(March 4, 2011 at 9:41 pm)Cynical8 Wrote: I've been dealing with an issue that I believe only atheists could really help me with, and so I came across these forums. I just joined, and after a quick browse didn't see my issue anywhere, so I apologize if this is a repeat topic.
Anyway. I'll do my best to explain my issue:
I'm an atheist and I also have a few problems with depression and anxiety. My problem, however, is that I've recently developed a MAJOR "fear" of death.
Specifically, I am convinced, beyond a doubt, that there is no existence after death. I am 100% convinced that when I die, there will be nothingness... no afterlife, no me, no thoughts, no blackness, no sleep, nor any ability to think. I won't even know I died, and I won't even be able to acknowledge that I don't know I died. At this moment, I feel like I really understand what that means, and I am deeply deeply disturbed by it. I'm not sure how to cope with it. I can keep it out of my mind for short periods of time, but ultimately I'll read an article about someone dying, see a news report, and so on and start thinking about it again.
If anyone has any advice or thoughts or hopefully some sort of solution to my problem, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Think about it this way: every second, you are dying many times, and being reborn again. The same electrons/chemicals that create your consciousness a split second ago have already reacted. When you die, these biochemical reactions simply stop. Every x number of years, all the atoms in your body have been replaced. Yet, you still think that you are alive, because of the illusion that consciousness is continuous. However, the fact is that you are experiencing death right now, but are not aware of it because your memories interact with the 'new' consciousness that is created every second as metabolic processes power your brain. When you die, metabolic processes simply do not replace the chemicals that have reacted to produce consciousness, a process that you will not even fear.
