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Fear of Death

Despite the glorious rewards promised in the afterlife by religions, it seems there is a lot of fear of death. I do not fear death. Is this pretty much true of most humanists, freethinkers, agnostics, and atheists?

Elaine57 6 Mar 26
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37 comments

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9

Hell yeah I fear death . I have no desire to die , I like been alive u know . And I am pretty sure I ll be crying like a baby when I ll be given my walking papers from life . For about a day or so . And that's that . Knowing me , probably I ll get over it and facilitate my way to death when it's time to go .
I ll be damned thou if I live my life worrying about my death every day . Nobody escaped that f r . Another reason to " live ". Have fun , do good , and if possible live and be loved . Rest ain't matter .

6

I have a death sentence hanging over me. Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma. (Bloody mouthful). It's been hanging over me for 4 years, and is incurable. So what can any rational person do other than accept it's going to happen.
Meanwhile, carry on enjoying being alive. I don't need religion as a palliative.

We all have a death sentence hanging over us. You happen to know what and approximately when. I may die tomorrow and I have no fear except how my children will handle my passing. I am so very pleased that you are carrying on being happy. I watched my mother die emotionally and mentally four years before her physical death.

6

Dying but not death. It is one of the sad acts of religion that the mercy of planned death that we can give to suffering animals, is not available to humans. Who, thanks to dogma are forced to endure sometimes nearly endless suffering in the name of so called sacred life.

5

So far the ride has been great so I certainly have no desire for it to end, yet. Being dead does not scare me. Dieing on the other hand might be painful.

I once was nearly electrocuted. I was unable to get free for a long enough time that I was convinced that I was going to die. My last thought before I got loose was "I hope it doesn't take long". I was not afraid.

5

When my time comes, I hope I'm walking across one of my fields and ZAP!!! A stray lightning bolts takes me out and leaves nothing but my ashes as fertilizer for the next crop!!

4

I don't fear death as I'm immortal, but if I'm wrong and I do die it'll be bloody inconvenient 🙂

4

No I am not afraid to die. I just don't want to have to suffer an agonizing death or die before I have declutterd my house or red all the books I have.

I'm with you on that.

4

i have no idea what most humans, freethinkers, agnostics or atheists think about death, because there is no credo and nothing guaranteed for us to have in common beyond a lack of belief in a deity, or a belief in the lack of deities, or both. i can therefore only say what i feel or think, and i am afraid of dying, and i am annoyed that i won't get to achieve goals i have set for myself before i die. i am also afraid of being ill and in pain (well, more pain; i am already in pain). i am afraid of what will happen to my guy and my pets after i die. afraid of being dead? well, i don't expect i'll know i'm dead, any more than i knew before i born that i was going to exist.

g

sorry to hear that you're in pain. hope you can find satisfactory meds.
i don't have any pain right now but am about to order some cannabis products which will also contain thc. i know some people who use it without thc & have found some relief.

@callmedubious i do not have the means to order anything like that. i wish i did i have experience of it and i know it would help somewhat.

g

@genessa ,
no way you can get it from one of the legal states? i noticed when i was in AZ, where it's not legal with thc, they sell cannibas for medicinal purposes. wouldn't the medicinal cannibas be available on-line.
i haven't done any of it for a long time but am going to try it mainly to improve my mood & maybe it'll help my aching hip.
my wife won't be thrilled.

@callmedubious no, it is illegal to have it sent to where it it not yet legal. it is legal for medicinal purposes here in mn, but only for certain ailments. they JUST added some that might benefit me... but medicare/medicaid do not pay for any of it and i have no money. i am on a fixed income and it gets eaten up pretty fast.

g

@genessa ,
all i can do is wish you luck & hope that things improve for you.

@callmedubious i appreciate that, thank you.

g

4

Death is just non-existence. I didn't exist for billions of years before I was born and I have no complaints during all that time.

4

It is the how that troubles most people.

4

Know NO fear.

Personally, I think it's pretty fucking stupid to be afraid of something that
happens to everyone.
I have nothing but contempt for anyone who believes in an afterlife.
Except my aunt. I can't with her. She's too dear to me, and I forgive her
her delusions.
I realize that's a bit of hypocrisy, but it's mine, and I own it.

You are lucky to have an aunt who means that much.

@Fernapple I am. She has always had a major place in my life. I would indulge her and forgive her anything.

3

Death is something I do not fear, but neither is it something I'm actively seeking. Death, like most unpleasant chores, is something I prefer to put off as long as possible.

3

actually, i think often about just checking out while i'm ahead of the game, relatively speaking.
why wait until it's too late & you're in a hospice laying in your own waste in a vegetative state with relatives uncomfortably hovering around?

That is my plan. As I said in another comment my biggest fear is a stroke that will leave me incapable of doing so. I think I have that angle worked out as well, but one can never be sure.

@Elaine57 ,
strokes are very unpleasant if not deadly. also my biggest fear.
i've thought about what to do if incapacitated. i suppose one would have to rely on someone.
i take a blood thinner (eliquis) b/c of my atrial flutter.
assisted suicide is supposed to be legal in canada. i wish it were the same here as switz & belgium where if over 70, & want to pack it in, they will assist even if not terminal.

3

I don't fear death being an atheist but it always surprises me when y.mom, a life long Christian, tells me she's scared.

3

I don't fear anything that's not threatening me at the moment. Whether we call it fear or just an instinct for avoidance, if it was not built into us biologically, our species would not exist. I don't fear Mack Trucks, but curiously, every. single. time. one has headed straight for me, my stupid body has hopped out of its way. Not me, mind you; just my stupid chickenshit body. 😉

skado Level 9 Mar 26, 2019
3

I have no fear of death or dying. There has been so much pain already, that the final pain will also not disturb me. My GS knows what to do- keep his hysterical mother (my daughter) away from me during my last minutes. I will slip away smiling while the jukebox in my brain plays the last song. that's the plan.

3

Being dead doesn't worry me, but the process of getting to that state could be painful. So it's dying that worries me, not death itself.

I fear a stroke that leaves me incapable of taking my life. Other than that, I feel my Advanced Directive covers everything. I watched my mother die a slow painful death from breast cancer. I believe instead of making her remaining years as fulfilling as possible, she just shut down and died emotionally long before her physical death. I refuse to go that way.

Me too. I don't fear death, but I sure as hell do not want to suffer to get there.

Yes, the pain and frustration of a drawn out illness or gradual decline of physical and/or mental is a worry, or the fear of ending up an embarrassment and a burden to your family. And I imagine a real sadness in eking out your live when you can no longer get joy from all the things you liked to do or experience in this life. (I remember my father commenting on this) The being dead part is only hard on loved ones who miss you, but then that's our life after death, surely?

2

Well I guess seeing as we believe in nothing we have nothing to fear

2

I should already be dead. Everyday I get is a bonus.

I've found that in the most critically dangerous situations, fear doesn't set in until the threat is over or you're dead; then it's either pointless or impossible to be scared.

JimG Level 8 Mar 26, 2019

That’s an interesting point.

2

Don't remember dieing before and I'm open to new experiences

2

Death is like stupidity.Those afflicted are unaware of it but it's those round about that suffer.

2

Although I do tend to try to avoid death, I don't think I actually fear death. Why worry or fear something that I know is inevitable? Fearing death will only inhibit my life experience, and because I only have the one shot at life, I want to enjoy it.

2

The Human fear of death is the foundation of all religions.

2

I don't fear it, its going to happen, i just want to squeeze as much enjoyment as possible from living before i go.

1of5 Level 8 Mar 26, 2019
1

I do not fear death but I fear a painful death. My biggest regrets at death will be my loss of daily "sense of business" that most of us have as a routine. Nothing to you but everything to me, many people build ghost stories on this. I do not believe in ghosts, wholly, holy, or otherwise.

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