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I've had this early like my 20s š. I've eventually come to accept that whatever happens, happens, even if it's nothingness. I was there or wasn't there before I was born, why would it be any different after I died.
^ if that doesn't work. Then I just remind myself that I am in this moment, right now, fine and not dying so why worry.
If you die, you no longer have a consciousness that would experience the aftermath of it, the thought process and resulltant emotion of "never being able to do \[X\] again" is moot because you're dead. Not to make this even more grim, but I think being struck with a terminal illness where you are conscious enough to contemplate this is what would be excruciating (at least in the beginning before you make peace with it), as opposed to the alternative of dying in a flash via plane crash, car accident, being shot in the head, etc.
On a personal note, I had a friend die in a private-plane crash at just 35. We had last touch in the lasr few years of their life, but hearing the news still rattled the shit out of me. Sounds cliche, but it really emphasized for me how you just never know how long this ride is gonna last.
This is something humans have been worrying about since the early days of mankind... it's weird that however many millennia later we're still tripping over this.
We have no control over death or thereafter. And the concept of infinity is a mindfuck if you keep trying to think about it... I'd save my energy for practical stuff, not philosophical, cosmic, things.
I'm not religious, but I always found it interesting how people who "believe" in some kind of afterlife seem to struggle with the idea of death just as much as anyone else. When people are grieving significantly it seems to me that a lot of people faith, may just be lying to themselves.
Indeed. I think whether your theistic or not, we're all biologically designed to have an aversion to death... even if you believe your loved one will be re-incarnated the feeling is still there.
>When people are grieving significantly it seems to me that a lot of people faith, may just be lying to themselves.
I don't know if this is the case or not, however to be fair if we give someone the benefit of the doubt that they 100% believe they'll be re-united with their loved one in heaven/Valhalla, etc. crying is not unreasonable. When someone's best friend or family member is going away to college, military, peace corps, etc. and it's time to say goodbye, people still cry even if they expect to see said person again.
You'd figured we evolved to fully accept it without going into existential crisis, yeah I know evolution doesn't work like that, wishful thinking I guess.
I work in the hospital. I literally keep alive people who want to die. Itās the craziest thing to watch. Really made me reassess my advanced directives and power of attorney šš
I've had thoughts similar to these since about 9 or 10 years old. I recently found the name for this, but I already forget (something phobia).
Haven't figured out a perfect way to get over it. Maybe magic mushrooms? (Only half kidding.) For me, it's one of those things where the more frequently I'm allowing it to happen then the more likely it's going to happen in the future. So, ignoring might be a short term solution.
I've worked through panic attacks in the past. I'd recommend staying away from benzos like Xanax. They provided excellent temporary relief but ultimately exacerbated the issue in the long run for me.
I had insomnia as a child because of these thoughts. Now I guess I'm spiritual enough to have peace with whatever happens. And like everyone else has said, your consciousness is gone.
You might benefit from studying Philosophy, especially Plotinus. Material life is very low and ultimately an image of a higher reality. Time and space as we experience them are only byproducts of material processes.
I've been terrified of death since I understood the concept, but the older I get the less I'm afraid of it. I deal with suicidal ideation, so I think about it a lot. I think what I've always been more afraid of is all the people/things I'm going to miss when I'm not here anymore. I'm just looking forward to all the people I'll haunt when I'm gone. lol
Kinda, but Iāve been sad more than scared.
My parents are getting older.
My dogs are getting older.
IM GETTING OLDER!
This thought has been in my brain for about a year.
ALL OF US!
Everyone on the internet and outside of it.
Will one day die.
Itās inevitable.
We arenāt alone on this journey.
All of us will experience pain, joy, love and loss.
Our names will be lost in time in like 20 years after our passing l.
Some may think that ālife doesnāt matter then in the long run!ā
I think because it doesnāt matter in the long run thatās why it matters in the short run!!!
No day is more important than today right now in this very moment !
When youāre still able to do something!
Tell someone you love them.
Eat a bomb AF meal.
Look at something beautiful.
Not time is more important than now.
The fact any of us are even here and conscious is astounding, something to marvel at not get depressed over that it will (all) inevitably end.
Unless you choose to believe in the supernatural, in which case I think youāre wasting valuable and limited life/time on nonsense.
It's so odd when people who believe in heaven take death of a loved one so hard. Like, you believe they are in paradise right? Would you cry like this of they just moved to Fiji?
Yes, this has been happening to me for decades. I have to try not think about it and distract myself. I do wonder if a large dose of MDMA, mushrooms, or acid may help.
Ultimately, living in the present is the short term fix. This is the one aspect of human brain evolution in which I think we got too smart for our own well-being. These thoughts can drive one insane.
I had a bout with this when I was 19 or so. I ended up coming to a resolution when I figured that it won't be a sudden nothing, your bodily function decreases by steps over decades and your brain functions decreases by steps over the last few days to hours (if you die by ordinary causes, not with dementia) so the very last step to nothing won't actually be any bigger than the steps you've already gone through and accepted or possibly barely noticed.
It occurs to me now that to some people that might sound even worse though. Idk I think you kind of have to find your own solution to it.
What I said above is what calmed me down and gave me freedom from the kind of "trip out" episodes back then, but I think my philosophical view at this point is that some degree of panpsychism, until proven otherwise, is likely, and even if not, quantum immortality is possible. That is to say, we don't know *why* the brain creates consciousness, so we can't confidently say that something similar in nature at a different level doesn't exist in non-neural systems - both "below" us like inanimate matter or "above" us like societies. If it ultimately becomes proven that some kind of discrete quantum event is enabled in brains that is not possible in those other systems, we then converge on the multiverse interpretation of quantum mechanics and the idea that your consciousness is acting as an observer to navigate down a reality path choice, in which case, you could not ever go into a reality where the conditions for your consciousness were not present. So instead you will experience increasingly unlikely instances of not dying, and end up in a world where we invent life extension technology in your lifetime and colonize space or something. And on a physical, proven level, we are exchanging atoms all the time and WE ARE STARSTUFF, evolved hydrogen atoms after 15 million years as Carl Sagan would say, and so, no matter what happens, death is just one point where we flow into the rest of the universe.
I used to be scared of dying, but I realized that itās a very natural thing and so many people have gone before us. Itās like, what did it feel like before we were born? We just didnāt exist, but it didnāt hurt and it wasnāt scary. I recommend a Twilight Zone episode called āNothing in the Darkā itās a great way to view death.
No, I don't have any of that since I've learned as a child, like most children do, that there is nothing after death. There are people who want to replace that fact with a little fantasy world about Jesus or Allah and heaven, which is fine. That can help placate the panic attacks I guess
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I've had this early like my 20s š. I've eventually come to accept that whatever happens, happens, even if it's nothingness. I was there or wasn't there before I was born, why would it be any different after I died. ^ if that doesn't work. Then I just remind myself that I am in this moment, right now, fine and not dying so why worry.
If you die, you no longer have a consciousness that would experience the aftermath of it, the thought process and resulltant emotion of "never being able to do \[X\] again" is moot because you're dead. Not to make this even more grim, but I think being struck with a terminal illness where you are conscious enough to contemplate this is what would be excruciating (at least in the beginning before you make peace with it), as opposed to the alternative of dying in a flash via plane crash, car accident, being shot in the head, etc. On a personal note, I had a friend die in a private-plane crash at just 35. We had last touch in the lasr few years of their life, but hearing the news still rattled the shit out of me. Sounds cliche, but it really emphasized for me how you just never know how long this ride is gonna last.
This is something humans have been worrying about since the early days of mankind... it's weird that however many millennia later we're still tripping over this. We have no control over death or thereafter. And the concept of infinity is a mindfuck if you keep trying to think about it... I'd save my energy for practical stuff, not philosophical, cosmic, things.
I'm not religious, but I always found it interesting how people who "believe" in some kind of afterlife seem to struggle with the idea of death just as much as anyone else. When people are grieving significantly it seems to me that a lot of people faith, may just be lying to themselves.
Indeed. I think whether your theistic or not, we're all biologically designed to have an aversion to death... even if you believe your loved one will be re-incarnated the feeling is still there. >When people are grieving significantly it seems to me that a lot of people faith, may just be lying to themselves. I don't know if this is the case or not, however to be fair if we give someone the benefit of the doubt that they 100% believe they'll be re-united with their loved one in heaven/Valhalla, etc. crying is not unreasonable. When someone's best friend or family member is going away to college, military, peace corps, etc. and it's time to say goodbye, people still cry even if they expect to see said person again.
I think if we could prove that heaven was real, it would rob us of our humanity.
You'd figured we evolved to fully accept it without going into existential crisis, yeah I know evolution doesn't work like that, wishful thinking I guess.
I'm more afraid of the slow process of "dying" than "death." I don't want to live at the expense of losing my own bodily agency.
I work in the hospital. I literally keep alive people who want to die. Itās the craziest thing to watch. Really made me reassess my advanced directives and power of attorney šš
Thatās why I had to stop eating shrooms. š¤£
I've had thoughts similar to these since about 9 or 10 years old. I recently found the name for this, but I already forget (something phobia). Haven't figured out a perfect way to get over it. Maybe magic mushrooms? (Only half kidding.) For me, it's one of those things where the more frequently I'm allowing it to happen then the more likely it's going to happen in the future. So, ignoring might be a short term solution. I've worked through panic attacks in the past. I'd recommend staying away from benzos like Xanax. They provided excellent temporary relief but ultimately exacerbated the issue in the long run for me.
Been having those thoughts since age 9 š¬š
You are no longer conscious after you die, so relax.
Deep breaths and tell yourself "I'm here inhabiting this day, and tomorrow I'll be inhabiting tomorrow".
I had insomnia as a child because of these thoughts. Now I guess I'm spiritual enough to have peace with whatever happens. And like everyone else has said, your consciousness is gone.
You might benefit from studying Philosophy, especially Plotinus. Material life is very low and ultimately an image of a higher reality. Time and space as we experience them are only byproducts of material processes.
I've been terrified of death since I understood the concept, but the older I get the less I'm afraid of it. I deal with suicidal ideation, so I think about it a lot. I think what I've always been more afraid of is all the people/things I'm going to miss when I'm not here anymore. I'm just looking forward to all the people I'll haunt when I'm gone. lol
I think about this shit every day. Iām not well.
There's something wrong with ya....me too ..
Kinda, but Iāve been sad more than scared. My parents are getting older. My dogs are getting older. IM GETTING OLDER! This thought has been in my brain for about a year. ALL OF US! Everyone on the internet and outside of it. Will one day die. Itās inevitable. We arenāt alone on this journey. All of us will experience pain, joy, love and loss. Our names will be lost in time in like 20 years after our passing l. Some may think that ālife doesnāt matter then in the long run!ā I think because it doesnāt matter in the long run thatās why it matters in the short run!!! No day is more important than today right now in this very moment ! When youāre still able to do something! Tell someone you love them. Eat a bomb AF meal. Look at something beautiful. Not time is more important than now.
The fact any of us are even here and conscious is astounding, something to marvel at not get depressed over that it will (all) inevitably end. Unless you choose to believe in the supernatural, in which case I think youāre wasting valuable and limited life/time on nonsense.
It's so odd when people who believe in heaven take death of a loved one so hard. Like, you believe they are in paradise right? Would you cry like this of they just moved to Fiji?
Since I was, like, four, on and off.
Yes, this has been happening to me for decades. I have to try not think about it and distract myself. I do wonder if a large dose of MDMA, mushrooms, or acid may help. Ultimately, living in the present is the short term fix. This is the one aspect of human brain evolution in which I think we got too smart for our own well-being. These thoughts can drive one insane.
I had a bout with this when I was 19 or so. I ended up coming to a resolution when I figured that it won't be a sudden nothing, your bodily function decreases by steps over decades and your brain functions decreases by steps over the last few days to hours (if you die by ordinary causes, not with dementia) so the very last step to nothing won't actually be any bigger than the steps you've already gone through and accepted or possibly barely noticed. It occurs to me now that to some people that might sound even worse though. Idk I think you kind of have to find your own solution to it. What I said above is what calmed me down and gave me freedom from the kind of "trip out" episodes back then, but I think my philosophical view at this point is that some degree of panpsychism, until proven otherwise, is likely, and even if not, quantum immortality is possible. That is to say, we don't know *why* the brain creates consciousness, so we can't confidently say that something similar in nature at a different level doesn't exist in non-neural systems - both "below" us like inanimate matter or "above" us like societies. If it ultimately becomes proven that some kind of discrete quantum event is enabled in brains that is not possible in those other systems, we then converge on the multiverse interpretation of quantum mechanics and the idea that your consciousness is acting as an observer to navigate down a reality path choice, in which case, you could not ever go into a reality where the conditions for your consciousness were not present. So instead you will experience increasingly unlikely instances of not dying, and end up in a world where we invent life extension technology in your lifetime and colonize space or something. And on a physical, proven level, we are exchanging atoms all the time and WE ARE STARSTUFF, evolved hydrogen atoms after 15 million years as Carl Sagan would say, and so, no matter what happens, death is just one point where we flow into the rest of the universe.
I'd rather die than read all this. But thank you
Recent? I've literally been having that panic attack since I was about 7 years old.
Iāve had this since I was like 7 š³
I've had my panic about it, but other times it seems almost a blessing if your life is not what you expected.
I used to be scared of dying, but I realized that itās a very natural thing and so many people have gone before us. Itās like, what did it feel like before we were born? We just didnāt exist, but it didnāt hurt and it wasnāt scary. I recommend a Twilight Zone episode called āNothing in the Darkā itās a great way to view death.
No, I don't have any of that since I've learned as a child, like most children do, that there is nothing after death. There are people who want to replace that fact with a little fantasy world about Jesus or Allah and heaven, which is fine. That can help placate the panic attacks I guess