Rita Ora Fears Dying So Much She’s Getting Therapy For It

She’s suffered from anxiety ever since she was a child…

Rita Ora Fears Dying So Much She’s Getting Therapy For It

by Sophie Wilkinson |
Published on

It’s easy to think that the rich and famous among us aren’t really among us at all and that they’re separated from reality so much that worries and pressures and anxieties don’t get to them. Well, while that could be said of some, it certainly can’t be said of Rita Ora, who’s so crippled by her fear of dying that she tries to see a therapist once a week.

Death is my biggest phobia. I used to have panic attacks when I was little, saying, “Mum, I don’t want to die.” I have been going to therapy and I still try to go every week.’

The panic attacks began when she was seven, after playing with friends in a cemetery. She told The Mirror, ‘I was seven and playing hide and seek, but no one found me. I thought I was going to get stolen by ghosts.’

Death anxiety is a very specific type of anxiety also referred to as thanatophobia. And according to an 1981 study, the death fear is the primary fear on which all others are based, and children are more likely to feel it as they don’t necessarily know what causes it, but do know that it means people simply don’t exist anymore. And the idea of not existing anymore is so flummoxing it freaks them out. Deep, right?

Like this? You might also be interested in:

'My Fear Of Dying Consumed Me' Confessions Of A 20-Something With Anxiety

I Quit My Dream Job For My Health

Meet The Girls Who Say They Can Cure Your Quarter Life Crisis. In Just Six Weeks

Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us