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Evidence for the existence of death anxiety (DA) has come from psychiatrists, counsellors, and DA researchers using quantitative methods such as rating scales. Research based on clinical observation of DA has been growing but is neglected. Identifying DA can be difficult when it hides beneath the cover of object anxiety. Object anxiety can occur in many forms. For example, people with obsessive compulsive disorder may experience that certain objects are making demands on them. Mountain climbers may experience the rock face as a trigger of sublimity, experiencing a mixture of terror and awe at the same time. There may be brief expressions of DA, but they are quickly obscured. In this article, the DA focus is on the contexts of aging, gender, and retirement. Yalom (1980) suggested that neurotics seem to display their DA more obviously than most people. He claimed that "the neurotic lifestyle is generated by a fear of death" (p. 146).
The existential topics in the subsequent eight subsections following this introduction are intended for readers who may be unfamiliar with existential thought. Existentialism asks questions about the nature of human existence (e.g., What is the purpose of human existence and its passing?). Death anxiety can be activated by this question and other existential concerns that follow, and these concerns are likely to affect retirement and aging.
Existential Views on Aspects of Existence
Aspects of existence are discussed because they often provide a prelude to understanding DA. Heidegger's term Dasein (or "there being") is fundamental (Heidegger, 2010, pp. 193-226). He acknowledged that human existence is initially shaped by our "thrownness" (Heidegger, 2010, p. 169). We are thrown into the world. We have no control over our parentage, where we were born, and under what circumstances. Our parental heritage and the contingencies of our birth are beyond our control and will be a contributing factor in shaping our existence.
The possibility of an authentic or inauthentic life depends upon whether we can become genuine individuals who can, when necessary, resist pressure to conform and yet maintain relationships with others. Heidegger was concerned with pressure to conform that comes from society (i.e., "the they") (Heidegger, 2010, p. 122). Failure to stand out as an individual may lead to a diminished existence that can...