Fear of Death

[BlueLantern]

I don't know why I never talked about it in here. But I have a chronic fear of death, I can't forget that I will die and be gone, and that this will happen to everyone. Sometimes at night when I trying to sleep I remember it and get a little panicked.

Does anyone know a cure to it? =(

 

[sibersan]

i think alot of people have a fear of death.

Personally, I dont let it get to me, because you cant have life without death, everybody is a risk of dying the second they're born. I can die within the next few hours, i know that, but if i spend my time mworrying about it, how am I going to enjoy those things I enjoy in life?

I dont believe in heaven or hell, i believe in reincarnation, and if reincarnation dont exist, then it dont exist, i'm not going to cry over it, cuz i cant do anything about it.

 

[fjancsi80]

Yesterday a wonderful, smart old woman here in Hungary, called Alaine Polcz, died. She was the widow of a great writer and an author herself. In the last two decades of her life he engaged in the hospice care of dying people and became an advocate a humane death. After the doctor informed her that she had lethal cancer she announced publicly that possible date of her death will be this autumn. Some weeks later a journalist asked her about her feelings and she said: "This is a beautiful summer, and I enjoy living very much. Everything in the world is wonderful and interesting around me. I'm happy."

 

[mark1111]

Live a full life. Climb mountains, sky dive, surf (the ocean, not cyberspace), travel to places most don't go to.

If your lucky to live a long time, you can look back on a life well lived!

 

[gabriel1]

At 22 I had a fear of death also. Now at 50 - if I die tomorrow or even tonight, I know I was the best I could be to myself and others and would go peacefully. as to your cure Blue lantern - Live life, laugh, cry, enjoy people, be good to others and be good to yourself.

 

[jo272wv]

I dont fear death but often wonder about it. I am not religious so the fear of an afterlife or burning in hell is not of any concern of mine. I always hope the way it will happen will be painless but one never knows. When I think of my life as over I think to myself of what did I know before 49 yrs ago and I choose to believe that is how it will be after. Nothing much to fear then and I go on living life and trying to be the best person to myself and others as I can be. I want people to remember me and say, he was one of the best friends I ever had. If that happens then it was a wonderful life.

 

[LarsVenice]

I think a lot of people have a fear of death.

Personally, I don't let it get to me, because you can't have life without death, everybody is a risk of dying the second they're born. I can die within the next few hours, I know that, but if I spend my time worrying about it, how am I going to enjoy those things I enjoy in life?

I don't believe in heaven or hell, i believe in reincarnation, and if reincarnation doesn't exist, then it doesn't exist, I'm not going to cry over it, cuz i can't do anything about it.

You sound very wise for 23. We can't know for sure about the afterlife, but I think we can be assured that there is conservation of matter/energy in the universe. Hindu philosophy teaches that the universe expands and then contracts, and in the end, the universe is reborn again - with the same matter/energy, but perhaps somewhat rearranged. Whatever you are, your essence perseveres and goes through permutations, even if your identity/ego gets merged into some collective consciousness. You can only return to that from which you came, and this cycle repeats itself. As you get older, you will mature and lose your fear of death or of the loss of identity/ego. In the end, everything will merge back together again before it can become fragmented once more. Think of death as a merging together with others like you. Being born is being split from this group, and that seems more traumatic to me than death.

Live each day the best you can - that is all you can or should do. There is no reason to worry about death.

 

[Rule-Of-Thirds]

You sound very wise for 23. We can't know for sure about the afterlife, but I think we can be assured that there is conservation of matter/energy in the universe. Hindu philosophy teaches that the universe expands and then contracts, and in the end, the universe is reborn again - with the same matter/energy, but perhaps somewhat rearranged. Whatever you are, your essence perseveres and goes through permutations, even if your identity/ego gets merged into some collective consciousness. You can only return to that from which you came, and this cycle repeats itself. As you get older, you will mature and lose your fear of death or of the loss of identity/ego. In the end, everything will merge back together again before it can become fragmented once more. Think of death as a merging together with others like you. Being born is being split from this group, and that seems more traumatic to me than death.

Live each day the best you can - that is all you can or should do. There is no reason to worry about death.

I don't think I've ever heard it put so beautiful and eloquent before.

 

[ElMmSM]

Even just reading this, I freak out. The thought I'll never see hear and breathe again just scares me. I don't want to die. I know I will, but I just could never deal with thinking about it.

 

[MirrorMan]

Everyone is afraid of death... if it is interfering with your life then you might want to consider professional help. I've gone to a psychiatrist in the past... and it really does help.

 

[StlKj]

You might look into what is referred to as Existential Death Anxiety. It goes beyond the fear of death that many people have and approaches terrors/panic attacks at the thought of cessation. For many, fear of the unknown is a large part of the fear of death--for those with E.D.A., it's often not so much a fear of the unknown, but a fear that they do know what happens when we die--which is nothingness and the end of being. While many people reach an age or level where they accept death as inevitable, an untreated person with E.D.A. can continue having panic attacks throughout his or her life.

 

[MirrorMan]

Worst for me is waking up due to a nighmare...

 

[MystikWizard]

I generally don't fear death unless it would be a painful death. Burning to death or struggling underwater I would be terrified of.

 

[BabiGayPimp]

Fear of death will come and got at various times in your life. It's a natural, unavoidable thing. It can be frightening though, particularly when you wake up in a panic at 3am, feeling your mortality as surely as you feel the blanket over you!

I've found this phrase comforting: "I resign as General Manager of the Universe!"

Don't take the burden of wondering and worrying about the nature of our shared dilemma as yours alone. The rest of us are in the same boat as you. So you are not alone. The intensity of your fear will diminsh and, in time, you will start to feel like yourself again.

 

[Art1eJ]

Life is to short to worry about death i laughed when i read this but i think we all at some time think about death but i never let it bring me down or stop me from living my life

 

[BabiGayPimp]

You might look into what is referred to as Existential Death Anxiety. It goes beyond the fear of death that many people have and approaches terrors/panic attacks at the thought of cessation. For many, fear of the unknown is a large part of the fear of death--for those with E.D.A., it's often not so much a fear of the unknown, but a fear that they do know what happens when we die--which is nothingness and the end of being. While many people reach an age or level where they accept death as inevitable, an untreated person with E.D.A. can continue having panic attacks throughout his or her life.

Killjoke that is a marvelous and comprehensive treament of the topic. We should not make light of someone's fears in this context, because this is more than just the typical foxhole jitters that we all feel from time to time. Professional counseling might be a necessary and good alternative.

 

[rollex_2000]

Three times I have been in a situation when I thought that the death is imminent but everything turned out well.
I sometimes think that there will be day when I'll go.
I am not scared nor i am worried. I just live my life to my best.
For me 23 years I've done so much stuff a lot of people dream about. I still have a lot of plans for my life. I think about the events after my death the same way as I think of the events before I was born. And I think is some cases a peaceful death can be wander full.

 

[Steppenwolf]

My grandfather when he was 88 or 89 told me he was not afraid of being dead; he was ready for that. What he was afraid of was the act of dying. He passed away last June in his sleep at the age of 91.

At 22, most of your life should be in front of you. Enjoy it and make the most of it. As far as what, if anything, will come afterwards, we all have our beliefs. If there is anything, you won't find out for sure until it happens. Let's just hope that for all of us, it will happen after a long, full life and in our sleep.