I’ve struggled with an existential dread of death since I was about 9, and I have a spectrum of coping strategies which work for me to some extent. YMMV. First

I’ve struggled with an existential dread of death since I was about 9, and I have a spectrum of coping strategies which work for me to some extent. YMMV. First and most important is trying to break the habit- and it is a habit- of thinking about things which set off that introspective nosedive. It’s not easy, but CBT offers s good tool set for mindfulness and thought stopping. The essential “trick” is to recognize those thoughts, and then redirect without spending too much time on the recognition or redirection. Distraction can work, but occupation is even better. In other words, listening to an audiobook or doing something fun and distracting helps, but being involved in life, work, friends, etc is much better. The greater your connection to the real world of people, the easier it can be to disengage from the internal world of your own thoughts. Don’t go deep! If you find yourself trying to think your way to the bottom of your dread, you will discover that there is no bottom, and it’s easy to get lost. Consider whether or not this might be clinically significant, i.e. depression, anxiety, and such. If so, it may be worth seeing a professional about this, as your preoccupation with futility may be a symptom and not a cause. Get sleep, and especially try not to get lost in your own thoughts late at night, or when you’re tired. Everything seems worse and feels worse at night, and when you’re tired. Audiobooks or radio can help as a distraction to get to sleep, and I recommend listening to something you’ve already heard so it doesn’t engage you too much. Put the volume down until you can just make out the words. Meditation. Hang in there, it will get better.