I have an irrational fear of death.

[Drew1994]

As a hypochondriac, I have suffered from hypochondria since I was 17. I went to the doctor for a yearly check up in august and was given a clean bill of health. However this anxiety has bothered me to the point where I lose sleep over it. As a result of this I google rare fatal diseases and assume that because I dont sleep that I might have a rare disease or im going to die. I have had fears of rare prion diseases which are invariably fatal yet are extremely rare and I have had fears of cancer which should not happen in someone my age as it is uncommon to get brain cancer or stomach cancer or lung cancer in a 22 year old with no family history of young cancer. Nobody in my family dies at a young age from natural causes. I should not have this irrational fear of death because im not old or in poor health according to a doctor. When I think about getting a terminal illness I start to panic because I feel like no one is willing to help me cope or understand. I know its irrational but I have a colorful imagination and it continues to bother me anyway. Does anyone have any tips for me to deal with this?? I'm pretty new here so I dont really know anyone on NMP.

[Catherine S]

Hi Drew,

It's not often I get to see the word hypochondriac these days, because the more modern, socially acceptable term used these days is health anxiety...HA for short, but like it or not, hypochondriacs are what we really are. Anxiety about health isn't always hereditary and I guess it has to start with someone yes?

But you're in the right place for help with this fear of fatal illness. After all, most people are here because they think they are about to die so you're in good company.

ISB x

[Drew1994]

Well I'm basically the opposite of a suicidal person. I want to live for a very long time. I panic at the thought of dying young even if those fears are not founded.

[Catherine S]

Exactly. You want to live, and the thought of dying fills you with crippling fear and you see death in alot situations. I fear being trapped and dying because I can't escape...on a plane, a train, in a car on a motorway, in a small room with no windows and a locked door etc, etc. There was a time when I also had a fear of death through illness. There is hereditary heart disease in my family so that was my focus for many years. Over time I've let that go, but the fear of being part of some kind of catastrophe beyond my control is still with me. I call it extreme claustrophobia but a better description would probably be that I'm a fatalist.

ISB

[Drew1994]

Wow sounds rough. I have a fear of flying also. My imagination thinks of me dying in a plane crash. Its this feeling that im coming under harm by flying

[Catherine S]

When you have a fear of dying you tend to see danger in situations that more rationally minded people don't, and they can't understand. People here do. Keep posting Drew, i'm sure you will find a way through it with the help of people who understand.

ISB

[ocds]

I used to have HA but around May it completely shifted to fear of dying young and not accomplishing anything. I had days and weeks filled with anxiety, and now ever so often it happens again. I'm in the middle of it right now, and I know it's because they year is ending but every day when I leave my house I feel like it's going to happen, I get this numb feeling. But, when nothing happens I feel quite silly.

Either way, I think we wish we had control over when and where and how, and we really don't have much control as we want. What we want is reassurance when we have anxiety, to know the thing we are afraid of will never happen to us. So we worry and worry, and we hope other people reassure us we aren't sick or dying. But, the harsh true is that day will eventually come for all of us. I am praying it is not for another sixty years for both of us. I just scared the hell out of myself looking at the statistics of dying in a year. It's completely terrifying to me, and I guess there's comfort in knowing there's people out there who share the same fears but we shouldn't waste out time paralyzed by it. But you really just have to take pride in knowing if there was something wrong with you, you'd likely know.

I really hope you get help with thinking like this, I am going to try to as all. Sorry if any of this made it worse.

[gingersnaps]

I'm exactly the same, my hypochondria is completely irrational and yet I will still panic. There's a handful of diseases which come up most commonly but skin cancer is my worst one. I used to frequent the anxietyzone HA forum but now that's gone I believe a lot of hypochondriacs will be coming over here so there will be plenty of support available. Doctors tend to dismiss people at such young ages, I feel like my fears haven't really been taken seriously in the past because of my age. I can relate to the death fears as well, I think about it a lot.
I'm sorry I can't give you more advice on how to cope with HA but I can reassure you that there are many people here willing to listen and help out, myself included, who can all relate to what's happening