Fear of death

[Azazylix]

I remember a quote by one of the ancient philosophers that said (VERY loosely):

"Where I am, Death is not, and where Death is, I am not. Why should it then be of concern to me?"

(I just got the gist of the quote and struggled to phrase it as closely as I can, forgive me!) I personally find that quote really comforting, even though there have been times when I was consumed with the thought of my own demise. I'd say my fear of Death stems from the fear of irrelevance, of simply passing into the nothingness of history, another patch of dirt people will tread upon without further thought, another statistic. I'd very much like to change the world before I pass, and before that happens I doubt I'd be able to rest in peace...

..although as many users before me have already said, it probably won't matter in the end. :/

[HeyItsZeus]

Right now I could say I have no fear of death but I'm sure that when I'm about to die that might change... As far as an afterlife goes; no.

[houseofcantor]

I get lippy on this subject because of my experiences. Now I got five stents and a cigarette in my hand.

What never dies, is I. If you're standing over my corpse before throwing it into the recycle bin, I'm not wrong, I'm right here. I do not worship at the altar of death, neither do I worship at the altar of probability; it is not that I do not respect self-preservation nor the limits of the organics, what it is is that I consider "fear of death" to be a blight on life.

What I do like, is growing old; maybe that's my problem. I was born a crotchety old fuck; ain't gonna be happy until the organics match the philosophy.

[ThinkingTom]

Personally, I've got a slight fear but it isn't as serious as it use to be. The only reason I was once religious is because of the fear and like many other people the concept of an afterlife was comforting. Once I finally accepted that wishful thinking won't change reality that's when the long and stressful journey to atheism began. It's like I always knew what I was believing was bullshit but it just took time to finally realize it. I'm sure many people that were once religious would agree with me that becoming a non-believe doesn't happen instantly.

Anyway, I was wondering what anyone here would suggest I do to overcome this fear of mine because its always in the back of my head bothering me. Being dead doesn't scare me, dying doesn't scare me (Not sure why) but the fact that it lasts for eternity is what scares me. I know once I'm dead I won't have any consciousness or realize time passing but now that I'm alive and well that bothers me. People have told me that acceptance is the key but I'm having a real hard time accepting it, could someone give me some advice or something along the lines? This has gone on for to long.

I remember a quote by one of the ancient philosophers that said (VERY loosely):

"Where I am, Death is not, and where Death is, I am not. Why should it then be of concern to me?"

You might be thinking of Epicurus;

“Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come,we are not.”

[passionatefool]

I do not believe in any form of afterlife, and though as for this moment, I would say I have no fear of death, even though I'm sure when I face it, I would pee in my pants. But I dont think the fear of death or what happen after death that scares me, but the fact that I have so much that i wanted to accomplished or experience that make it devastating.

[Faith No More]

Anyway, I was wondering what anyone here would suggest I do to overcome this fear of mine because its always in the back of my head bothering me. Being dead doesn't scare me, dying doesn't scare me (Not sure why) but the fact that it lasts for eternity is what scares me. I know once I'm dead I won't have any consciousness or realize time passing but now that I'm alive and well that bothers me. People have told me that acceptance is the key but I'm having a real hard time accepting it, could someone give me some advice or something along the lines? This has gone on for to long.

I guess you'd have to clarify further as to how you do not fear death but fear the fact that it's eternal. If you are dead, why does it matter for how long?

[Norfolk And Chance]

Personally, I've got a slight fear but it isn't as serious as it use to be. The only reason I was once religious is because of the fear and like many other people the concept of an afterlife was comforting. Once I finally accepted that wishful thinking won't change reality that's when the long and stressful journey to atheism began. It's like I always knew what I was believing was bullshit but it just took time to finally realize it. I'm sure many people that were once religious would agree with me that becoming a non-believe doesn't happen instantly.

Anyway, I was wondering what anyone here would suggest I do to overcome this fear of mine because its always in the back of my head bothering me. Being dead doesn't scare me, dying doesn't scare me (Not sure why) but the fact that it lasts for eternity is what scares me. I know once I'm dead I won't have any consciousness or realize time passing but now that I'm alive and well that bothers me. People have told me that acceptance is the key but I'm having a real hard time accepting it, could someone give me some advice or something along the lines? This has gone on for to long.

I remember a quote by one of the ancient philosophers that said (VERY loosely):

"Where I am, Death is not, and where Death is, I am not. Why should it then be of concern to me?"

You might be thinking of Epicurus;

“Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come,we are not.”

Never been religious but once I was certain that god was bullshit I had the same fears. Now it's more of an acceptance that one day I'll cease to exist, for all time - just like the all time that happened before me. Yup, it can be scary to accept that, but I find comfort in the fact that it is not escapable to anybody, we all have the same ultimate fate - even the earth and sun does.

I still get occasional "oh shit!" flashes when I accidentally contemplate my existence and think about how when I die, I will never even know I ever existed - that will always be hard to take and is probably something I'll never get over.

You're not alone.

[Welsh cake]

I've thought about death so often, people longing for and fearing it, and considered the undeniable all-compassing gulf of oblivion that lies ahead I've begun to think that categorising 'brain death' as a disorder of the consciousness is a misnomer. Before life we lacked awareness, sleep-wake cycles (dreams), memories, thoughts, behaviour and personality. There was no us. I regard consciousness as the disorder now.

When we die this absence of consciousness is restored, death is perfect symmetry. We're an arrangement of exchanging atoms that are mostly nothing, the illusion of self-hood and lies of being are abolished. The void that is the cosmos is free of sentience again. Death is resolution to the error of self-awareness, correcting the mistake of existence.

Hmm, maybe I'm being too obsessed with the 'state' or non-state? I sound like I'm trying to start a cult.

[Norfolk And Chance]

Well, um, it's one way of looking at death - but you've romanticised it a bit for me and made it sound almost attractive.

[Welsh cake]

It goes to show that death is nothing to fear, it was only our ignorance and massive egos that held us back and created the anxiety state that many experience. There is no room for fear in death.

Dying still is a -bitch- though because life won't let go and always puts up a fight to survive, even in the face of certainty over its own demise.