Thoughts of death and what it means to actually die kind of bothered me when I was a teen, but I was never really afraid of dying. I still don't fear it either. We're all going to die eventually, we can't do anything to stop it, so there's no sense worrying about it. And the funniest part is, I'm an atheist that believes there's most likely nothing after death except oblivion and it still doesn't bother me. I feel like most people struggle to not be bothered by that, but if I cease to exist when I die, hell if I'll actually care.
Thanatophobia (heavy stuff inside, ye be warned)
- Thread starter Kolby Jack
- Start date
I've had this thing once when I was maybe 9 years old and I read the news about an asteroid that might hit Earth in 203X or something like that. I was a bit upset that night and made my lil sis upset too.
Otherwise, nah, I still have almost 99 years to go according to my guess. Thoughts about the lurking nothingness feel... well, empty. Too empty to be really noticed.
Otherwise, nah, I still have almost 99 years to go according to my guess. Thoughts about the lurking nothingness feel... well, empty. Too empty to be really noticed.
I don't dwell on it much, but I suppose somewhere in my mind I'm convinced that the void holds no horrors for me. I guess that's the cool thing about depression, eh? The grass always seems greener, even if the grass is on "the other side". I suppose the only thing I'm really worried about is how I get there. Pain hurts.
When I was a lot younger I used to be very afraid of the idea of my own death. I used to hope that by the time I would be dying of old age, technology would have advanced such that I could live forever. Now though I've realised that my own death will not be a problem, for me, at least. I don't believe in any kind of afterlife, so the idea of not existing is pretty easy to comprehend. I can't be worried about not existing, because when it happens, I'm not around to be worried about it any more.
The only thing that bothers me is how I die, because I would not want to be in pain or be suffering beforehand.
I think it all comes down to how you comprehend death, but the reality is, being dead means that you literally can't be worried about anything any more.
The only thing that bothers me is how I die, because I would not want to be in pain or be suffering beforehand.
I think it all comes down to how you comprehend death, but the reality is, being dead means that you literally can't be worried about anything any more.
I get this bad. It's strange as I'm a logical person, and not irrationally scared of anything - except this. It's an incredibly strange feeling, and it's always kind of with you. I can be lying in bed with my wife, talking about stuff or watching a show, and in my mind it'll be there - she's going to die, and I'm going to die, and I'm not even going to know. I'm just going to.... stop. That's terrifying to me.
Have this infrequently, whenever it hits I try to focus on everything I have in life that's good, and it'll all be there even after I go on. Sometimes it helps alittle, other times it gets me out of that train of thought completely.
Also have times where I start thinking of the "possible" ultimate fate of the universe as a neverending cold sea of nothingness, and it scares me. What would it be like to be at the end, knowing everything is fading into sameness and not being able to do anything about it? That train of thought has kept me up before, and actually makes me glad I wont be there to see it.
Also have times where I start thinking of the "possible" ultimate fate of the universe as a neverending cold sea of nothingness, and it scares me. What would it be like to be at the end, knowing everything is fading into sameness and not being able to do anything about it? That train of thought has kept me up before, and actually makes me glad I wont be there to see it.
I barely think about it in everyday life. I proffer living thought so I don't do stupidly risky things on purpose with out good reason to justify it. In other words I am not one of those people who says "yolo".
I fully acknowledge every day that goes by is one day closer to death and when that final day comes I hope my death painless or heroic while not too painful. I figure that I should make the best out of the time I have as opposed wasting time by worrying about the inevitable.
I fully acknowledge every day that goes by is one day closer to death and when that final day comes I hope my death painless or heroic while not too painful. I figure that I should make the best out of the time I have as opposed wasting time by worrying about the inevitable.
I have random bouts paranoia and anxiety about having breast cancer and dying of that since I was 14. Made worse by the fact that I'm too afraid and embarrassed about it to actually get checked. I don?t know if that is a specific phobia, it probably is. I've had it more often lately that usual. It tends to hit when I think about the future or I'm trying to sleep. It also makes it hard to get motivated about anything because I think I?m going to die anyway and everything is meaningless. My brain is stupid. Even if I do have cancer which I probably don't doing nothing with my life isn't going to help.
I don't think about my own mortality nor that of others particularly. And when I do, it's only the thought of losing someone close to me that bothers me. The thought of my death isn't scary to me in the slightest.
I once read a book that said that the feudal samurai would spend a short amount of time, every day, to think about themselves dying in every way they could imagine. That way, when the time came, dying would be as natural to them as breathing.
Death isn't something to fear, because it can't be stopped and will happen no matter what you personally think or feel about it. Rejecting the idea of your own death is never a good idea, because pushing it out of your mind won't keep it from coming to you. Death is the only inevitable, and you need to accept that if you're going to fulfill a useful life.
Think of it this way: if you can't accept the fact you will die, that what will happen when you have to? What if you reach a point in your life when you need to decide between dying to do the right thing, or choosing your own life? There is no guarantee that you'll have to make that choice, but if you did then how can you trust that you'll do the right thing if you're so attached to your own existence?
Fear is often an involuntary thing: you don't choose to be afraid of this or that. But a man needs to acclimate himself to death, so that he makes the right decision when the choice comes between dying for other people and living for yourself. It's the only way to live a life unselfishly, devoted entirely to pursuing a higher purpose and the greater moral good.
Memento mori, friend.
Death isn't something to fear, because it can't be stopped and will happen no matter what you personally think or feel about it. Rejecting the idea of your own death is never a good idea, because pushing it out of your mind won't keep it from coming to you. Death is the only inevitable, and you need to accept that if you're going to fulfill a useful life.
Think of it this way: if you can't accept the fact you will die, that what will happen when you have to? What if you reach a point in your life when you need to decide between dying to do the right thing, or choosing your own life? There is no guarantee that you'll have to make that choice, but if you did then how can you trust that you'll do the right thing if you're so attached to your own existence?
Fear is often an involuntary thing: you don't choose to be afraid of this or that. But a man needs to acclimate himself to death, so that he makes the right decision when the choice comes between dying for other people and living for yourself. It's the only way to live a life unselfishly, devoted entirely to pursuing a higher purpose and the greater moral good.
Memento mori, friend.
I did have a period where I had bouts of this during the night, while I was at uni. I suppose at that point I had realised how many people my death would actually affect, and this more than death itself was the horrifying factor. I'm not really sure what stopped it, it just kinda didn't happen after a while.
.
There's been a few notions on religion here, so I'd like to add.
Mainly on confronting death, we remember that Jesus faced great fear in Getsemane. And in doing so took upon himself what some must go through. So even when the anxiety hits you, and you sit alone in your darkest hour, you are not alone. Jesus went through there too, and reminding you of this, is to alleviate your fear.
The teachings of the Gospels is to set you free; The truth shall set you free.
We can also read, that this teaching reaches it's ultimate goal, when death no longer has a power over you. In 1. Korinthians 15:54
--------
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ?Death has been swallowed up in victory.?
?Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting??
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
--------
We also read, that it is infact death, that drives us into sin. As desperadoes I guess. And knowing we are guilty is what keeps us from turning ourselves in.
So if you look at Christianity as strictly a spiritual teachings to heal your inside, it recognises your fear of death and speaks very directly about it's presence in daily life.
Mainly on confronting death, we remember that Jesus faced great fear in Getsemane. And in doing so took upon himself what some must go through. So even when the anxiety hits you, and you sit alone in your darkest hour, you are not alone. Jesus went through there too, and reminding you of this, is to alleviate your fear.
The teachings of the Gospels is to set you free; The truth shall set you free.
We can also read, that this teaching reaches it's ultimate goal, when death no longer has a power over you. In 1. Korinthians 15:54
--------
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ?Death has been swallowed up in victory.?
?Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting??
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
--------
We also read, that it is infact death, that drives us into sin. As desperadoes I guess. And knowing we are guilty is what keeps us from turning ourselves in.
So if you look at Christianity as strictly a spiritual teachings to heal your inside, it recognises your fear of death and speaks very directly about it's presence in daily life.
First off, let's not over-psychologize this. "Phobias" are by definition irrational fears or aberrant psychological conditions; death is something every human being stands to be confronted with, and anxiety over it can take many forms.
Let's also make clear that it's not necessarily death itself that our fears and anxieties attach to, since we know very little about it for certain, but there are other reasons one might be anxious over it, like the prospect of ultimately being separated from one's loved ones with no guarantee of meeting again (or more broadly, that any intimate relationship one establishes in this world is doomed), or worries that one will have lived and died without any sense of meaning for it all.
As you may have guessed, though I usually don't think of it in terms of a 'fear of death' - the things I described above (fear of loneliness and meaninglessness) do bother me, and honestly I find anyone who does not seem remotely concerned about them to be the strange ones.
That said, I don't get the fetishizing of death that is going on in parts of this thread. It does not give our lives meaning - if anything it presents an obstacle to meaning - if our lives have meaning, it's because we will give them that meaning, *despite* how death presents itself to us. All this "without death we'd have no drive" nonsense is just a convenient and not very convincing story one can tell themselves to help cope - nothing more. Besides the odd contemplative moment, most of us live as though we were totally oblivious or indifferent to death. Unless you're going to tell me you're somehow living some heroic life of great meaning a cut above that of the average modern man, then such rhetoric is empty.
Anyway, I try to deal with this by seeking out others with similar concerns and seeing if I can't make them my companions in the search for/creation of meaning. I regulate my activities, as much as possible, with a view to finding opportunities to encounter such people. Basically, I'm looking for a sense of direction in life that can justify it. It's not a real 'cure', that's just the only way I know of for dealing with it besides taking the blue pill (figuratively, possibly literally).
Let's also make clear that it's not necessarily death itself that our fears and anxieties attach to, since we know very little about it for certain, but there are other reasons one might be anxious over it, like the prospect of ultimately being separated from one's loved ones with no guarantee of meeting again (or more broadly, that any intimate relationship one establishes in this world is doomed), or worries that one will have lived and died without any sense of meaning for it all.
As you may have guessed, though I usually don't think of it in terms of a 'fear of death' - the things I described above (fear of loneliness and meaninglessness) do bother me, and honestly I find anyone who does not seem remotely concerned about them to be the strange ones.
That said, I don't get the fetishizing of death that is going on in parts of this thread. It does not give our lives meaning - if anything it presents an obstacle to meaning - if our lives have meaning, it's because we will give them that meaning, *despite* how death presents itself to us. All this "without death we'd have no drive" nonsense is just a convenient and not very convincing story one can tell themselves to help cope - nothing more. Besides the odd contemplative moment, most of us live as though we were totally oblivious or indifferent to death. Unless you're going to tell me you're somehow living some heroic life of great meaning a cut above that of the average modern man, then such rhetoric is empty.
Anyway, I try to deal with this by seeking out others with similar concerns and seeing if I can't make them my companions in the search for/creation of meaning. I regulate my activities, as much as possible, with a view to finding opportunities to encounter such people. Basically, I'm looking for a sense of direction in life that can justify it. It's not a real 'cure', that's just the only way I know of for dealing with it besides taking the blue pill (figuratively, possibly literally).
Might be here in a now-dead post (irony?), but I actually find the first post to be quite a bit...well bias towards the idea of no afterlife.
I mean, I've never had Thanatophobia before because of this, I believe in a Heaven/Hell, and believe that God's waaaay more lenient than the Church would have us believe; that many "sins" are more risky behaviour rather than bad behaviour, and that most of it is cultural guidelines, not spiritual.
Due to this, I have a hard time being scared of death, more just scared of the wake my death may leave in those around me, and afraid of the possible pain that may come with death.
I mean, I've never had Thanatophobia before because of this, I believe in a Heaven/Hell, and believe that God's waaaay more lenient than the Church would have us believe; that many "sins" are more risky behaviour rather than bad behaviour, and that most of it is cultural guidelines, not spiritual.
Due to this, I have a hard time being scared of death, more just scared of the wake my death may leave in those around me, and afraid of the possible pain that may come with death.
Hmmm, I wouldn't say I'm biased, really. I'm not a firm believer in any sort of religion, but neither do I commit to the idea that it's not possible for at least some of what religions describe to be true. If there is an afterlife, great (unless I go to hell, I guess). If I get reincarnated, super-duper. If the theory of quantum immortality is true and it turns out that I cannot ever experience a reality where I cease to exist, no matter how improbable the circumstances that keep me alive are, that's cool too. But the doubt is there for me, and just the idea that I COULD face non-existence is enough to scare me.Gunjester said:
The actual transition may involve some amount of pain or dread, but I doubt being dead is unpleasant in any way. Probably the closest thing we experience to it while alive is that kind of deep, dreamless sleep where you wake up and several hours have gone by without you having any sense of time passing. Death is probably like that, just without the waking up bit at the end. I see nothing objectionable about that. After all, if it's neurologically impossible to experience a thing, there seems to be little point in worrying about it.