How do you know your existence will end? I do not mean in the sense of heaven or as a religious argument. What I mean is having not died how do you know what happens? If you want to believe as apparently many Atheists do that death is the end of all that is your right but it is a belief in that their is no proof. Absence of knowledge is not proof. The way I see it why fear the unknowable? I fear the pain possible in the manner of my death. I fear the pain it may cause others being one who abhors causing others pain.

It's not a given that as an atheist you will no longer fear death.
Me, personally, I got over my fear of death when I accepted that it is only my ego that is afraid of dying, and in fact, my ego doesn't actually exist - my ego thinks it exists, bit it is only a figment of my imagination.
Your ego isn't real. It never was. So let it die now, and then you will be free of its bullshit and its clinging to life and its need to exist forever.

I don't know whether we will end, exactly. What I felt around my stepmother's deathbed makes me wonder about dualism and whether some part of our consciousness might survive.

The idea of my consciousness ceasing to exist terrifies me beyond my ability to express with words. Live your life as if it’s the only one you have, but treat the world and those around you like you’ll live forever.

If you had this fear while religious -- then you're going to have it still. You must overcome your fear. There are some who recant on their death bed. How I overcame fear (and this had nothing to do with religion) is to memorize a poem: Book -- "Dune" by Frank Herbert, 'Litany Against Fear". It has always helped (though not needed in decades). It is part of our nature to fear the unknown -- it's written into our genetic makeup. Find someone to cuss / discuss your fears.

I don't know because I don't have this dread but I sort of think that if I don't have it then others can 'not have it ' ; like the fear is optional . And if you think about every other person who died were they not scared, maybe because they imagined a better beautiful life after death or were they still scared that they might not get into heaven? I suppose it takes until you decide not to worry about it because its your life that is suffering right now - and death is inevitable for all of us

Atheistic Taoists hold we should treat everything we are given with delight and when it is gone give it no more thought. I say we should look upon growing older as an opportunity to love, cherish and identify with those things that will continue once your own heart stops beating. ?

Why do you think you are compelled to believe any of that?

we always fear the unknown....treat it as any phobia...start reading all the ideas that people have as afterlife concepts and you won't be able to pick one after a while...I think it is how I began looking at it as 'the last door to open'....might be nothing there...or there might be unicorns and rainbows...or avon calling...shiver...

That day hasn't come for me - I fear death because my non-theist beliefs tell me there's nothing more. They say that following your death will be much like it was before you were born i.e., you weren't aware of the blackness or void. I get that but I also wonder "why learn the lessons that I did if there's nothing else afterward where I can employ what I learned". I recently read about a man that had lived in his parents' basement for 40+ years who was unmotivated, a lush and had never had a meaningful job nor had he ever been in a meaningful relationship, Well, at 45 he quit drinking, found a job and fell in love - 6-months later he was dead. What was the point? If there's nothing after we die what was the purpose? He learned all these things about vices, work ethic, relationships and none of it means a damn thing because despite whatever joy it brought him - he is incapable of remembering a damn thing after he dies - would have been better off drinking his nights away. What's the point of a bucket list? If there's nothing after we die, if life doesn't have a purpose that transcends our immediate circumstances - then life is a cruel sick fk'n joke and that scares me more than anything else. Because it means that you only get one chance and if you fk it up - even if it's not your fault you're screwed. And so perhaps the worst thing that happened to humans is self-awareness.

I was very relieved, once I determined there is no afterlife. According to my brainwashing, I was destined for Hell eternally, unless I was one of the Elect. Fuck that nonsense.
Since I realized this life is all we get, it has become much more precious.

After I lost the love of my life, I no longer fear death. The best time of my life is in the past now. I still seek fun and enjoyment, but its not the same. If I die tomorrow I will be content with what I had.

I really don’t think the two are related. I know of atheists that do fear death.

I believe you just hit on the main reason some turn to religion, they think they are so important they need to continue on after this life. In some ways being atheist means we need to be more responsible, in that we only go around once, can't make amends later. Can't see our loved ones "when we get up there" or " I know my mom is looking down, and proud". Or whatever BS they tell themselves. We need to get it right...now. I kinda like being a tiny insignificant ignorant bit of carbon in this huge universe. The only way we continue on is how we effect others.

I remember the comedian Buddy Hackett saying he wasn't afraid of death because "I figure I won't know about it."

You don't know if your existance will end with your passing. Nobody here knows because no one here has died and report back. No need for anxiety. Live your life as you feel proper. And Welcome to our humble home.

I think it takes as long is you want it to take. I know I’m very matter-of-fact about things. I think I have a more existential approach to all of this especially when it comes to how we feel about things. I like Viktor Frankl’s idea about the one thing that no one can take away from us, and that’s the ability to feel any way that we want to feel about any given situation. When I put dogma aside, it gave me space to explore, research, and develop my own belief system. My belief is that we are energy and when we die we are transformed into something else and add our energy to that, whether it’s already existing or something new. A tree, a tire, a sandwich In that sense, we have always been here and we will always be here. Not souls, not spirits, not ghosts, not some non-corporeal form that goes to heaven or hell or somewhere in between. But becoming a part of everything, anything, billions of things in this universe. It is that belief that gave me peace. I don’t know if this helped you, but that’s how I figured it all out.

I couldn't say. I think there are some variables. How observant of a theist were you? How deeply ingrained was this in childhood?
I would suggest that you read or watch Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers. Campbell was within a year of dying when he did this project. While this isn't a primer on becoming an atheist, it's a great introduction to learning the difference between metaphoric belief and literal belief.
Also check out the writings of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens (paradoxical given name for Hitchens!).
You might also expect one or two emotionally jarring events in your life that can affirm your disbelief. Or quite possibly being put under anesthesia. I've had this experience in which being unconscious is a chemically induced visit to the void.

I tend to equate giving up on the idea of an afterlife as an adult with giving up on the idea of Santa Claus as a child, it's a shock at first but you get over it with time. It's better to live life with the reality of ones mortality than to put off living this life fully in hopes of an afterlife based only on fantasy, so live each day to the fullest. Cherish the life you have and know that a life well lived is its own reward.

Only you can decide that for yourself. I do not fear the inevitable. I'm in no hurry for it, but
since it's going to happen whether I like it or not, I don't see any point in fretting about it.
That would be a waste of the time that I do have. However long that may be.

That said, welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.

I think this is more of a question of making sure that the process of death is not frightful. This might include intervention with psychoactives, but I'm not medical staff or anything.

Maybe being saved helps? Is it possible to know one thing, but feel another?

Why fear death? Do you fear the time before you were born? Live each day in the knowledge that your existence is a wondrous fluke & is yours to give meaning to & to enjoy to the fullest!

You will find whatever you find. The interesting part is the hunt. If you discover something that will allow you to accept the notion of not existing, great. If you don't, that's okay too. Searching is the important part of the process -- it shows you're not afraid of facing the bogeyman.

I don't think one has anything to do with the other.
Worrying the future is something some do, dont, or learn not to.
Being dead is nothing....literally.
Dying, well that can be excruciating in a few ways - but we do have options.

I can only speak from my personal experience, but I don't think contemplating eternal nothingness ever gets easy. For me, there is some solace knowing that I'm going where every other living thing has had to go. It's the great equalizer.