The Finality of Death..

[minkydog]

NO, I am not afraid of dying. In fact, there was a long period in my life when I actually *wanted* to die, even *attempted* to die. But I no longer feel that way. Now I enjoy the little things in my life, but I know that someday,when my time comes, it will all end. And I'm okay with that. I hope I don't suffer--I do have some concern about that after watching my father slowing suffocate and die from lung cancer. But the fact that I will eventually pass from this earth? Doesn't bother me in the least.

Everyone dies. If you live long enough, you will die. Hopefully it will be a very long time...

 

[2cats1kid]

I'm not afraid of dying. As several have said, I didn't exist for billions of years and I won't exist for billions of years afterwards. I don't believe in an afterlife and I also hope to goodness there isn't reincarnation - once is enough for me, thanks. I do fear living with pain long term, but not dying itself.

There was a programme over here about how different people reacted to terminal illness and covered them up till they died, and the ones who were most accepting of it were the atheists and agnostics. The religious ones clung onto life with every fibre of their being, demanding every treatment they could come up with. That interested me, since I would have thought that the ones who believed they were going on to a better place would be the most accepting?

 

[canadianjovigirl]

I am not so much afraid of the finality of death as i am how it will come to be. Having worked in Hospice care i have seen alot and the scenerios scare me more as well as the thoughts of leaving those i love.........for me there are no easy answers or an easy way to go. I do wish i could return and live life multiple times as there is so much to see and do that i could never fit it into one lifetime

 

[lpereira]

I totally agree with this statement I'm an EMT so i'm used to dealing with dead people. It no longer scares me

I'm an EMT too- nonworking one now. But I've seen a lot of death some good and some bad. One thing I've learned is to just not dwell on it. Life is like taking a trip- if you focus on the destination then you'll miss everything on the way. Death is so sterile and impersonal now it's no wonder people are afraid and obsessed with it. I'm old enough to remember when your deceased relatives were delivered to your home for the wake and pre-burial respects. That old custom did a lot to help the living prepare and not be afraid of their own death.

Tennisfan- Do you find yourself taking pictures and tours of ambulances in foreign countries? I do- I love to see how other countries do it!

 

[ReneeA]

I am not afraid of dying.

What I am afraid of is being kept alive on life support if I get sick. I work daily with this population, and cannot imagine being kept alive for years like that. I've recently gotten my advanced directives written so that it's perfectly clear what I want and don't want if something were to happen.

If someone decides to fight it or override it, I've decided to come back and haunt them. And I will be a mean and hateful troublesome ghost.

 

[Poppinsme]

I work at a hospital. NICU/PICU/CICU with children. Death for me is nothing to fear. It is the misguided people that might want to keep me alive if it is my time to go. That I don't want. And DH along with my dear friends all know I'm a DNR.

"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life:
The longing for love,
The search for knowledge and
The unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind."
Bertrand Russell

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm 58 and have lost some dear friends recently. It has definitely crossed my mind, but...

The way I see it is there are only two possibilities. There is either a hereafter or not.

If there is a hereafter, I believe I've lived my life pretty well. I don't think I'll end up in a bad state, so I'm okay with that. I have nothing to worry about.

If there is nothing after death, I won't know it. I have nothing to worry about.

We all die. There is really nothing to be gained by worrying about it. My only fear is how I will die. I'd rather go painlessly, but I really won't have a say in it. So, no reason to dwell.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks about this but I've been thinking about it more. I'm still young, really young actually. But is anyone else completely freaked out about the finality of dying? Everything just goes dark and ceases to be. Makes me sick thinking about it.

No, this pretty much sums it up for me.....I got a fever and the only solution is more cowbell.

Don't Fear the Reaper.....

 

[ArelysAdriana]

Yes, I am completely freaked out about it, to the point where I have had full blown panic attacks over it. Between thinking of my own death and the death of my loved ones, if I dwell on it too much I will end up a sobbing, panicked mess for hours on end. I just try not to think about it too much, because I'm sure the stress of it is just digging an early grave for myself.

 

[MinnieTink]

No, this pretty much sums it up for me.....I got a fever and the only solution is more cowbell.

Don't Fear the Reaper.....

 

[damone]

Yes, I am completely freaked out about it, to the point where I have had full blown panic attacks over it. Between thinking of my own death and the death of my loved ones, if I dwell on it too much I will end up a sobbing, panicked mess for hours on end. I just try not to think about it too much, because I'm sure the stress of it is just digging an early grave for myself.

I used to be this way, but oddly, it's gotten better as I've gotten older. My dad told me that once when I was younger, and I thought he was full of it. It's true though.

 

[bicker]

I think it's a bit scary though because it's so unknown. Whatever a person's belief is you just really don't know what it'll be like.

Which is why it is so critical to live this life like it is the very last one you'll have, since you know you can do good here and now, if you choose to.

Maybe I'm selfish, but that thought doesn't really comfort me.

The comfort comes from within. Derive it from knowing that you live on in others, your children, your friends, your colleagues, your neighbors, and their children, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc.

More than that, though, I'm terrified of growing older and slowly losing the ability to do the things I mentioned above.

No question in my mind that getting old is more troubling than dying.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

It freaks me out. I know I'm "only" 30 and I should (hopefully) have many, many years ahead of me...but it still freaks me out. There's just SO MUCH that I want to see and do and I know I'll never be able to do it all in a lifetime, lol. And then to grow so old and fragile...it's scary. I'm lucky that my grandparents are in their 80s and still spry, live on their own, drive, go on vacations, etc etc...so hopefully I have inherited their genes!!

 

[DancingBear]

.... what if the worst is true. What if there is no God and you only go around once and that's it. Well, ya know, don't you wanna be part of the experience? You know, what the hell it's not all a drag. And I'm thinking to myself, Jeez, I should stop ruining my life searching for answers I'm never gonna get, and just enjoy it while it lasts. And after who knows, I mean maybe there is something, nobody really knows. I know maybe is a very slim reed to hang your whole life on, but that's the best we have.

Woody Allen, from Hannah and Her Sisters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftiIPJky_Vs

 

[DancingBear]

If death is the end, we will never know it, so why fear it? I believe death to be the next step. Now that is a little scary...

For in such sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause....

 

[ArelysAdriana]

I used to be this way, but oddly, it's gotten better as I've gotten older. My dad told me that once when I was younger, and I thought he was full of it. It's true though.

It's actually gotten slightly better since I was really hit with the death of a loved one when I was 14. That death just ruined me and instilled this fear in me. I hope as I get older that some of the fear goes away. I'm still pretty young (23) so I think what freaks me out the most is knowing that I haven't done everything I want to yet.

 

[Feralpeg]

No question in my mind that getting old is more troubling than dying.

That is so true! Not being able to do things the way I used to be able to do them is very bothersome to me. In my mind, I'm still 20 years old, but my body tells me different on a daily basis.

I'm not afraid of dying. I am concerned that I will get to a point that I will lose my mobility. That is really scary to me.

 

[EllenFrasier]

"I have no fear of drowning
It's the breathing that's taking all this work"

Jars of Clay song "Work"

 

[Pikester]

Totally freaks me out!

For some reason I never really thought about death until just before I turned 36 last year. I actually thought I was going to be 37 which is just that much closer to 40 then 50, 60, 70, 80 etc then death. For some reason turning 37 was bothering me. I had a little laugh when I realized I was only going to be 36. Every now and then I have little panic attacks about dying. Heck, I could die tomorrow but I just don't think about that. For me it's the growing older and then dying. We took a trip over the summer to the White Mountains and all I kept thinking about was that those mtns were going to still be there and I wasn't. I end up thinking about the fact that I'll never hear the birds singing or see the sun shining. Just nothing. I'll cease to exist forever.

It didn't help that just before we left on our trip both DH's grandmother and my grandmother had passed away. My grandmother actually passed away 1 week after we buried DH's grandmother. Rough summer.

 

[spacemermaid]

Dying doesn't freak me out; I don't want it to happen anytime soon, but it happens to everyone, eventually.

What scares me is losing loved ones. I've been through too many losses & the thought of going through it again is what keeps me up at night.

When you're dead, the worries are over. It's being left behind that's the painful part, IMO.