One of the things that makes humans unique is our awareness of the inevitability of death. While many of us push this death awareness out of our minds in our daily lives, it is undeniable that 10 out of 10 people will die.

Awareness of one’s mortality can quickly become death anxiety—a fear of death on a conscious, or unconscious level. Death anxiety might involve a fear of one’s death, fear about the dying process, and or fear about losing loved ones (Rezapour M., 2022). We might also worry about dying prematurely, facing the unknown, and how others might cope in our absence ‌(Menzies, R.E., and Menzies, R.G., 2023).

With so many layers of anxiety related to death, it’s no wonder that death anxiety has been regarded as “the worm at the core of mental health,” (Menzies, R.E. and colleagues, 2018). Researchers now believe that the fear of death might be a key variable underlying many chronic mental health problems, including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, panic disorder, somatic-symptom-related disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and separation anxiety ‌(Dursun P. and colleagues, 2022).

The antidote to death anxiety? Researchers suggest that, after accepting mortality, meaning-making can alleviate the existential anxiety that comes with death awareness (‌Dursun P. and colleagues, 2022). However, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to finding meaning in life. It is an individual process that will look vastly different for each person.

For death doula and author Alua Arthur, after walking through a season of depression and unexpectedly facing the truth of mortality, deciding to lean into her passion for nurturing others has lent light and meaning to days that once felt dark and hopeless. Her book, Briefly, Perfectly Human, tells the story of her journey as........

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