Are you afraid to die?

[BRP]

Some people saying that not having an afterlife is a bummer - will it really be? If there is just nothing when we pass on, no heaven, hell, purgatory, collective thought or reasoning or anything, it won't really matter. We'll die hoping that there's an afterlife and, technically, we won't ever be disappointed finding out there isn't one because...well, there wouldn't be one. I'd rather have my last thoughts be hopeful and vibrant and wishful and never have to be disappointed if there isn't anything on the other side or otherwise be rewarded with what I was hopeful for than have my last thoughts be cynicism over whether an afterlife exists or not.

Well two things:

1) You have to be capable of lying to yourself. Telling some inner-voice to shut up. Not easy for some people.

2) Though it certainly doesn't apply to everyone, sometimes trying to get into heaven can lower the quality of your life overall. Like restricting certain pleasures and etc. Also if one is the type to thank god for everything you sort of take away the satisfaction that comes from being only a man who can conquer nature/the odds/etc. Of course you can always take whatever you like and make your own dogma up right? Well I imagine that makes 1) harder.

(EDIT: And personally, the idea of an afterlife simply diminishes the ultimate experience(technically the ONLY experience) which is life. If I had to pick and choose an afterlife, eternal recurrence would be the one to believe in.)

[Korietsu]

Death is but the next great adventure.

[lovehatehero]

I cant say that Im afraid of the actual act of dying, more so of the fact that I dont know whats going to happen when I die. Will we continue some almost dream like reality where you continue on into the so called heaven/hell, or will ever thing just cease into a blackness and everything ever known/done just ends and thats that to never experience anything ever. The thought that you just close your eyes for the last time and blackness without any sort of anything is just kinda chilling I guess, specially after so many years of conscious/subconsciousness.

[Siniroth]

EDIT: Actually I am more scared of my relatives finding a porn collection. So I make sure to make my computer squeaky clean.

I think I'm going to set a death thing on my computer so when I die my relatives find boatloads of weird fetish porn

[Caiyuo]

Maybe this is naive of me, but are there really that many differing perspectives on this subject? I'd imagine the main tenets that most everyone shares are a.) not actively wanting to die, b.) not constantly thinking about your death or the people that make your life what it is dying because it makes you infinitely sadface and c.) living your life as someone who isn't afraid to really live because of a looming fear of death, but the last part is obviously open to a lot of personal interpretation.

If someone didn't share those same feelings, I'd honestly wonder what the fuck. I mean I know everyone goes in and out of that state of mind due to any number of things, but if the opposite of any of those were true on a daily basis as a part of someone's overall view on life, I'd sincerely worry about the person and their state of mind.

Sort of similar to BRP's post, but I can't think of any sadder time in my life than when I was in 7th grade and the realization that I could die at any time hit me and brought on all these questions about the meaning of life and all those questions that come with it that everyone inevitably deals with. I remember having to get up for school because it was the first back from winter break and not getting out of bed because everything felt so pointless. I finally just had to flat out ask my mom while she drove me to school.

I can't even begin to imagine having to live with that feeling every day.

[thetruepandagod]

Personally im more afraid of being paralyzed than dying, as the only reason im not paralyzed now is because of 2 inches of luck.

[Shadowhusky]

Not afraid of death, but I am afraid of the pain that might come with it. I'm such a pussy when it comes to pain.

[Shenrien]

Not afraid of death, but I am afraid of the pain that might come with it. I'm such a pussy when it comes to pain.

Basically this for me as well. Having broken a few bones in my life so far, I know how painful it can be, I don't really want to ever experience the pain of getting my hands, legs, or arms cut off by some accident, or being cut in half/impaled by something I'd figure it would be a very agonizing way to die.

D: I also have a fear of walking lawn mowers, that whatever is holding the blades from flying out from the machine would malfunction and come flying out from the back plate and cut my feet off, which I think would have more then enough potential to die from massive blood loss, which would also be a pitiful way to meet your end ... death by lawn mower malfunction..

[Belkin]

Like most others, death doesn't scare me. But I will agree that the death of loved ones is very very difficult and I'd imagine it would be difficult for my friends and family if I were to die.

I am also scared of the uncertainty afterward. I honesty believe there is nothingness which is unsettling to think about. However, once it happens, you won't have to think about it anymore because you won't have any more thoughts at that point anyway. So I guess I can handle that. If there is an afterlife, I'd be pleasantly surprised but I'm not holding my breath. The afterlife is a complete fairytale, especially when you think of it like Heaven and Hell.

[lovehatehero]

I am also scared of the uncertainty afterward. I honesty believe there is nothingness which is unsettling to think about. However, once it happens, you won't have to think about it anymore because you won't have any more thoughts at that point anyway.

This is what freaks me the most about death. To think that all this just stops, knowing theres noting, obviously when it happens it wont matter, but the thought of it now while i can think is the worst for me at least.

[Colenzo]

Everyone of you is going to die, embrace it and deal with it.

[Hyan]

I know that once I'm old enough, I'm pretty tired of life already. At that point, I'm probably pretty apathetic about death.

I find myself thinking about death sometimes though. I figure it's like the moment just before you fall asleep, or basically the whole time you're asleep and you, how should I say it, 'stop existing' (except when you see dreams). It's hard to explain. Once you wake up you can't regain any memories or feelings from that time and while you're asleep you're not aware of your existence. At least that's the way I feel.

It doesn't sound that bad really. Sleeping is fun.

[Colenzo]

I know that once I'm old enough, I'm pretty tired of life already. At that point, I'm probably pretty apathetic about death.

I find myself thinking about death sometimes though. I figure it's like the moment just before you fall asleep, or basically the whole time you're asleep and you, how should I say it, 'stop existing' (except when you see dreams). It's hard to explain. Once you wake up you can't remember a thing, can't regain any memories or feelings from that time and for the whole time you're asleep you're not aware of your existence. At least that's the way I feel.

It doesn't sound that bad really. Sleeping is fun.

I am not really affected by the whole death idea. I have known many people that have died over the course of my life and I do not grieve their deaths in any way. Aunts, Uncles, my own grandmother that lived with me for my whole life. My own mother almost died and I wasn't really afraid, I had already accepted the fact that she was going to die someday but she hasn't died yet. I just think that when its your time, its your time. I talked to my grandmother and gave her a hug and told her I loved her. Not even 24 hours passed before I found out that she died. Some people are wired differently though. I guess you could say its a cold way of thinking but its realistic and it saves you the trouble of wasted emotions.

[BardonGaruda]

When I was younger I used to be religious and believe in an afterlife. But it never really gave me any comfort. My thought process at the time was that, ok some part of me (spirit) will live on, but my brain and thought porcess wont. The fact that it's my brain thinking about it means there's not much comfort gained.

I guess from that point of view it's a bit like all your family or friends winning an amazing holiday but they'll only get it if they leave you behind. You know you should be happy they get to go, but you're depressed you don't go along for the ride too.

[Metta]

The act of dying/being killed isnt what bothers me, ever since i was 7 or 8 years old ive allways had this picture in my mind of death that is a grave with the world floating above it (it sounds weird typing it...) but every time i think of death i only see that picture in my head and it really makes me depressed to think once i die there is just nothing, nothing at all.

[Brutala]

I'm scared of the very likely scenario that I'll die without producing a truly great idea or deed that people will mention and admire after I'm gone. Having a newspaper headline mention me as "hero" after dying trying to save some black dude from a bunch of skinheads or something would be the bare minimum I'd be happy with, even if people would forget about it in a week. Knowing that I'll die eventually doesn't get to me at all though. If a doctor told me "u have cancer lol" I'd just be really bummed, not hysterical/suicidal etc.

Having already been through a recurring knee injury and a really nasty ear infection I have to say I would much rather die to spike dmg than to DoTs.

[Shuvo]

Not believing in any kind of afterlife or the soul, yes, it scares the crap out of me.

Death is mysterious, therefore it is painful and just terrible. I mean seriously, I know people that WONT donate or be cremated after they are dead because they hear that your nerves are still aware and will signal pain to your brain. Whats funny about these people is the fact that they completely ignore the fact that you first have to survive a post mortem necropsy. Oh how silly we can be.

I myself am an organ donor. How about you guys? Im sure most of you are on that Imhotep type shit and wish to take all of your earthy belongings with you into the netherworld right? You organs or tissue could some day save one of your children or distant relatives, you just
never know. Lord knows none of us need them after we pass.

Even if it were true about nerves still being alive, being burned for a minute is definitely preferable to being eaten slowly by maggots over several weeks. Gonna go for cremation personally, and if I strike it rich I might give freezing a go, and hope for reanimation in a few hundred years later.

I really want to be an organ donor but I heard a believable rumor that doctors are less likely to save you if you're an organ donor. I.e. the main scenario would be "He's probably going to die regardless of what we do, and their are 3 other patients that could use his organs to survive'. All the hospital dramas I've seen usually have at least one episode where they do this too. >_>

So officially I don't give consent on my driver's license, but I'm just gonna let my family give consent after I die, only after knowing the doctors tried everything they could to keep me alive

[Chun Liroy]

I am not really affected by the whole death idea. I have known many people that have died over the course of my life and I do not grieve their deaths in any way. Aunts, Uncles, my own grandmother that lived with me for my whole life. My own mother almost died and I wasn't really afraid, I had already accepted the fact that she was going to die someday but she hasn't died yet. I just think that when its your time, its your time. I talked to my grandmother and gave her a hug and told her I loved her. Not even 24 hours passed before I found out that she died. Some people are wired differently though. I guess you could say its a cold way of thinking but its realistic and it saves you the trouble of wasted emotions.

Pretty much. I'm not afraid to die--it's inevitable, it's the one thing every living thing on this earth has in common; it's worthless to fight it, but I'm definitely not going to go search for crazy shit to do. I've already come to terms with the nothingness that results from death (you know, the "afterlife" part). I want to be an organ donor, but I think I'd like to donate my body to science moreso. Personally I don't have a problem with coming to terms with it, so I find it odd that others can't do the same.

Edit: Running on -hours of sleep, hopefully that was mostly coherent.

[Plow]

Also, question that I am not has been asked yet: what do you guys think about Dr. Kevorkian and assisting people in offing themselves? I say if a person is of sane mind and is cognisant then they should be able to do whatever the hell they want, and if a doctor is trained and willing to assist, it should be their prerogative as well.

How do you declare that someone is sane if they want to commit suicide?

[thetruepandagod]

Nothing crazy about not wanting to live sometimes, especially if you are terminally ill or bedridden.

I would doubt the validity of someones sanity if they were fine with staying hooked up to a hospital bed for the rest of their life knowing they only have a year or less to live.