Most people don’t like to think too much about dying. It’s dark, it’s morbid—and can lead to crippling anxiety.
But flipping the script on death by focusing on one simple belief may take the sting away and lead to better mental health while still living. A 2026 study published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction narrowed down a specific belief that was more impactful than simply believing in an afterlife.
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that study participants who focused on the concept of symbolic immortality—the belief that one will be remembered after death (i.e., leave a legacy) had better mental health and decreased levels of substance use and behavioral addictions.
Symbolic immortality, explained
In the study, researchers defined symbolic immortality as “the belief that one would be remembered by others after death” and “the sense that one would continue to exist symbolically after death through group identification, a legacy, and through the memory of others.”
Study participants (Israelis aged 18-70) who believed in their own symbolic immortality reported decreased levels of the following:
- Mental health problems (anxiety, depression, PTSD, emotion regulation problems, sleep disturbances)
- Problematic substance use (cannabis, alcohol, prescription drugs)
- Behavioral addictions (gambling, gaming, social media, internet use, pornography, sexual behaviors)
The researchers told News-Medical & Life Sciences, “The feeling that our lives matter and will continue to matter to other people may be an important part of how we cope with uncertainty and the knowledge of our own mortality. Our findings suggest that feeling connected to others, having meaning in life, and believing that something of us will remain may go hand in hand with better mental health and fewer problematic addictive behaviors.”
Belief in an afterlife
Researchers asked participants two questions:
“Do you believe in an afterlife (e.g., in heaven or through reincarnation)?” and “Do you think that you will be remembered by other people after you die (e.g., through your accomplishments or legacy)?”
A surprising outcome from the study was that participants who reported belief in an afterlife did not have dramatically better outcomes for mental health, only slightly lower levels of addiction problems, and a slightly elevated link to problematic internet use.
Researchers determined that while a belief in an afterlife is not harmful, it was not as impactful in decreasing anxiety around death or improving mental health outcomes. Instead, better outcomes were associated with symbolic immortality.
Building symbolic immortality
To build a sense of symbolic immortality, the researchers once again noted that people “need to maintain a sense that they are meaningful, worthy, loved, accepted, and a part of something greater that can somehow continue to exist after their own death, which negates the terrorizing notion of finitude.”
To do so, it’s important to build up three important “death-anxiety buffers”: cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and attachment security.
- Cultural worldviews: religious beliefs or national and political identification
- Self-esteem: Defined as “the feeling that one is a person of value in a meaningful universe and is worthy of love, protection, and immortality, which may be achieved by living up to the cultural standards of worth.”
- Attachment security: Researchers explained that this occurs “the more people can feel a sense that they are loved and trust that significant others will be there for them in times of need.”
