Abstract
This article examines the place of death awareness within psychological processes and its reflections in clinical practice. Although the thought of death can evoke anxiety in individuals, the literature demonstrates that it enhances existential awareness, strengthens motivation to live in accordance with personal values, and can serve as a functional tool in psychotherapy. This review explores the facilitating and challenging effects of death awareness within therapeutic contexts.
Keywords: death awareness, existential psychology, clinical psychology, acceptance, search for meaning
Introduction
Death is an inevitable part of human experience, and this reality has long been a central topic in both philosophy and psychology. In the psychological literature, death awareness is conceptualized as a broad construct encompassing the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes related to one’s mortality. Modern clinical psychology approaches—particularly existential therapy and acceptance-based therapies—demonstrate that death awareness can play a transformative role within psychotherapeutic processes.
Death Awareness And Psychological Processes
Existential psychology argues that accepting the reality of death is essential for reconstructing life’s meaning. Yalom (2008) describes death anxiety as one of the primary driving forces behind therapeutic change. From this perspective, confronting rather than suppressing the awareness of death motivates individuals to live more authentically.
Research in the fields of loss, grief, and trauma also shows that death awareness has various effects on emotional regulation. Thoughts about death do not create anxiety in every individual; on the contrary, some studies suggest that controlled death awareness increases psychological flexibility and enhances the likelihood of acting in accordance with one’s values (Hayes, Strosahl & Wilson, 2012). Fearing death is natural, but working through this fear and taking steps to create a meaningful life makes it manageable. Mindfulness, values-based living, and seeking professional support when needed are among the most effective approaches. Love also reminds us of our mortality. When a loved one or family member dies, the fleeting and irretrievable nature of life becomes vividly real.
Socrates, who walked toward death with great courage, argued that there is no need to fear death; for him, death was a deep sleep without nightmares—a descent into nothingness. Fromm, similar to Avicenna, argued that death anxiety does not stem from death itself but from the fear of losing possessions, the body, property, and the self, as well as the fear of owning nothing. He proposed that the more importance individuals place on possessing, the more they fear death, and that freedom from this attachment reduces death anxiety.
Death Awareness In Clinical Practice
Clinical psychologists must provide a sensitive and secure therapeutic framework when addressing clients’ thoughts about death. Death-related themes become especially prominent among individuals facing chronic illnesses, loss, or trauma. In this context, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers an effective approach that encourages clients to observe their experiences rather than avoid them, transforming death-related thoughts in the process.
Two forms of denying death can be identified: masking and suppression. Masking involves immersing oneself in daily tasks or living at a fast, intense pace to avoid encountering or thinking about death. Suppression refers to eliminating the concept of death from conscious awareness. Many people do not consider death in their future plans and behave as though they will live forever.
Clinical observations and research indicate that death awareness enables clients to focus on life’s transience, thereby supporting more conscious decision-making processes. Consequently, in clinical practice, death awareness is not only relevant for understanding anxiety but also serves as an important component in building a life oriented around meaning, purpose, and values.
Godin notes that individuals react to the reality of death in two ways. The first is avoidance and narcissistic self-protection—an expression of the desire for life and the need to exclude death. Humans naturally wish to live forever. The second is the desire for completion, expressed as the longing to live better or differently. In both cases, individuals reveal their desire to continue life uninterrupted and exist indefinitely.
According to Fromm, certain traditions and rituals surrounding death also express this desire. The practice of preserving the human body through various ceremonies reflects the longing for immortality. Preparing and beautifying the deceased before burial is intended to reduce fear of death and symbolizes the yearning for eternal life. Accepting the reality of death does not lead to pessimism; rather, it directs individuals toward a life in which they can realize their values. From the perspective of existential psychotherapy, awareness of mortality motivates individuals to make better use of their days and enrich their lives. While it may seem difficult to argue that thoughts of death contribute positively to life, a life without such awareness would lose much of its meaning. Only by recognizing their mortality can individuals live more vividly, authentically, and free from selfishness, superficiality, and rigidity.
Conclusion
Although death awareness may appear threatening at first glance, modern psychology and clinical approaches reveal its integrative and healing dimensions. The thought of death can encourage individuals to make life more meaningful, make choices aligned with their values, and develop psychological flexibility. Therefore, addressing death awareness with care in clinical psychology provides valuable opportunities for growth for both clients and therapists.
References
Becker, E. (1973). The Denial of Death. Free Press.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change. Guilford Press.
Wong, P. T. P. (2012). Toward a dual-systems model of what makes life worth living. In The Human Quest for Meaning (2nd ed., pp. 3–22). Routledge.
Yalom, I. D. (2008). Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death. Jossey-Bass.