New atheist here, gotta say, not loving it

[Edwardo Piet]

Same here.  I’m not afraid of stupid shit like hell.  I’m convinced that it, or any other kind of afterlife, does not exist.  What scares me is non-existence.  Of everything that I am simply ceasing to be.  Of no longer having any kind of awareness.

I don't understand. How can you fear something that is identical to what it was like before your birth?

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And, I think that similar thoughts are what convinced early peoples to concoct things like an afterlife or reincarnation.  Because it’s utterly terrifying if you actually think about it.

No it's not! It's the LEAST scary thing when you think about it. For starters it's not even a thing! I couldn't think of anything less terrifying than nonexistence! Even happy times are scarier because something might go wrong! After you die there's literally nothing to be afraid of anymore. It's life that's scary. After death there can be nothing scarier for me than before death. I've NEVER feared death. Not even when I was a child. The suffering from dying is bad, but after I'm dead? I don't care about my absence when I won't even be capable of missing it. I don't get it. If I didn't wake up tomorrow I literally wouldn't and couldn't give a shit. And if I was told by a doctor that I wouldn't wake up tomorrow, I'd be sad that I wouldn't get to experience joy anymore but I wouldn't have anything to be afraid of anymore either. It's only utterly terrifying if you don't actually think about it and you think about something else instead. Nonexistence can't be scary.