The Emergence of Death AnxietyA Study Based on Psychoanalytic Perspective

Based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theoretical framework and combined with real case materials, this paper deeply explores the psychopathological mechanism of death anxiety. The analysis shows that the core symptoms of death anxiety and typical dream images both point to the “hero fantasy” defense structure in the individual’s subconscious. Through dream interpretation and tracing back to childhood trauma, this paper reveals that the root of this kind of anxiety lies in the “hero fantasy” generated by the high-pressure environment of the original family. Its essence is a psychological defense constructed to avoid symbolic “castration anxiety.” Death, as the ultimate uncontrollable experience and the highest embodiment of the reality principle, breaks the patient’s “perfectionism”-based fantasy self, exposes the deeply buried childhood traumatic fears, and triggers a systemic psychological crisis. The key to overcoming this kind of anxiety is to guide the patient to give up compulsive safety behaviors, face the reality of death and the ordinary self, and ultimately achieve the integration of traumatic experiences and the acceptance of the real self.