's health and failure in biological rhythms, sleep disorders are critical, a person tries not to sleep, waiting for an indispensable death).
In young age (Many factors can provoke the fear of dying young, including experienced situations that created a threat to life; thirty-year-old people with overly impressionable thinking are in a special risk group).
In children (Fear of death in children is always a consequence of the impact on the psyche of negative factors and a signal indicating the progression of mental disorders, children at risk who are brought up in an incomplete family, adverse conditions or an overly sensitive nervous system).

Is the complete lack of fear of dying the norm?

Lack of fear of death is the main sign of violation of the instinct of self-preservation.

This condition is not the norm, but in some cases it is caused by the influence of specific factors.

For example, lack of fear of death is most often manifested. in childhood.

In children, this feature is due to the insignificant life experience and ignorance of danger. In some children, the instinct of self-preservation occurs at the level of the subconscious, in others, it develops with age.

Pathological condition lack of fear is subject to the following factors:

the person is not trying to protect himself at the time of the threat to life;
lack of fear of death disrupts thinking;
dangerous situations are perceived with excitement or excessive indifference.

Thanatophobia can dramatically change the quality of life. The consequences of phobias can be problems in relations with relatives and friends, loss of work, social maladjustment, and a tendency to somatic and psychosomatic diseases.

If there are some complications, death will cease to be fear and will happen in reality.

Very afraid to die. What are people dying from? Statistics of deaths and causes of death: