In addition to his research, many theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Ernest Becker have examined death anxiety and its impact on cognitive processing.
[7][8] This high level of death anxiety in the elderly can cause lower ego integrity, and an increase in physical and psychological problems.
[13][14][16][page needed] It is the oldest and most basic[17]: 615 form of death anxiety, with origins in the first unicellular organisms' set of adaptive resources.
[17]: 617 Predatory death anxiety mobilizes an individual's adaptive resources and leads to a fight-or-flight response, consisting of active efforts to combat the danger or attempts to escape the threatening situation.
[22] The existential psychiatrist Irvin Yalom asserts that humans are prone to death anxiety because "our existence is forever shadowed by the knowledge that we will grow, blossom, and inevitably, diminish and die.
[25] In that relatively short span of evolutionary time, humans have fashioned a single basic mechanism through which they deal with the existential death anxieties this awareness has evoked: denial.
[22] Denial is the root of such diverse actions as breaking rules, violating frames and boundaries, manic celebrations, directing violence against others, attempting to gain extraordinary wealth and power, and more.
[31] Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson formulated the psychosocial theory that people progress through a series of crises as they grow older.
[26][27][33] His theory suggests that as an individual develops mortality salience, or becomes more aware of the inevitability of death, they will instinctively try to suppress this thought out of fear.
The ten meanings he proposes are finality, uncertainty, annihilation, ultimate loss, life-flow disruption, leaving loved ones, pain and loneliness, prematurity and violence of death, failure of life-work completion, judgment- and retribution-centered.
Our progress and happiness largely depend on humans asking questions, thinking, imagining, telling stories, and using symbols to communicate ideas and experiences with others.
MMT theorizes that the having the sense of belonging, purpose, and meaning can protect against the anxiety of death and can help us create feelings of personal internal control and self-independence.
The growth and self-change that a person is capable of in spite of life turmoil and challenges helps people transform allowing self-transcendence and the ability to choose one's destiny.
By viewing guilt as an opportunity for personal growth, and perceiving life transitions as a chance to take responsible action, one can navigate challenges with a positive and constructive mindset.
[47] For example, when working towards and trying to achieve a goal the fear of failing can help push the desire to succeed even harder or can lead one to failure - depending on the mindset of the individual.
MMT predicts that the increased motivation to live and die well is coupled with one avoiding death while creating goals to have a happy, healthy life.
[48] The existential approach, with theorists such as Rollo May and Viktor Frankl, views an individual's personality as being governed by continuous choices and decisions in relation to the realities of life and death.
[54] A 2012 study involving Christian and Muslim college-students from the US, Turkey, and Malaysia found that their religiosity correlated positively with an increased fear of death.
[58] The inability for one to control supernatural agency triggers various psychological aspects that induce intense periods of experienced death or existential anxiety.
[59] A study conducted among pilgrims at the Ardh Kumbh Mela in India discovered a link between strong religious beliefs, particularly in reincarnation, and reduced death anxiety among elderly Hindus.
Researchers have also conducted surveys on how being able to accept one's inevitable death could have a positive effect on one's psychological well-being, or on one's level of individual distress.
[63] The death row phenomenon is the distress and anxiety seen in inmates awaiting execution, which can cause an increased risk for suicidal tendencies and psychotic delusions.
[64] In a review of international law, there have been arguments made that support the idea of death row being a violation of human rights.
This time is spent in an area of a prison known as death row, where inmates are typically in their cells for up to 23 hours each day and have limited interaction with others.
This, combined with the extensive time they wait for their day of execution, might correlate with the symptoms of psychological and physical deterioration increasing among those imprisoned on death row.
Insecure attachment styles are characterized by a fear of abandonment and a lack of trust in others, which can make it difficult for individuals to form close, supportive relationships.
[71] There is evidence that suggests increasing one's social curiosity, which plays a role in interpersonal relations, can reduce and subdue death anxiety.
[73] Moreover, researchers believe that age and culture could be major influences in why women score higher on death anxiety scales than men.
The studies claim that death anxiety peaks in men and women when in their 20s, but after this group, sex plays a role in the path that one takes.
[77] From a study done on elderly men and women in a care facility they were able to see that many older people were not as worried about what happens to their soul beyond death, but more, what they will have to go through in order to get to that process.