Death anxiety in the time of COVID-19: theoretical explanations and clinical implications

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a surge in anxiety across the globe. Much of the public’s behavioural and emotional response to the virus can be understood through the framework of terror management theory, which proposes that fear of death drives much of human behaviour. In the context of the current pandemic, death anxiety, a recently proposed transdiagnostic construct, appears especially relevant. Fear of death has recently been shown to predict not only anxiety related to COVID-19, but also to play a causal role in various mental health conditions. Given this, it is argued that treatment programmes in mental health may need to broaden their focus to directly target the dread of death. Notably, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been shown to produce significant reductions in death anxiety. As such, it is possible that complementing current treatments with specific CBT techniques addressing fears of death may ensure enhanced long-term symptom reduction. Further research is essential in order to examine whether treating death anxiety will indeed improve long-term outcomes, and prevent the emergence of future disorders in vulnerable populations. Key learning aims (1) To understand terror management theory and its theoretical explanation of death anxiety in the context of COVID-19. (2) To understand the transdiagnostic role of death anxiety in mental health disorders. (3) To understand current treatment approaches for directly targeting death anxiety, and the importance of doing so to improve long-term treatment outcomes.

Between Conspiracy Beliefs, Ingroup Bias, and System Justification: How People Use Defense Strategies to Cope With the Threat of COVID-19

“…This omission requires us to be careful when interpreting the mediated effects found (Green et al, 2010). It could be, for instance, that not BIS activation but a related construct such as mortality salience is the actual mediator carrying the effect of COVID-19 threat on distal defense strategies (Menzies and Menzies, 2020). In this case, activation of the BIS might just covary with the true mediator.…”

COVID-19 Pandemic and Death Anxiety in Security Forces in Spain

“…Three types of independent variables were established: (a) socio-demographic, (b) subjective perceptions of the current situation at work, and (c) the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) subscales [ 35 , 36 ]. With respect to the sociodemographic variables, the following are used: sex (female/male), age (up to 30 years old, 31–40 years old, 41–50 years old, 51–60 years old, and over 60 years old), professional category (military of the Armed Forces, National Police and Guardia Civil) and whether they worked during the first wave of the pandemic (Yes/No).…”

“…Anxiety in the face of death does not manifest itself in a concrete way that can be identified instantly; it has difficulty in recognizing the exact cause that produces this uneasiness because the origin of fear can reside in multiple causes. It is believed that the behavior and reactions to the virus fall within the theory of terror, which argues that the fear of death is the driving force behind much of human behavior [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. That is why the authors Collett and Lester [ 36 ] created the Fear of Death scale, which distinguishes four major components: fear of one’s death, fear of the death of others, fear of the process of one’s death, and fear of the process of death of others.…”

COVID-19 and Mental Well-Being: Guidance on the Application of Behavioral and Positive Well-Being Strategies

“…Fortunately, this anxiety can be measured [47] and techniques used to manage it. Although some of the strategies as suggested by the World Health Organization such as minimizing news feeds and promoting social media usage could be beneficial [48], emerging research suggests the role of positive self-talks and cognitive behavior therapy as effective modalities to modify or attenuate the 'death anxiety' [49,50].…”