fear of dying

[King Morpheus]

hello i am new here im nineteen years old and ever since i can remember i have been afraid of dying i started having these panic attacks in childhood i would get very short of breath and my mother would have to calm me down i also find that i am afraid of getting older because that eventually leads to death i am agnostic so i do not believe in an after life not because i would not like one but because i dont think there is one how do you reconcile with the fact that you will grow older and one day cease to exist

[den68]

I have this fear too. I think it all stems back to my brother getting killed 10 years ago and then not long after that a someone had a heart attack at work and had to be resusated by staff in front of me. From this i convinced my self something was going to happen to one of my boys normally they have been stabbed or something when they are out and then i started thinking i was going to dye. Its getting a bit better now but its horrible as sometimes i even have imagined my own funeral. But like i said it has got a bit better now
denise

[Chips]

I also get anxiety over death but I try to tell myself the following things to keep it in perspective.

1. I was dead before I was born and it wasn't something I was aware of or was fearful of - then or now.

2. The alternative to death is immortality. You would likely see some of your loved ones die in accidents, witness World War III, or the end of the world. The world would be horribly overcrowded and the planet wouldn't cope.

3. In the next 90 - 100 years, just about everyone currently alive will be dead. All our favourite role models, singers, actors, family and freinds will go through the same thing. There is comfort in the fact that my death will be the same as yours and everyone elses.

4. Science always chooses which questions to answer and tends to avoid the difficult ones. We simply don't know if there is an afterlife or what happens after death - this is encouraging to me because it leaves the door open for the possibility of meeting up again with all the people I love. Science has a long, long way to go yet before it has all the answers.

My death anxiety always seems to hurt when I'm in the wrong state of mind - at other times I can accept death and make the most of each day. I do think that there may come a time late in life when it is possible to welcome death.

[ruthisonline]

I too fear death, but since my Dad died on Christmas Day 2007, my attitude toward death has changed. He was finally at peace, looked like he was asleep, and was just ''gone''.
His funeral was a proper goodbye and i hope mine will be like that. I think we all, especially those of us with anxiety and depression, have sensitive souls and the thought of everything ending can be so fearful.
My experience of someone elses death has helped my phoba fade into more of a ''back of my mind thought'' if you know what i mean.
I'm sure death is less feared if people have belief and faith about afterlife, but i am atheist so i assume i will return to the same condition and place where i was before i was born. i did not fear that so i cannot fear death.

[weeble40]

this has been my biggest fear phobia since i was 6 years old when my grandad died, Im now 40, I still havent found any answers or learnt how to cope with the fact that yes one day I will die, (god it sends me into panic typing that), I have however learnt to live each day as it comes and make the most of it, I live hard, play hard, I try to lead a normal life and keep this thought to the back of my mind, but sometimes it pops up to bite my bum, I work in a care home for the eldery and on more than one occassion sat with and waited for someone to pass, its not scarey or frightening, in fact its quite peaceful, am I still scared Yes, my wonderful Dad died last year, and I do seem to of calmed down alot since then, as if with his passing he took my fear with him, he wasnt afraid, and if my dad can do it then so can I, I live in hope that when my time comes those I have loved and lost will be waiting for me, so many questions, I guess they will never be answered, Im not sure if its fear of the unknown, Im just glad that Im not alone in this, please feel free to PM me anytime, and take care all

Emms xxxxx

[phil06]

I have this fear and I fear there being a nothingness

[phil06]

I have been thinking about this again. I fear being old and not being able or I fear never coming back again it seems awful. I worry we have such a limited time here and there may be nothing after you die just nothing?

[phil06]

Anybody help? The opposite is I freak out about the feeling of being alive?

[bin tenn]

Acceptance is key in overcoming a fear of death. Trust me, I have struggled with this one for several years now. I'm 32, in apparently good overall health, but it's not about "now." My fear always comes down to the inevitable time, no matter when - whether it's 30 years or 70 years from now. That thought of literal "nothing", for the rest of eternity. But when you're gone, you know nothing of it. "You" cannot be, thus you cannot care. I know that's extremely difficult to grasp, and quite frightening, but that's the reality of it.

[emily91]

I hate that this is a thing for me, and the worst part is that it's not directly related to taking my last breath or leaving people behind

for me: it's little things that trigger it

last week, for example, I baught a new handheld fan and I held it in my hand and it was really powerful

and I immediately thought... well I'm holding it now, but 1 day I won't be able to, and it will go to waste

and it's the same when I buy dvds or... basically anything that means anything to me.

I have started to cut down on new cds and dvds and other stuff just in case.

honestly I think my fear is more... well, I can't take my posessions with me. they will be lonely

sounds sad I know. but that's how I feel.