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Do you have fear or peace about yourself dying someday?

As a young person I always had this total fear of death. I do not know why it was so invasive but it certainly did not help matters when at the age of 17 I was instructed to wheel a gurney down to the morgue with a person who had passed earlier on in the shift....so at 10:30 pm, all by myself, I escorted my fears and dead body down into the bowels of the county hospital looking for the cold morgue....
I decided to embrace the unknown, look at the grim reaper in the face. Later on in my career I happened upon working with hospice and decided to learn about death and how it is viewed by cultures, religions, and why the overwhelming response to death is fear, denial, or both.
Why are the majority of believers in heaven, Jesus and a better place some of the most fearful dying people on this planet? Why do humans seek immortality? Why do you think people are afraid of death?

Granolagirl 5 May 6
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39 comments

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4

I'm afraid of dying because life is all I've known or will ever know. The thought of one day no longer existing terrifies me; which is one of the reasons I think people hold so tightly to religion--people don't want to believe that their time is limited.

Mea Level 7 May 6, 2018
4

I guess you could call it 'peace'. It's inevitable. I don't worry about it.
There's absolutely no point in giving it any thought other than making
sure my legal affairs are in order.
Life will go on, whether I'm a part of it or not.

3

It depends on my mood. Sometimes my emotion is stronger than my intellect.

3

I fear how I die but not being dead.

3

No fear of being dead.
I think it's ego - simply the (errant) idea that one will miss things, how will life continue without them. Simple answer really - same way it did before and during ones life.
It's hard for a lot of people to accept.
Goes against survival instincts.

3

I’m worried about how my daughter will manage after I’m gone.

2

I really like my life right now, death would really be a bummer.
I wish I could see into the future to see how my life turns out. If im doing very well in the future I wouldn't worry much right now. I just don't want to die a loser. My vanity is all I have...my vanity. (Exit stage right into a manhole, never to be seen again)

2

I am not necessarily afraid of dying, but I wouldn't call it being at peace either. Having lost both of my parents at a young age, I worry about my kids if something should happen to me. I still grieve the loss of my mother, and I am just as close to my children as I was to my mother.

I really think that people fear death, because no one truly knows what happens when you die. The unknown can be scary.

2

My feeling is that the fear of death is one of the prime motivators of religious belief. I think the concept of eternal nothingness creeps people out, and life after death brings some sort of comfort. Although, I've never met a religious or non-religious person who was eager to croak.

Me personally, I derive a certain amount of comfort knowing that I must go where every other living thing on the planet has had to go.

2

I personally have no fear of death. Because I have no control over it. It'll happen and if I dwell on the fear of death, then I'll never truly live. I believe most people fear death because it's the one thing that no matter what you do you can't prevent. So it is probably more of a control issue than anything else. At least that's how I see it.

1

I don't fear death I fear prolonged mortal illnesses, and fear not being able to look after myself when i am older.

1

With age, your failing body accustoms your mind to the idea of impermanence, but i do find it hard to imagine my children's sadness, and my natural curiosity makes it hard to accept that there will be so many "news" I shall never know... though, in some cases, I am still hoping that some will come to pass - or not! - in my days! (Shan't tell which!).

1

At age 81, I am at peace with death.I find it difficult to understand why anyone would seek immortality.

Thirst for knowledge and/or experiences.

1

Maybe trepidation. But, really, kind of a curiosity.

1

I do not fear death per say but how it comes about maybe. I want to die doing something I enjoy or even a heroic death would be cool just not in a hospital on ventilators against my will. Bring it on and I am all good just don't make my mind linger inside my corpse.

1

I often find myself contemplating my own mortality. I'm 52 years old now, and it seems like just yesterday I was standing outside on the lawn with my friends after graduating from college.

I think about how quickly those 30 years have passed and I wonder if I'll just wake up tomorrow and find myself 85 years old, waiting to kick the bucket.

I think about how I've fallen spectacularly flat on my face in achieving every single one of the life goals I set for myself when I was younger and wonder if there's even enough time or resources remaining to get back up off the mat and try again.

So it's less the fear of mortality that haunts me. It's more the fear of leaving the world worse off when it comes my time to check out.

It's also the fear of growing old and having to keep on working even as tasks become harder and harder to complete. I've always said that I'll probably never be able to retire. I'll be working until the day I keel over, and then they'll piss on my grave for having the audacity to die while on the clock.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but as you get older time accelerates. This is a real phenomenon as a human's concept of passing time is directly proportional to the length of time that you have lived. At 52, 25 years is approximately 50% of your time experience. At age 75 it is only 25%. Time does fly, especially as you grow older.

1

In life there are too many things that provide meaning, so death is the loss of losing it all forever.
Seems perfectly reasonable to fear death.
When the day comes that I have lost all that I hold dear, an end to my misery could be welcomed or accepted.

1

I believe there is a Heaven, simply because I would have to accept that I may never see my father again. That is so incredibly painful even though it may be very true. I think death would be more peaceful if and when we teach our loved ones that they will be ok without us.

1

Neither. It’s just kind of an acceptance about the reality of the situation

Death is unavoidable

1

Most people are afraid of the unknown.

ebdb Level 7 May 6, 2018
1

I'd rather not die any time soon. But when I do, I hope it's either instantaneous or when I'm asleep so there won't be any pain. I think a painful death is what I fear rather than dying itself.

1

Humans fear death because of the ego. I, on the other hand, don’t care. Everything dies. My world already has. One day, everything will be dead and I like that. It reiterates that everything is meaningless and nothingness prevails.

1

My experience with being under anesthesia has been most instructive. The screen is off, there's no Jesus, no Satan. Nothing to look forward to, but you can't halt the inevitable.

RichE Level 5 May 6, 2018
1

I am terrified of dying. They call it thanatophobia. I'm very afraid of not existing.

1

I'm not afraid of dying. I think death is just an end - we just stop being. Just as not being wasn't scary before birth, it shouldn't be scary after death.

Now, there are some manners of death that scare me, but that's different, I think. Nobody wants to go painfully, or with long, drawn-out misery.

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