"Death Anxiety. The Worm at the Core of Mental Illness" - Rachel Menzies
The dead are violated by the worm. A corpse is defenseless before the worm. And the rotten meal is sweet to the worm! These are tokens of divine wrath: “…the worm shall feed sweetly on him” (Job 24:20).
Biblical Theology·Feb 5, 2024·Updated Sep 3, 2026
Death anxiety is widely regarded by mental health professionals to be the most important underlying problem that gives rise to all other mental disorders. Illustrating the point, an Australian psychologist said that death anxiety is "the Worm at the Core of Mental Health" (Rachel E. Menzies). She borrowed this statement from the famous American philosopher, William James, and adapted it to mental health. Originally, William James was emphasizing that mankind's fearof death is "the worm at the core" of the human condition. Other psychologists, like Sheldon Solomon, have agreed with this assessment, especially when it comes to anxiety disorders.
“This idea is based on evidence that death is a significant feature across a range of anxiety-related disorders.”
- Lisa Iverach PhD
Do you agree? You don't need to go through thousands of counseling sessions of psychotherapy to realize this commonality among all mental health patients. Rather, you could just read the Bible.
“…deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”— Hebrews 2:15
“…the spirit of bondage again to fear”— Romans 8:15
According to the Word of God, lost sinners are trapped in a spiritual"bondage" that makes them psychologically tormented by the "fear of death" This is a spiritualproblem with only one real solution! Consequentially, the LORD has authored a divine plan of salvation that liberates sinners from this terrible bondage. Read more scripture from Romans and Hebrews for the details. True Christians are no longer afraid to die because of a divinely granted assurance of eternal life ministered to the soul through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Suffice it to say, even the best minds of psychology cannot improve upon the message of the Bible They have a lot to learn about the worm as it pertains to the Doctrine of Mortality. No manmade coping mechanism will bring relief to this problem. Terror management tools are futile and useless when divine justice is making sinners afraid The endless philosophical discussions about terror management theories are circular and self-defeating.
The Worm in the Doctrine of Mortality
One thing is certain! Death is coming for all of us. This is a judgment from God upon sinners. Are you prepared to face it? The worm feeds upon the dead.
"The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree."
- Job 24:20 [Job 17:14, 24:20, Ps. 49:14, Isa. 14:11, 51:8, 66:24, Mk. 9:44, 46, 48]
THE WORM. It is one of the smallest of God’s creatures. It is harmless to the living and defenseless when attacked. Nevertheless, it is a fierce consumer of the dead! The dead are violated by the worm. A corpse is defenseless before the worm. And the rotten meal is sweet to the worm! These are tokens of divine wrath: “…the worm shall feed sweetly on him”
The presence of the worm is nearly indistinguishable from death. It is a minister of corruption It is as the presence of death itself Unless you have beheld the worm at work you couldn’t possibly understand. When the worm meets with mortal men in the end, this can only mean one thing: humiliation. “Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.” Death is the deglorification of sinners. The worm defeats them. God is demonstrating divine wrath in real time through creation. He that hath an ear, let him hear.
The Creator designed creation to preach sermons to mankind. The worm sweetly feeding on the dead carcasses of wicked sinners is a process that satisfies the wrath of God. Divine justice kills sinners and removes them from the face of the earth The world is made better by one less sinner. The holy heart of God is cheered at a little less sadness
“Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, Omy soul. Praise ye the LORD.”— Psalms 104:35
Nevertheless, what about the afterlife? The same dreadful marvels accompany the 2nd Death. The tokens of divine wrath that accompany the 1st Death are harnessed by God and adapted to meet with tormented souls in Hell*, or what we could call the 2nd Death In retrospect, we can see that the 1st Death was teaching sinners about the horrors of the 2nd Death all along! It pleases a benevolent God to force sinners to encounter the rotting corpses of dead things as they go about their business in their earthly lives. As a medicine to the soul it would do them good to take a long hard look at the unsightly mess of rotting death: see how it looks, imagine how it feels, and be nauseated with horror at the smell!
The worm, as an instrument of divine wrath in the 1st Death, is employed by God even after physical death – the worm will sweetly feed on the spirits and bodies of sinners in the Lake of Fire for their outrageous and unthinkable wickedness before a Holy God! Herein, God’s wrath will be forever satisfied in the destruction of transgressors God has appointed the worm for this cause Speaking of this, Jesus of Nazareth spoke about the torments of Hellfire, quoting Isaiah, saying that it is a place "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" This should make mortal men and devils horribly afraid
Have you ever heard the words of this song? 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!This is God's plan for your life. Will you let divine grace teach your heart to fear? It is my prayer that divine grace would then relieve those fears by directing your heart to repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Self-esteem is an uphill battle that you are never going to win, unless your conscience is seared and you silence the mental reprover. This is not advisable (Titus 1:15).
Do you love yourself? This is a core part of self-esteem in psychology. Are you accepting and receiving the love of God for yourself? This is a core part of salvation in Christianity. The two are mutually exclusive.
The Word of God, contained in the Bible, deals honestly with the situation that we are in as condemned sinners. We need to see our criminal behavior against the laws of God in the Bible as something outrageous and unacceptable.
Nearly 50,000 Americans died by suicide in the year 2022! Mental illness is spreading like a plague. It is becoming increasingly clear to everyone that wealth, power, fame, and prosperity doesn’t produce peace.
True Christians are no longer afraid to die because of a divinely granted assurance of eternal life ministered to the soul through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
