How do you deal with the thought of death? - How often?

[rel=alternate]

I have been preoccupied a lot more by the though of death recently. And it it throws me in a spiral. I don't know how to face it.

It always scared me, but now it feels almost like its imminent. I feel old, and I feel looking back that time is going faster, I see my body slowing down.

I am so scared of dying. I cannot express it to even myself. It's just a pit in my stomach every time I try to even try to think of what it would be like to not be. It's like I am feeling the vertigo from sinking into the earth below me.

I wish there was something beyond, but I can't bring myself to believe it.

The thought that the end will be the end of everything that is me. It's just so disturbing. It makes everything so worthless and so valuable at the same time.

 

[Reticulan Joe]

“A man’s life is indeed short, ending in death. If it were long, his days would be of small value. If there were no death, of none. Let him fill each day with honor and joy. Let him not condemn himself or another, for he does not know the laws of his existence or theirs. If he sleeps in death, let him sleep. If while sleeping he should meet a god, he must let the god decide how well or ill he lived.

The god he meets must rule upon a man’s life, never the man himself.”

Gene Wolfe, Soldier of Arete

 

[Tri-Tachyon'sClown]

Another doomer thread my nigger? Keep that chin up, all will be alright.

 

[Waifu Days]

Unfortunately spot on. Still doing a lot better than the pig though. But that's hardly something to brag about

That pickled pig is close to the grave but the gunt is preserved to the next millennium.

 

[OrionBalls]

I can't control whether or not I live through the next twenty four hours, so I try to make a positive impact on at least one person a day. I hug the most important people to me whenever I see them, and I always tell my husband that I love him before I go to sleep. When I die, I will hopefully be at peace, someone else's life will be extended or made better through organ donation, and friends will enjoy tacos at my funeral. I'm grateful for the moments I've had, and so don't really fear death. Not sure if that helps. Sorry if it doesn't. I truly hope you feel better.

 

[Daddy's Angry Juice]

Maybe its the little emoboy in me or maybe I've just gotten very tired in age, but for me the thought of death is a comfort. It's over I don't have to think about any of this dumbass shit we put ourselves through day after day and the best part is I won't even realize it. Either I'll be in some sort of afterlife living it up or just a mass of unconscious flesh in box incapable of acknowledging anything.

That being said, you should never rush your way to death, because the fun of life comes from all of its complexities and how we choose to solve them. You'll never know what is just right around the corner until you turn it. And I would never want to cheat life out of its opportunity to show me the ending I deserve, good or bad.

And no matter if there is any sort of afterlife or not, your atoms will leave you and become apart of other things and after this universe blows up, those atoms will become apart of something else, and who knows. Maybe, one day billions of years in the future, you might ask the same question and I will give the same answer.

 

[Neodanthril]

Aren't you afraid of dying

There are things I would like to do before I die but I understand the inevitability of the things

But what if there is no Heaven

What if the moon was made of cheese

 

[Fat Gollum]

I have the perfect person here to explain to you how death is nothing to be afraid of.

 

[Town Drunk]

I can't avoid it, I am one car trip away from it, one work place accident away from it, or illness will claim me. I worry more about the mess I leave behind. My family having to sell off my stuff, clear out my house, etc. Not wanting to burden them in their grief.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

I wish there was something beyond, but I can't bring myself to believe it.

Luckily (or unluckily, your choice) for you, there is. Accept Jesus Christ.

 

[Not a bee]

Here are my two cents:

I personally believe in the afterlife, reincarnation, and eternal death; these are all very real things. I have a conspiracy theory that if you live life I mean really live it and have a strong mind/conscience, you don't even have to be spiritual although it helps, just have a strong SOUL, you will continue on, versus people who are heavily materialistic (I hate using this term but, 'NPCs') who will face eternal death.

I had a lot of spiritual experiences that I won't post here, but it convinced me there is more to this universe and life than just to be randomly born and die. There is so much life that we cannot see, that are beyond our realm.

While I was on the operating table, I had a NDE where I saw some beautiful landscapes. It felt surreal, I heard the rushing waters of a waterfall that I hallucinated. Unbeknowst to me, I was losing blood like a motherfucker and doctors were frantically trying to make sure I am alive.

Try researching different religions, spiritual paths. I mean REALLY read them. You will see a lot of them all have similarities to one another.

 

[Travis Touchdown (REAL)]

 

[Mandy Stroyer]

I don't really think about it outside of "what do I not want to kill me because that'd be embarrassing/piss me off?" so I can avoid that. I know ultimately I have no choice and if there is nothing after, I can't do anything about that nor do I think I would care because I wouldn't exist either. I'm more preoccupied with the funeral playlist and not having people gawk at my dead body if there is one left to bury.

 

[Lady Adjani]

It's something that I think about daily, more so as I get older.

Enjoy the here and now, while at the same time being prepared for the worst.

 

[Spud]

Just relax and remember. We all deserve to die and we're gonna get what we deserve.

 

[Bloitzhole]

To be honest, what I found a rather comforting thought that somewhat removed the fear of death from me is the simple reality that we have already spent most of the time dead - a notion the Christians convey in "To dust you shall return".
There seems to be this idea that you live and then die. Life is first. But this isn't really the case - you are dead most of the time, then you briefly live, then you are dead again. Was the state I was in a hundred years ago horrifying? No, I didn't mind it at all. I didn't mind anything. That's pretty much how it will be - same as it was before.
OP, were you having a bad time back in 1869?

What I fear is dying before I've left a positive impact for others to enjoy in a real and tangible way, or dying in a way inconvenient to others - I have responsibilities and duties that I wish to fulfill before I go, but given time, one can build contingency plans even for one's own (unexpected) end.
Dying isn't scary to me - but not living well really is.

 

[Billy Bob Dick]

I am so scared of dying. I cannot express it to even myself.

Try to think of it like this:

Were you scared of being born?

Were you even aware before you were born?

Death, whether there is anything beyond or not, is simply returning to the place from whence you were born. I find great comfort in that.

It's just a pit in my stomach every time I try to even try to think of what it would be like to not be.

You experience what it's like "not to be" every time you have a dreamless night's sleep. That's all it is. I love sleep. Sleep is the poor man's physician.

It's like I am feeling the vertigo from sinking into the earth below me.

Go outside on a clear moonless night, somewhere where you can see the stars. Lie down on a quiet plot of grass and gaze up into the sky, deep into the abyss. You will feel the calm of the universe setlle deep into the marrow of your bones.

I thank whatever god exists that I grew up in a quiet place in the midwest USA, where stargazing on a regular nightly basis was possible. I still watch the sky from wherever I am, as often as I can.

I wish there was something beyond, but I can't bring myself to believe it.

Try to let go of things you can't control.

The thought that the end will be the end of everything that is me. It's just so disturbing. It makes everything so worthless and so valuable at the same time.

The solution is to make as much of your time as you can while you're still here. Invest yourself in other people. The you that matters is the memory of you that you leave with those that you had a positive impact on.

I'll leave you with this:

I had to put down one of my cats recently. It was sudden, but not entirely unexpected; and yet I still was unprepared. We made him as comfortable as possible, and I stayed with him until the end with my hands on him. When the drugs kicked in, he was warm, he was purring, and he was happy, because I was there with him. He knew nothing else. His final thought was me, there with him, holding him with love. I literally stared into the face of death, and it turns out that death is nothing more than my sadness at my little friend parting this world for the last time.

He didn't know any different. He was just happy I was there with him.