r/thanatophobia

I want to preface this by saying I’m not suicidal. However, one of my anxiety triggers is what if I get so mentally unwell that I become su*cidal or off myself? I don’t know why this thought makes me anxious, because I don’t really have a fear of dying or getting ill (well maybe a normal amount of fear). There’s no real reason why I think this might happen, except for me having problems with anxiety, and the worry that I will get so bad and that nothing will help and that this would be my only way out. Has anyone else experienced this and how did you get past it?

I’m 26 and he’s 35. We’re still in the early stages of our relationship. Sometimes when we’re together he seems okay, but once we both go home, I see him posting on Twitter or Instagram about his mental illness and how he wants to end his life.
And this gives me really intense anxiety. I know—I’ve learned that I can’t make someone else better or “fix” them. At the same time, I thought this part of me, this idea that it’s my mission to save everyone, was over—that I had healed from it.
But today I saw again that he said something about ending his life, or just that he wants to die, like passive suicidal ideation, and I got really anxious. I was at a party and it basically ruined the whole night for me.
I don’t know what to do. If anyone sees this and has been in a similar situation, please help me.

Anyone felt something dying inside of them..also emptiness in gut...After a break up..what is that...and how to overcome it...

I'm irationally scared of death, would rather go to hell then just have no concious. I know it's inevitable and i've made bad life choices but i just feel like it's useless to live life if I know it will come to an end. It's not even that i know life has an end, i don't know when, or how and I would rather not know then do but it's terrifying to know i could die tomorrow if i'm not carefull. Please if someone has made piece with death i beg you to tell me how.

Es la primera vez que comparto algo en reddit de este estilo, estaba el domingo por la noche jugando con mi teléfono y viendo videos en mi televisor de fondo, el caso es que entre tantos vídeos que vi, uno era sobre el primer día de tu muerte, en líneas generales solo era un video educativo que hablaba sobre lo que le pasaba al cuerpo después de morir, sin embargo no sé si fue por qué en la noche sueño reflexionar y sobrepensar muchas cosas, que me puse a pensar en mi muerte, siempre supe que algún moriría, como todos, que la muerte es algo natural y que tarde o temprano, de alguna manera y otra nos termina llegando a todos, pero simplemente me derrumbe, vino mi madre a consolarme y tuvo que darme médicamente para poder tranquilizarme, y es que me di cuenta de que todo lo que veía, tocaba, olía, en pocas palabras, sentir estar vivo, se acabaría algún día ( actualmente tengo 21 años) se que no es algo en mi control, se que no tiene sentido pensar en eso, que debo disfrutar mi vida y precisamente por qué se acaba es que debo aprovecharla al máxima, cada día, todos los consejos lógicos que se te ocurran los tengo presente, he hablado con amigos, mi madre ( solo tengo a mi madre ya que mi padre se fue antes de nacer) mis tíos, todos son gente que en líneas generales saben más de la vida que yo, y por tanto pedirles consejo, y aún con todo eso, me siento triste, ya no puedo salir a caminar escuchando música o jugar videojuegos con mis amigos tan feliz como siempre hago, simplemente me derrumba pensar que algún día, aunque aun falte muchísimo, algún día, inevitablemente se acabará y no sé qué será de mi, de mi ser, de mis preciados recuerdos, que ya no estare más y no podré seguir disfrutando de estar vivo como lo estoy ahora, se que el único que puede salir de esto soy yo mismo, pero me encantaría ver qué opinan ustedes, y por favor sean honestos, incluso si suena cruel, prefiero eso, ya tengo cita con un psicólogo para hacer terapia la semana que viene pero entre eso he pensado en publicar esto, muchísimas gracias por leer y de todo corazón espero ver qué piensan

it is very difficult for me to look at buildings, people, animals and relatives, knowing that all of this will not exist in a few decades. it's like everything around me is triggering and rotting. old games, posts, dates, historical events — literally everything. It's hard to even do basic things like working or gaming or drawing because of this mindset, and i can't overcome it no matter how hard i try. i constantly imagine my death in old age, particular moment, and it terrifies me. i can't help but think about it, because then my brain seems to say, "yeah, you're trying to avoid or hide from the problem!". i try to calm myself down with the thoughts that "well, maybe humanity will come up with something in the future," or "maybe it will be easier in old age," but this only moves me further down the spiraling and ruminating, cuz "no, this is impossible and just sci-fi. more realistically, we will all die from global warming in 10 years". but yeah, both non-existence and immortality sounds equally awful. ugh. reincarnation and the fact that i'm living through the same events and diseases not for the first time gives me derealization.

it often amazes me how people around are so calm about all this. i feel so wrong. does anyone have any advice on how to cope with this condition? i've already tried a bunch of meds, and they take away the physical symptoms and panic attacks, but not the thoughts and lack of motivation because of "it's all will rot anyway".

And it feels invalid.

Is this reasonable? Do you think hearing about thanatophobia makes you more likely to get it?

I am 15. I will spend the rest of my high school career preparing for college. I will go to college and struggle through it and then I will get a job. And there’s my life. I guess I never really realized that I only have about two years left to be a kid. I spent my formative years (some might argue they’re happening now, I’d say I became myself around 14) intensely depressed, and because of this I have almost no ‘classic teen’ memories. And by the time I’m able to slow down and attempt this life that I missed I will be well into my twenties.

How do I come to terms with this? How do I accept that it’s over?

most of us here cant take it anymore, but do you fear death ? what if one religion like islam or Christianity came out to be true and then you go to hell for suiciding and for not choosing the correct religion ?

i feel like this would be a terrible way to go out . i’m already scared of the idea enough , it keeps me awake most nights these days .

I’m terrified. I have severe thanatophobia. Im nearly 16 years in age and this is terrible. Every night I bring myself to tears. My skin gets goosebumps, and my breath shakes. I understand that to die is the absence of life, and that you don’t even understand it happened, but this isn’t comforting me whatsoever. I’m terrified to not exist.

I constantly find myself googling things about my health, even the smallest details scare me into a 20 minute google search, ChatGPT rabbit hole. At night especially, all of my fears come to life the most.

I often will be having the best time of my life, having fun with family, friends, classmates, and I genuinely cant help but stop and think that I won’t even realize I left them. It feels like death is around the corner, and that I’m at the end of my life even though I understand I’m young. Every interaction I have with someone, or something feels like it will be the last time I ever do it.

It’s the last two weeks of school, but I’ve lost all effort and energy to do anything. I just don’t understand a point in it.

Honestly, I’m just sick and tired of constantly thinking and dwelling on my existence and the concept of death. I wouldn’t consider myself an Atheist, but I am not religious whatsoever.

I really need help man. Every AI I’ve talked to recommends 988 Hotline, which won’t help my case. This has been an almost 4 week battle with myself, and I’m really sick of it.

I will turn 20 next month, and looking back, I realize how far I’ve come, yet at the same time, I’m getting closer to death, if I’m lucky enough to even die of old age.

When I was younger, death never really bothered me. I used to joke about it all the time that what if I got randomly hit by a car, dragged by hundreds of birds and dropped to the ground, or died from some absurd, silly cause? I’ve had relatives die before, and somehow it never shook me deeply. Even grief felt like something that passed over me without leaving much behind. I was content, until last week.

That’s when I started ruminating about death itself.

So many questions flooded my mind that I ended up crying myself to sleep, and it continued for days and days and days. I kept searching endlessly: is there really an afterlife? Is there a God waiting to welcome us at the gates of heaven, where we can reunite with the people we love? Or will we simply become fertilizer for the soil, drifting into an eternal sleep, forgotten? That latter terrifies me.

I can’t stop thinking about it. Those thoughts keep piling up, and now I think about everyone in my life. My boyfriend, my friends, my family, even celebrities I admire. I’ve always been an anxious person, but this has made it so much worse.

What scares me most is the possibility that if death is truly the end, then this is our first and only chance at life. And there is so much I want to do. I want to meet so many people, witness different cultures, taste foods I’ve never heard of, listen to music from all over the world, see art that makes me feel alive. There is so much to experience, so much beauty to consume, and yet our time here feels painfully short.

I can’t help but calculate my age, the years passing, and obsess over how long I might have left. Will I make it to 40? 60? 80? Will I even make it to next year? The uncertainty eats at me. And I can't help but envy the young.

And what hurts even more is knowing that someday, the people we cherish most will die too. They’ll become part of our memory, and even memory decays. We won’t be able to see them, hear them, or hold them ever again. It’s so difficult to grasp. It feels like trying to hold water in my hands, only to watch it slip through my fingers.

At that point, I can’t help but wonder: why do any of this at all? Why love, dream, build, and breathe if death will eventually erase it?I am so scared because I want to witness continuous evolution, forever. I want to see what humanity becomes in a hundred years, a thousand years, millions of years. Oh, how much I crave world peace. If vampires existed, I’d gladly join their family. I don’t want to cease to exist. I want to live, and love, forever. I want you guys to live forever too.

If there were ever a chance at immortality, no matter how impossible, I’d take it without hesitation.

Is strange that humans fear death when we already experienced state of non existence before birth perhaps death isn’t entering darkness but returning to a place we’ve forgotten..

Its been weeks since I got my last 8hrs sleep, thinking about death keeps me awake at night and my head starts to hella hurt because of lack of sleep, I dont know how to address this phobia, I dont have money for therapy, is there any other way to cure this phobia, I also dont have a trusting adult.

Sometimes (really rare) I think about what happens after death and why im even existing and then i just start panic

I have a severe fear of death and it's ruining everything, I'm constantly scared. I'm still young so it's not something that'll happen soon I'd hope, but I'm terrified. The thought that there will just be.. Nothing terrifies me more than anything.