Hey guys, I have this obsessive fear about death. I'm not afraid that I am going to die soon and I'm not afraid of how I will die. I understand that dying is just a part of life. But what freaks me out is the thought that when we die that we become nothingness. That everything we know and love in this life is gone. That all of "me" is gone for the entire rest of eternity.
I can't imagine anything more frightening then the thought of an end to everything forever. I have been dealing with this since I was about 8-9 years old. I remember doing my best to ignore it, but it would build up in me and cause severe panic attacks. I had alot of problems with this "obsession" through my teen years. Then in my early 20s I was doing better with it. I guess I was just able to keep it under wraps better. Then it hit me again when I was about 23 and shortly after that was when I got the program. The program didn't cure me of this, but it did help me deal with it better.
Now this fear comes less often and goes away quicker (because of my better control of obsessive thoughts and more positive thinking). But, it's still there. I'd love to hear from others who have gone through the same thing.
I suppose since I will not know what happens when you die, if it is a bleak nothingness or if there is a continuation of some sort, I will never truly be comfortable with this topic.
It makes me second-guess why one should work hard, find love, or simply enjoy life since in the end all may be lost anyway. Even though these thoughts cross my mind, for some reason I strive for these things anyway.
I have sought out spirituality and religion to help comfort myself, but I just don't connect with anything I've found so far. There are so many beliefs it boggles the mind as to which may be the right one.
I don't consider myself an athiest since I don't have confidence that human beings (scientists) have even scratched the surface to understanding the true nature of the universe we live in.
So where does that leave me? The only thing I can think of is that it leaves me nowhere lol. I just have to let go of this thought. Ignore the reality of this pending doom and keep myself busy. I love life so much I don't want to accept that there is an eternal end to it.
I keep praying that one day I will find something to fill this void in me.
Afraid of death
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TroubledSue
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:44 am
You couldn't have typed that more accurately than I could have about how I feel. I think the same things, and obsess about them! I just don't understand how I can just become, nothing. Like, how can I just not exsist? It scares the hell out of me!
I too looked at religion, and, its so commercial now a days, and there are so many. If you believe in one, there are 2 saying your going to "hell" and if you believe in another, 3 more are saying your wrong. It's like, who's right, if any of them?
I also sometimes think, why not just enjoy the NOW the most at any expense? If we die, and there is no judgement, just, black, then why not kill everyone we don't like to make our lives more happy, rob everyone so we have all this money, and just party and mooch and live for ourselves? Not that I ever have homicidal thoughts, just to clarify because I know alot of people on this board will read way too far into that, lol. But, why work? So I can make someone else rich while they pay me minimum wage? Why love, when all you try for ends in blackness?
Its scary stuff, and, I too don't think this program will "cure" the thoughts. I think at most, it can help control the obsession of it.
If it helps any, I believe in ghosts, and have had many experiences that lead me to believe theres another "place" maybe not religious, but a different plane of existance. I also don't understand how a mammal with no spirit or soul could ever experience the kind of loving bond I have with my fiance. Just a thought.
Sue
I too looked at religion, and, its so commercial now a days, and there are so many. If you believe in one, there are 2 saying your going to "hell" and if you believe in another, 3 more are saying your wrong. It's like, who's right, if any of them?
I also sometimes think, why not just enjoy the NOW the most at any expense? If we die, and there is no judgement, just, black, then why not kill everyone we don't like to make our lives more happy, rob everyone so we have all this money, and just party and mooch and live for ourselves? Not that I ever have homicidal thoughts, just to clarify because I know alot of people on this board will read way too far into that, lol. But, why work? So I can make someone else rich while they pay me minimum wage? Why love, when all you try for ends in blackness?
Its scary stuff, and, I too don't think this program will "cure" the thoughts. I think at most, it can help control the obsession of it.
If it helps any, I believe in ghosts, and have had many experiences that lead me to believe theres another "place" maybe not religious, but a different plane of existance. I also don't understand how a mammal with no spirit or soul could ever experience the kind of loving bond I have with my fiance. Just a thought.
Sue
Josh,
All I know to tell you is that Jesus is the only one that can fill that void in your life. He has offered eternal salvation for us to go and live with him. That alone gives us a peace that passes all understanding. You say that you aren't an atheist so therefore you must believe there is a God right?
John 3:16, 17 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
All I know to tell you is that Jesus is the only one that can fill that void in your life. He has offered eternal salvation for us to go and live with him. That alone gives us a peace that passes all understanding. You say that you aren't an atheist so therefore you must believe there is a God right?
John 3:16, 17 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
I have been afraid of death for years myself and feel the same way about thinking there may be nothingness after I die. I get this feeling that my throat will dry up and I won't be able to swallow and then get a heart attack and die so I have to have a bottle of water wherever I go. sometimes I'm at my wits end with it.
Here's something that might help. As far as the religion thing goes, don't try to figure out which one is right. Anything men touch and try to change is corrupt, which is why so many different kinds of religions are out there.
But before you give up on God, give Him a chance to reveal the truth to you. Belief in Him is not something we can brag about, since His Spirit is the one that reveals the truth to us and then allows us to believe. I just know that if I didn't have my faith in God and His Son, I don't think I could get through this life. That is what gives my life a meaning. And I know that God created me, loves me as I am, and wants a relationship with me. He knows me, my fears, my desires and I can talk to Him whenever and wherever I am.
So just because different religions are confusing and different churches fight over the rights and wrongs and rules, don't let that keep you from pursuing God. And remember He isn't just to be found in a church or synagogue or temple. He is with you wherever you are.
But before you give up on God, give Him a chance to reveal the truth to you. Belief in Him is not something we can brag about, since His Spirit is the one that reveals the truth to us and then allows us to believe. I just know that if I didn't have my faith in God and His Son, I don't think I could get through this life. That is what gives my life a meaning. And I know that God created me, loves me as I am, and wants a relationship with me. He knows me, my fears, my desires and I can talk to Him whenever and wherever I am.
So just because different religions are confusing and different churches fight over the rights and wrongs and rules, don't let that keep you from pursuing God. And remember He isn't just to be found in a church or synagogue or temple. He is with you wherever you are.
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TroubledSue
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:44 am
Worst advice ever.Originally posted by Tweety4_9:
Josh,
All I know to tell you is that Jesus is the only one that can fill that void in your life. He has offered eternal salvation for us to go and live with him. That alone gives us a peace that passes all understanding. You say that you aren't an atheist so therefore you must believe there is a God right?
John 3:16, 17 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
Telling someone who is afraid of death who is not religious, that YOUR religion is the ONLY way, is terrible advice.
Maybe it worked for you, but dear, why are you here then? Obviously Jesus doesn't cure anxiety, so, this problem needs to be addressed in a Psychological way. A lack of faith can cause a fear of death, but blindly believing in something will never give you the faith to truely believe something. This is a Psychological problem, and the OP should seek CBT, or some other form of treatment. I should too.
hello,
i too have often while trying to sleep been freaked out at the possibility of ceasing to exist. I must say that i find some comfort in the thought that i will never experience not existing (because i will be dead). so in the sense that i have to be alive to experience anything, there is a certian aspect of immortality built in to existence. We will never experience anything else.
i too have often while trying to sleep been freaked out at the possibility of ceasing to exist. I must say that i find some comfort in the thought that i will never experience not existing (because i will be dead). so in the sense that i have to be alive to experience anything, there is a certian aspect of immortality built in to existence. We will never experience anything else.
Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
I don't follow any religeon, but I read the bible and get comfort there.
Read the bible when you get these fears. There is only one way to live for ever that I believe. That is through Jesus Christ, and I can't wait for His return so He can set up His kingdom on this earth and straiten out everything. Jesus's words bring comfort. John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
17:25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Glass
I don't follow any religeon, but I read the bible and get comfort there.
Read the bible when you get these fears. There is only one way to live for ever that I believe. That is through Jesus Christ, and I can't wait for His return so He can set up His kingdom on this earth and straiten out everything. Jesus's words bring comfort. John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
17:25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Glass