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OP: is it death that you fear, or some kind of unknown "life" after death? If so, you are actually afraid of life, not death.
Are you afraid of being in an unconscious state after death? Don't be: the snooze button on an alarm clock is proof that unconsciousness isn't so bad. Think about it: you're willing to pay real money for a feature which allows you to return to an unconscious state.
My irrational fear of death was caused by one thing: the belief that I would somehow remain conscious after death. I imagined all sorts of spooky things: darkness, unknown spirit worlds, hell (I was raised in fundamentalist Christianity), or some other kind of "ultimate confrontation with the unknown." Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (much of it self guided with written exercises) finally helped eradicate the belief that I would somehow remain conscious after death. Now I'm not so afraid.
Being that you are alive and conscious right now, how is it that people aren't afraid of death?
I understand completely when people say when you die, there's nothing so you won't know any better and not know your dead and what not.
What that fails to address is the fact that you are living now. How could you not fear( right now) that there will be a time when you're dead that you won't feel, think, see, smell, touch the things you do right now? Just like for people who have sight right now, aren't you scared that one day, you might lose that ability to see?
I understand to not to worry about things you can't control but the mind doesn't work like that. Since you are alive right now, how can you not worry that it will be taken away from you.
If I spend all my time thinking about dying, I'm forgetting to actually live. What shame it would be to die having done nothing but worry.
OP: is it death that you fear, or some kind of unknown "life" after death? If so, you are actually afraid of life, not death.
Are you afraid of being in an unconscious state after death? Don't be: the snooze button on an alarm clock is proof that unconsciousness isn't so bad. Think about it: you're willing to pay real money for a feature which allows you to return to an unconscious state.
My irrational fear of death was caused by one thing: the belief that I would somehow remain conscious after death. I imagined all sorts of spooky things: darkness, unknown spirit worlds, hell (I was raised in fundamentalist Christianity), or some other kind of "ultimate confrontation with the unknown." Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (much of it self guided with written exercises) finally helped eradicate the belief that I would somehow remain conscious after death. Now I'm not so afraid.
I'm not afraid of death or what unknown 'life' after death after I'm dead.
I'm afraid of not being here one day. Since I love being able to feel, touch, see, etc, I'm afraid of one day not being able to do all that I do today. And since I know death being 100% and I know that death will take all this from me, fear that.
I'm not afraid of death or what unknown 'life' after death after I'm dead.
I'm afraid of not being here one day. Since I love being able to feel, touch, see, etc, I'm afraid of one day not being able to do all that I do today. And since I know death being 100% and I know that death will take all this from me, fear that.
Please tell me I'm making sense
I get what you are saying, but it's not a "mature" thought process. Please don't read that as me belittling you. I just think you need to come to terms with loss. Have you lost anyone close to you? Most people only learn to accept loss when they lose someone close.
Buddhist monks will spend days and days crafting beautiful mandala's out of colored sands, and then when it is all done pour all the sand into a river, or otherwise destroy it. At first it seems such a shame, but when they explain that you cannot truly hold onto anything and that you will find more pace and happiness in accepting loss - you realize it's true. It's an exercise in futility to try and hold onto something that will inevitably be gone. Simply enjoy that you have it now.
Background: I'm an atheist and I believe that death is essentially the end.
I want to live as long as I can, but I'm not afraid of death, because at that point I think I will lose all awareness.
It saddens me to think I might miss out on a lot of cool things after I die, I just try not to focus on that because it is inevitable.
I look at it this way; The holiday season is upon us. I absolutely love this time of year. I spend as much time as I can with family and friends, share great meals, drink, conversations, and memories. Come January 2 I do tend to get the post holiday blues. If I sat through Christmas dinner dwelling on how my favorite time of the year was almost over, it would put a damper on the whole event for me, and I wouldn't enjoy it as much. There is no reason to focus on the inevitable.
Background: I'm an atheist and I believe that death is essentially the end.
I want to live as long as I can, but I'm not afraid of death, because at that point I think I will lose all awareness.
It saddens me to think I might miss out on a lot of cool things after I die, I just try not to focus on that because it is inevitable.
I look at it this way; The holiday season is upon us. I absolutely love this time of year. I spend as much time as I can with family and friends, share great meals, drink, conversations, and memories. Come January 2 I do tend to get the post holiday blues. If I sat through Christmas dinner dwelling on how my favorite time of the year was almost over, it would put a damper on the whole event for me, and I wouldn't enjoy it as much. There is no reason to focus on the inevitable.
But i still do enjoy life as much as I can but it doesn't stop me fearing that one day it will be taken away from. Just like i fear snakes. My fear of snakes doesn't stop me from enjoying life and going to the zoo.
It's funny though that it seems that when life is so good that I think about my fear of death cause it is going to take away the good life I have.
Death is eternal peace and rest from ALL your fears. What is so scary about having peace and rest?
What's so scary is that you won't have a mind or consiousness to feel that peace and rest. It's not like right now when you can go to a masseuse or whatever floats your boat and they do an awesome job. You get to experience that right then physically and mentally. But with death you can't be able to physically enjoy that peace and rest cause there is no more physical you.
Background: I'm an atheist and I believe that death is essentially the end.
Death is the end of YOUR consciousness. Next time around, YOUR consciousness will be entirely different. You may not even be the same sex.
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