What does it mean to think about your own mortality?

Obsessive thoughts of death can come from anxiety as well as depression. They might include worrying that you or someone you love will die. These intrusive thoughts can start out as harmless passing thoughts, but we become fixated on them because they scare us.

Can you accept mortality?

One of the highest levels of human wisdom and growth is accepting mortality and being grateful for the gift of life that will have to be given back one day. In the end, our deaths are simply one of the things that nature demands.

At what age are fears about death the greatest?

One study found that people in their 40s and 50s, expressed greater fears of death than those in their 60s and 70s. Similarly, another study found that people in their 60s reported less death anxiety than both people in middle age (35 to 50 years) and young adults (18 to 25 years).

Do you ever think about your own mortality?

Most of them had never thought about it. These were people training to be “death care professionals,” and yet they had never given a thought to their own mortality! Unless you have had a near brush with death yourself, it is very possible that you never gave this a thought. When I was 21, I knew in my own mind that I was going to live forever.

Is it healthy to think about death all the time?

While ruminating endlessly on death isn’t healthy, using mindfulness to sit with the idea can reduce the very anxiety we imagine thinking about death will trigger. Sitting mindfully with your mortality means not denying that someday you’ll die, worrying about it without resolving your feelings, or pushing off thinking about it until later.

Are you prepared for mortality?

While mortality’s paperwork is more for the benefit of others, the emotional and spiritual acceptance and preparation for mortality is for you. While ruminating endlessly on death isn’t healthy, using mindfulness to sit with the idea can reduce the very anxiety we imagine thinking about death will trigger.

Are we aware of our awareness of death?

As humans, our awareness of death is inherent. When confronted with this reality, we tend to find ways to self-soothe that, though largely unconscious, are limiting to us in our lives, our relationships, and our goals.