I'm deeply afraid of death

[Deleted]

Take a deep breath and accept the fact that you're going to die some day.

Its not fun but its inevitable and thinking too much about dieing is not healthy for you. As you can feel. Really, theres no need to worry about it..

If its getting so bad that you get anxiety attacks, you might want to go see professional because they can teach you how to overcome that and maybe they give some meds if it gets very bad. In the end you just have to accept the fact that everyone dies at some point.

[Zogarth]

What's weirder is that all fear is tied to danger (even phobias; they are an irrationally fearful response to irrationally perceived danger). Danger implies chance of death.

Fear exists (mainly) because death does.

Yeah but that is the fear of dying, not the fear of being in the state of dead. Of course you wanna avoid dying, but when you already are dead I can't see what there is to fear.

[Stir]

Yeah but that is the fear of dying, not the fear of being in the state of dead. Of course you wanna avoid dying, but when you already are dead I can't see what there is to fear.

Of course there's some merit to the thought. However, we are sentient beings. Generally, we don't want to be terminated. We only fear dying more than we fear death because many of us either believe in an afterlife, or understand that when there's no you to experience nothingness, there's no reason to be afraid of it.

[Deleted]

I'm 17 only.

See, that's your problem. You have a plenty of time to preoccupy yourself with overthinking. Social life, sex, job, college.. those are your answers.

You might also want to try sensory deprivation chamber.

[Ghostpanther]

What is taken issue with is the fact that you stated it (previously) as fact. And that the claim was an extraordinary one. That combination kind of gets peoples panties in a bunch because, while such beliefs have contributed to a lot of good in the world, a lot of people got severely burned by the tribalism that resulted from them.

If you believe in something strongly enough, for yourself it is a fact. If you have any reservations it may not be true, then it is of course not a fact to "yourself" but a wish. Of course just believing in something of itself does not make it true or a fact. In that case, time proves all things.

[Themerlin]

Hello
It's been about six months I started being so afraid of death, when it started off it haunted me for some weeks, i would say two months and then it stopped and I could live normally, and now, it's back again.

In fact it's more of a denial than a fear : I can't accept the idea of not existing anymore, not being able to think, not being able to remember anything, not being able to feel anything ..., i'm not afraid of the action of dying but of what comes after - i'm afraid of the nil that comes once you're dead.

You might find it ridiculous since once i will be dead, i wont even be there to feel bad about it, but I just don't want to stop existing, I wanna be immortal. I feel like living in the void, like if everything i've done, everything i'm doing, and everything i will do is futile since from my point of view the whole world will dissapear after death, it doesn't even matter if i'm happy or not since i'm gonna die.

I'm permanently hearing a voice in my head that says "You're gonna die you're gonna die you're gonna die you're gonna die", I can't think of anything else.

I'm having anxiety attacks when thinking about it, and I also have a lot of troubles to sleep - because i'm afraid of never waking up.

I'm not like this during the whole year but it's still a big problem, I'm no longer motivated to do anything.
I'm almost sure everyone is not that obsessed about death, I don't think my case is normal, i don't know what to do, and it seems like I can't forget about it, I feel like it will pursue me until death. I'm 17 only.

From what I have read, I believe you are suffering from panic attacks exacerbated by high levels of anxiety. If those "panic attacks" are not resolved they eventually will lead to a clinical depression (no longer motivated to do anything).

Do you have a support system? (family, friends, colleagues, etc) Very important to communicate with someone about these worries.

Are you taking any medication for the anxiety/depression?

This usually occurs to males around the age past 30-40 but is resolved once the individual accepts their mortality.

My opinion for you is you are 17, your frontal lobe has not fully developed yet, you are not necessarily supposed to be thinking about your mortality....at 17 most teenagers think they are already immortal (deep in the folds of their minds).

Most important, find ways to resolve what aggravates your anxiety, be it physical, emotional, circumstantial, etc. Talk to someone about it and seek help. Understand that there is no sudden cure and that mental health problems may take long periods to resolve, it will take will, and a drive to get better.

I also suggest, (not professional at all but for me it has made me feel more alive) take something that challenges your fear of death, find a way to mock death itself. (Mountain Climbing, hockey, boxing, etc, whatever it may be)

BE INVOLVED!

All the best, and for a young fella like yourself, please think more about living and do it for the rest of us...we are already too old, and I only wish I had that 17 year old elasticity of being.

[Powerogue]

That's completely normal, but it usually doesn't happen until you're in your 40's. All the rest of us do is try not to think about it.

You can either try to use this fear to motivate you to be remembered for your good works after you die, or you can just distract yourself with the internet like a cat playing with a shiny toy.

Just remember, high levels of stress and anxiety make you more likely to die young of a heart attack, so don't worry about it!

[Whiskra]

It's the first signs of you becoming completely mad. Do you know the film A Beautiful Mind? Well, what I meant is not so much the genius part. But the madness part. You get the picture. You should talk to a professional, before someone gets hurt.

I used to think like him when I was 5 years old. Guess I'm a full fledged raving lunatic by now.

[Conspicuous Cultist]

Death by aging seems really boring and really sucks any potential of seeing much about the distant future in one lifetime. No matter how smart you play it, how lucky you are, or how much the world's under your thumb you always lose in the end. It's like one giant poker game and the house always collects in the end because you have little choice but to keep playing.