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Knowing that we are going to die but not knowing when, generates anxiety overwhelming that influences our behavior The Terror Management Theory (TMT) studies this phenomenon and explains how behind phobias that may be minor, there is, in fact, the fear of dying.
According to this theory of psychology, we administer our fear of death creating a sense of permanence, focusing on our achievements and even believing, perhaps, in the future life. All this allows us to strengthen our self-esteem and strengthen ourselves. However, minor and manageable threats, such as insects or germs, can be the channel of fear of death.
"This makes sense because when we look closely at the symptoms of various anxiety-related disorders, death problems appear in prominence," says the article published by three Australian psychologists in the journal The Conversation.
The professionals are frank with their assertions: "Those who are obsessed with the control of stoves and locks, try to avoid harm or death." Those who wash compulsively many times fear chronic and potentially life-threatening diseases. "
This is due, they say, to the fact that these phobias are more controllable than the fear of death. For example, when an arachnophobe sees a spider, it jumps and begins to tremble. This could be a representation of rational reactions to larger threats, such as seeing a person with a weapon.
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TMT research shows that anxiety caused by fear of dying is able to increase nervous and phobic behaviors. These studies use a popular "induction to death" technique to stimulate anxiety in people with certain anxiety disorders. The technique involves participants writing the emotions that the idea of their own death causes and that they detail what they think will happen when they die.
Arachnophobes, who were analyzed with this technique, increased their response to spiders, compared to those who were not "prepared" to death. Meanwhile, those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) hand-washing compulsively spent more time sanitizing after undergoing the study.
Similarly, those who have social phobias have had more time to have group interactions and viewed as more socially threatening expressive faces, since they "indicate that they will be judged, as opposed to to neutral and seemingly innocuous faces ".
The question is inevitable, is it normal to be afraid of death?
"Since we are all going to die at one point, the anguish of death is a normal part of the human experience," Lisa says. Iverach, Honorary Associate in the Department of Psychology at Macquarie University and Research Fellow at the University of Sydney in Australia; Rachel Menzies, doctoral candidate in clinical psychology; and Ross Menzies, associate professor at the University of Sydney.
However, anxiety about death becomes "abnormal" and "pathological" when it forms the basis of thoughts and behaviors that interfere with everyday life. Millions of people with OCD in the world waste a lot of time every day in rituals designed to reduce the threat of dirt, germs or catastrophic situations.
So remember, the next time you are asked if you are afraid of death, before answering, think if you have a "minor" phobia.
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