I was having an actual panic attack thinking about death earlier and I thought going on wikipedia would make me feel better… it did not
I was having an actual panic attack thinking about death earlier and I thought going on wikipedia would make me feel better… it did not
Another single basic mechanism (for some in the world, anyway) is: acceptance.
Not saying you have to like death. But it’s all around us, and people who live closer to nature get to see death regularly, from carnivorous animals (little choice) to plants which green, bear fruit, and fade away in fall. Most people don’t ever need to embrace death, but recognize it’s part of the natural order.
Denial points us away from the real and is mentally unhealthy. Acceptance releases us from that potential fear and stress. It also encourages us to truly appreciate what we have, especially while we have it, and ever afterward for our good fortune while we had it. Life is change.
Acceptance reminds us to ‘drink life to the lees’, like Omar Khayyam. Not to waste our time on adverts, or fashion trends, or fretting about things we can’t do anything about, or worrying about what might be. When we’re sure we’ve done our best in this wiggy world, we need ask ourselves no more. Compassion for ourselves empowers us to share that with others.