Extreme fear of death

[The-Zeronaut]

Hi dudes,
am i the only one totally scared of death?
lately i´ve been thinking about this a lot (a good friend of mine has cancer)
i mean not of death itself like dying in a car crash or something like that but the thought of "nothing in the other side".
i sweat and quake of fear just thinking of it.

im not a religious person...my logic tells me that when someone dies its over
but i NEED to think that there is something else im not talking about "heaven" or "75 virgins waiting for me" but "something"

i know my mother had a "near to death" experience many years ago,
i remember talking to her about this just one time many many years ago
i was just a kid so i don't remember the exact details very well :S
but i remember that she told me that she saw herself in the room and the doctors from above and later she returned to her body.
If i was seeing that on television i would think "that's bullshit" but
its my mother and , of course , i believe her.


what are your thoughts on this topic?

 

[DanLights]

I have a fear of the truth that at any time, and for whatever reasons someone (even yourself) can all of a sudden die, just like that.

I fear that a lot more now that my dad has cancer (read my thread I just posted here, we're going to be paisanos now mark), we all experienced that horrible feeling when we were told the most terrible news you can get with a beloved family member or friend

 

[GarethSE]

i get it hitting me hard at times
but i just keep reminding myself of that part of fight club where tyler's going on about how you have to know, not fear, that one day, you're going to die.

i PERSONALLY believe that after you die, you're worm food, that's it
and as unpleasant as it is i sorta force myself to embrace that knowledge and use it to really try and use my time here to its fullest potential

edit: i also find it very telling how you say you NEED to feel like there's something after death. this sorta solidifies my argument against religion. humanity has a fear of the unknown, what is more unknown than what happens after you die? i always saw religion as a tool for those afraid of death to deal with that fear. i mean, i dont really mean any offense to anyone on this forum who IS relgiious, dont get me wrong but I think it speaks volumes.
it seems to go either way. you either don't want to accept the idea that there's nothing after death so you go with the idea that if you're a good person now, you'll be rewarded with eternal bliss or you go the opposite direction and try and come to terms with your belief that you're wormfood after death so you try to be as good a person as possible now because this is probably the only chance you get. and its all to easy to see which is the easier option.

 

[The-Zeronaut]

i get it hitting me hard at times
but i just keep reminding myself of that part of fight club where tyler's going on about how you have to know, not fear, that one day, you're going to die.

i PERSONALLY believe that after you die, you're worm food, that's it
and as unpleasant as it is i sorta force myself to embrace that knowledge and use it to really try and use my time here to its fullest potential

edit: i also find it very telling how you say you NEED to feel like there's something after death. this sorta solidifies my argument against religion. humanity has a fear of the unknown, what is more unknown than what happens after you die? i always saw religion as a tool for those afraid of death to deal with that fear. i mean, i dont really mean any offense to anyone on this forum who IS relgiious, dont get me wrong but I think it speaks volumes.
it seems to go either way. you either don't want to accept the idea that there's nothing after death so you go with the idea that if you're a good person now, you'll be rewarded with eternal bliss or you go the opposite direction and try and come to terms with your belief that you're wormfood after death so you try to be as good a person as possible now because this is probably the only chance you get. and its all to easy to see which is the easier option.

i think that religion is created by the fear of death too.
when i said "i need to believe that there is something else" i didnt mean it in a religious way...
just that when we die its not over...that there is "something" after...

the problem is...i am a science person XD i believe in the big bang , the evolution of species, etc
and i pretty much think that religion is the worst thing that has happened to humanity but still...
as the fear of "nothing" after death scares the shit out of me
i need to convince myself that there is something after death

Occam´s razor : The simplest answer is usually the correct answer.

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”

Epicurus quotes (Greek philosopher, BC 341-270)

 

[coldthrn]

Think of it this way. Can you remember before you were born? That will be as when you die, if you relate with atheism. As human-beings we are hard coded to survive . Fear of death is natural because we want to survive at all costs. Propagation of DNA one of these ways we can fulfill this need. So go bang a girl it will make you feel better.

 

[STINNETT]

What is so scary about nothing?

It's scarier for me to think about life after death. Would I not suffer with regret and longing, miss my loved ones, etc? Would I know what had happened, would I forget all that I loved? Would I want that to happen?

Fuck all of that.

I was dead for billions of years before I was alive. When I'm done being alive it won't be any different. That is comforting to me.

 

[DanLights]

So go bang a girl it will make you feel better.

so long as it ain't your sister or a slutty ex-girlfriend you hate, it will ALWAYS make you feel better

I don't know why i said that

 

[SocialNumb]

It's that time:



Good night.

 

[GarethSE]

so long as it ain't your sister or a slutty ex-girlfriend you hate, it will ALWAYS make you feel better

I don't know why i said that

never worked for me all that much

i want a cuddlebuddy rather than a fuckbuddy haha

 

[colonel kurtz]

i don't fear death in the least bit

i don't welcome it at this point in my life, but it's completely unavoidable, so i totally accept that it's going to happen at some point

from the moment that my father's sperm penetrated the membrane around my mother's egg, the only thing i've been guaranteed in this world is that, at some point, i will die

as such, the thought of death is something i've embraced and am comfortable with. i even told my wife recently that upon my death, i wish to be buried in a simple pine box with no embalming. i want to know that every bit of my body is being returned to the very earth from whence it came, and that the very molecules that formed my physical being will go on to exist in other life forms for eternity.

i think she thought i was bullshitting her...i better put that shit in writing, because i sure as hell don't want to stew in my own juices within the confines of a sealed metal casket.

 

[slayercannibalsuffohead]

Yep, doesnt really faze me at all. As someone said earlier, "do you remember before you were born?" I have had cancer and 3 months ago I found a lump in the same spot again! Going today to finalize if its back again or not, does it worry me, nah, not really, just feel more for my daughter than anything else. So I'll let ya know when it comes to the crunch (knocking on deaths door), then that will be a true reflection on the situation. Hell, Ive had 36 great years of life, if Im gonna go down, I'll go down swingin! Do they play death metal in hell?

 

[TheWinterSnow]

Its something that hits me hard every now and then, and turning 20 at the end of the year, its pretty easy to see the scope at how short life really is, that is if you live a full life, and beyond that as you get older your not as healthy and young as you once were. Its more the fear of never being able to enjoy the finer things in life, all those little things that make you feel extremely good, being able to enjoy the beauty of nature, going out and seeing the world, watching the times change over the years. The simple idea that everything that you once were will be gone and everything you worked hard for will be gone, and eventually the memory of you will soon be gone. All I am saying is that its just the idea that we won't always be around to feel the rush of being alive. Maybe if we lived longer, especially with young healthy in shape bodies that we have in our early adulthood longer, being alive for at least 150 years if not longer, where 1000 years would be nice, I would be much more satisfied being able to enjoy life for that long and to pass. I think my fear is that we don;t get enough time to live, life is extremely fucking short.

Still If I don't die of brain cancer I would either like to be preserved to basically be "brought back" when the medical technology gets advanced enough for that, I would be more satisfied with life and death if I went from cyborg to cyborg until I absolute wore my brain out to the point that it just shuts down. If not that, the pine box with no embalming is what I want, actually I would really prefer to be buried underground without a box completely naked so that you completely absorb back into the earth, maybe one day you will be a part of food that someone eats...you become a living person again, well not really but a part of you would.

 

[ATLA]

when we die our resources are recycled back into the earth. when earth dies it will be recycled into space. along with the sun and the stars. from a human perspective there may not be anything on the "other side". but at that point we wont be human anymore.

 

[James Murphy]

... i've cheated it once. don't be afraid, just live life strong and go for it. respecting the fragility of life is good and responsible... fear of death is crippling. leave it behind you.

 

[Ermz]

Some cool advice around. It's especially interesting to get the perspective of those who've been close to it. It seems, ironically, that they are the least hounded by it. I hope things work out for ya gold-digger man (sorry your nick is just too damn long!). If not man, you can always start a side project with Vitek! \m/

The uncertainty and fear gets at me every now and then. In fact I remember a scene once when I was around 6 or 7 years old where I was talking to my mother about it and fighting back tears because the thought freaked me out so much. As I grew up it dawned on me that we aren't strangers to being dead. After all we weren't born at the start of time (if there is such a thing). It's the sense of 'self' that really puzzles me - that sensation of being alive and totally independent and in control of one self. The thing that the religious types would define as a 'soul'. As much as we're just a collection of biological parts, it's hard to unite this sense of self with the plain physical truths. Are we likely to feel this sense of self again after we're dead? Our brains determine our personality wholly, but this feels separate from all that. Why am I not you, and you not me? It's been that thought making me wonder whether there is any creed to the reincarnation idea, where your 'essence', so to speak, is transferred into another physical body, and you take on the traits of that body. I don't mean to sound spiritual, but the idea has had me wondering for a while now.

My biggest fear about death is the loss of everything I've striven to achieve. To spend so many years learning and finding one's niche in the order of things only to have a timer set for it all to be rendered void seems... senseless. But that's life. We lack perspective. It's hard to see the bigger picture when we're part of it.

 

[26]

It's the sense of 'self' that really puzzles me - that sensation of being alive and totally independent and in control of one self. The thing that the religious types would define as a 'soul'. As much as we're just a collection of biological parts, it's hard to unite this sense of self with the plain physical truths. Are we likely to feel this sense of self again after we're dead? Our brains determine our personality wholly, but this feels separate from all that. Why am I not you, and you not me? It's been that thought making me wonder whether there is any creed to the reincarnation idea, where your 'essence', so to speak, is transferred into another physical body, and you take on the traits of that body. I don't mean to sound spiritual, but the idea has had me wondering for a while now.

My biggest fear about death is the loss of everything I've striven to achieve. To spend so many years learning and finding one's niche in the order of things only to have a timer set for it all to be rendered void seems... senseless. But that's life. We lack perspective. It's hard to see the bigger picture when we're part of it.

It's said in some old teachings that the mind can't remember the knowledge/experience of the soul as this would cause the mind to "explode".
However, according to them the soul lives on with a "new" lesson until it is ready to leave the circle (of reincarnation).
One thing is for sure, I never read anything that mentioned the possibility of remembering the last ego.

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

If it happens, it happens, the key is to enjoy as much as you can before it happens!

 

[El_Gato]

Death is the main reason to make the best use of your time IMO. When I went through a couple of diseases with huge pains, I realized our time was a precious gift given to us so I'm determined to have the best time as possible on earth. I sometimes find myself thinking about my times in bed, not able to eat or even drink so little things are much more appreciated and important now. I try to make my dreams come true but I also remember that being alive is just great.
Fear of the death is just natural, the worst thing's being afraid of life.

 

[Put]

You'll go to rest , into an eternal dream. or not.
But I think that what people refer to as Seeing the light or seeing their lives pass byis just your pineal gland workin for you.

here, some info;



but It wont really matter now will it ?
Either there IS something... wich has to be totally awesome then, everything's better than this.

Or there is no consciousness at all..... even better imo.

 

[ze kink]

No, I'm not afraid of it at all.

Some cool advice around. It's especially interesting to get the perspective of those who've been close to it. It seems, ironically, that they are the least hounded by it. I hope things work out for ya gold-digger man (sorry your nick is just too damn long!). If not man, you can always start a side project with Vitek! m/

The uncertainty and fear gets at me every now and then. In fact I remember a scene once when I was around 6 or 7 years old where I was talking to my mother about it and fighting back tears because the thought freaked me out so much. As I grew up it dawned on me that we aren't strangers to being dead. After all we weren't born at the start of time (if there is such a thing). It's the sense of 'self' that really puzzles me - that sensation of being alive and totally independent and in control of one self. The thing that the religious types would define as a 'soul'. As much as we're just a collection of biological parts, it's hard to unite this sense of self with the plain physical truths. Are we likely to feel this sense of self again after we're dead? Our brains determine our personality wholly, but this feels separate from all that. Why am I not you, and you not me? It's been that thought making me wonder whether there is any creed to the reincarnation idea, where your 'essence', so to speak, is transferred into another physical body, and you take on the traits of that body. I don't mean to sound spiritual, but the idea has had me wondering for a while now.

This idea originally made me really interested in Buddhism. I'd thought about it and came to the conclusion that I definately do not believe that souls exist and we "are our brains", so to speak (think about e.g. Phineas Gage), but instead there might be a consicousness that would be reborn. There would be no memories of past "lives" and the consicousness might be a little bit different from it's past "stages", but it'd still be the same consicousness. Then I realized that it was basically the same thing as rebirth and anatta in Buddhism.