What is the Fear of Death?
Funeral planning is an important part of life that many people put off until the last minute. As a result, many people do not have a proper funeral plan when they die. It is important to start this process while you are still alive and well, to ensure that your loved ones are cared for after your death.
This article will not cover the steps to create a memorable funeral. What concerns us in this blog is the fear of death, a fear that does not allow us to plan the end of our life, leave things in order, and facilitate decision-making for our relatives.
Fear of death is part of the more general "fear" family of emotions. Fear is an emotional response to a present or future situation that involves an element of perceived risk, real or not, and the desire to avoid or control it in order to survive.
"Despite popular belief, death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies within us while we live." — Norman Cousins.
What defines the fear of death?
When they consider the fear of death, most people are overwhelmed by its inevitability. They imagine all their loved ones dying one day and then themselves. But what if we could look at the fear of death from a different perspective? A study claims to have discovered the underlying cause of this universal sensation.
Death is not something most people want to talk about, but it is a real part of life. Every day, life on Earth ends for between 100 and 200 species members.
A new study has found that fear of death is universal to all human beings. However, what is interesting about this finding is how two very different groups — scientists and Tibetan Buddhists — came to the same conclusion.
The study was published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research was led by Dr. Fadel Zeidan, associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy at Wake Forest School of Medicine and a member of the university's research team.
Using fMRI scans (functional magnetic resonance imaging scan), Dr. Fadel Zeidan discovered that the fear of death is a real thing. His research indicates that the brain reacts to thoughts of death the same way it reacts to physical pain. This means that the experience of fearing death is not only psychological but has deep biological roots.
He has found that people in the final stages of life experience a flurry of brain activity as their minds try to figure something out. In his opinion, this burst of brain activity is not a sign that the patient is conscious or has come back to life, but rather a sign that the mind is preparing for death and helping the body shut it down.
You know what they say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” but that doesn't mean you have to be strong all the time. You can still be weak and scared and still get through this.
If you are afraid of death and want to feel more comfortable with it, focus on your achievements, enjoy the little things in life, and surround yourself with your loved ones. Don't be afraid to start planning a funeral, as this will help things go better when you're not around. Don't live in fear of what happens after death: embrace your life now!
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