Anxiety about death, getting old, losing loved ones.

Hi! I am currently going through this, but have improved a lot over the past 3 months. I still have anxiety everyday, but the constant thoughts and depression caused by them are mostly gone. I've been on Prozac for 10 weeks and it's helped the ocd thoughts and depression, but not the butterflies in my stomach.

Hey Sinead, I was going through something very similar to your situation awhile back. I don't know what came over me, but i was chronically thinking about getting old and dying. I'd forget about it during the day sometimes but at night when I’m alone trying to sleep, the thoughts would crawl all over me of never being able to get time back and the inevitable consequence of living. 

This almost became an obsession because i actually started reading blogs, articles anything i could find in order to come to terms with my own demise. It took a lot of searching, to get over this phase, but i haven't had it since I’ve gotten into mediation. 

I was never a spiritual person whatsoever, i was more closely related to an atheist belief; i just thought that life was just a series of fortunate events and that’s it no more no less. However once I stumbled across mindfulness and other forms of mediation my system of beliefs started to shift and the worry of death started to subside.

Try not to engage too much with the thoughts of it, when you realise what you're thinking, stop the emotional charge you are giving it and focus on something else. I know it’s simple but it surprisely works, rather than giving it too much attention use that time to perhaps contact them or plan something that you enjoy. 

In the videos and research i've done, most people in the end when they accept it generally start to feel optimistic about what follows. 

I hope you start to feel better soon Sinead and that you have an amazing year to follow us ahead

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You sound scared and thats not abnormal. Its frieightening growing uo and enetering the real world. You might find you love it by the way. Feels great to be independent. I think you feel very vulnerable right now and its intensyfying your fear of your parents passing as you heavily rely on them at this time.  After you get a job within a few months it becomes like your second home..all familiar faces and such. Might be very calming for you.