Fear of Death: First Steps When It Hits

When the fear of death takes over, we want to "figure it out" right away: think about this world and the next, dis-identify, search for philosophical answers. Dr. Saulitis says plainly: at the start, that won't help. First come the simple, bodily, boring steps. This brochure is exactly about them — what to do in the first days, while the brain's functioning is not yet restored.

First, understand it's a symptom

The key insight that begins recovery: fear of death is not a separate entity, it's a state, a symptom of a stuck reaction. If a person fears death, the fear will surely show up in other places too.

"Fear of death is a state. It's just a state. There's no such thing separately."

"If you limp in church, you'll limp in the tavern too."

Understanding "this is a symptom, this is fear" lifts some of the pressure: you stop torturing yourself searching for the "real cause" specifically in death.

Don't fight the fear

The second pillar of the first steps is giving up the fight. The doctor stresses: you cannot fight a symptom — the more you fight, the worse it gets. Homeostasis is at work — the body strives for balance, and the direct effort to "defeat fear" only rocks the system.

"You can't fight it. The more you fight it, the worse it gets."

So the first practical choice is not "how to defeat fear" but "how to raise mental health," so the fear leaves on its own as a brain disorder.

Raising mental health through the basics

While the brain's functioning isn't restored, the doctor advises doing nothing else — only the basics. This is physiology: walks, diet, oxygen, sleep. Cognitive constructions and philosophy come later, "only when the brain's work is already in order."

The logic is simple: in a healthy state, fear is a physiological reaction to danger that should pass, like the pulse after exercise. The disorder is when the reaction gets stuck. For it to "let go," you need a stable base, not talk.

Switching attention to the good

The doctor describes the mechanism: if affirmative stimuli capture attention, the brain can switch more than 80% over to the good. Hence the practice of recording and non-reaction: when it's bad (gloom, fog, streetlights at midday) — note it calmly, without an emotional reaction, because reaction "burns out energy."

"Reaction is day out energy."

Practice: first steps with fear of death

1. Name it a symptom. Tell yourself: this is fear, a state, not a separate disaster. Don't seek an answer specifically "about death."
2. Stop fighting. Don't try to "defeat" the fear by force — that strengthens it. Trust homeostasis.
3. Cover the basics. Eat — without a device, mindfully. Oxygen — a walk or at least an open window. Sleep — deep, without an alarm. Bathroom — calmly, observing.
4. Record the bad moments. When it hits, note the fact ("15:45, fog, anxiety") without drama — so that later, on good days, you won't devalue the hard experience.
5. Switch attention to the good. With a stray thought — gently return to affirmative stimuli; the brain can switch over more than 80%.