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Death anxiety in the time of COVID-19: theoretical explanations and clinical
implications
#MMPMID34191938
Menzies RE
; Menzies RG
Cogn Behav Therap
2020[]; 13
(?): e19
PMID34191938
show ga
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.
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