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Existential Concerns and Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures pp 57–73Cite as

Fears of Death and Their Relationship to Mental Health

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Abstract

The fear of death has been argued to be an important transdiagnostic construct, which underlies a wide range of psychological disorders. Death anxiety features centrally in many conditions, such as specific phobias, panic disorder, somatic symptom-related disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, recent research highlights that death anxiety may even be associated with disorders that seem ostensibly unrelated to mortality, such as social and separation anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, and psychotic disorders. In this chapter, we explore the evidence for the role of the fear of death in various mental health disorders. While theoretical understandings of the role of death anxiety in some conditions may need to be developed further, empirical research nevertheless supports its status as a transdiagnostic construct. Thus, it may be important to address underlying death anxiety in therapeutic interventions if treatment outcomes are to be maintained and the recurrence of further mental health problems is to be prevented.

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  1. University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia

    Matteo Zuccala & Rachel E. Menzies

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  1. Matteo Zuccala
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  1. University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia

    Ross G. Menzies

  2. University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia

    Rachel E. Menzies

  3. University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Genevieve A. Dingle

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Zuccala, M., Menzies, R.E. (2022). Fears of Death and Their Relationship to Mental Health. In: Menzies, R.G., Menzies, R.E., Dingle, G.A. (eds) Existential Concerns and Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06932-1_4

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