[Phil153]

Fear of death is rarely the problem. The problem is likely something else in your life that's causing you to focus on it.

There's a range of emotions we can feel in any given situation, all the way from utter despair to joy. There is usually a reason you feel one and not the other which is completely unrelated to the situation you're in. It may be a function of habits you've developed, lack of meaningful contact with others, boredom, lack of future plans, timelines developed when you were younger (causing you to freak out) and so on. None are more rational than any other - they're just a function of what's going on in our habits and belief systems, and if we want to change we have to manage these things.

Forget death for a moment. It's completely out of your control. If you develop the wisdom to understand that, it ceases to be a concern. Instead focus on taking creative control of your life. If you make it challenging enough, managing your own life is very satisfying and rewarding - and fills a void that alcohol cannot.

Finally, a bit of perspective. Imagine you live in a universe where you're given a brief period of time, with no guarantees, after which your consciousness is snuffed out for eternity. Given eternity to think about it and plan your time, what you do in such a world? Your considered answer to that question, taking your feelings into account and realizing the limits of your own power, should give you some kind of guide.