I can't stop thinking of dying?

everybody goes through times when they think about death. It is a very scary thing to think about mostly because we don't know what happens when we die. but sweetie, let me ask you this, if you are spending a lot of your time thinking about death and the future, what are you missing today? if I learned anything, it is this. The past and the present are ok to think about, but you have to concentrate more on the now because that is whats most important. if you spend all your time thinking about death, then you missing all the little great things about life. Like cherishing the time we have with the people that we love. instead of thinking about death every day, think "what can I do today that can make me happy and make my life the best life I can possibly live."

It is normal, but still don't OBSESS over it.

Everyone knows they are going to die, sooner or later... Me, I know I will probably die young... but there are only two ways to deal with it:

A: Obsess over it, at length. Stop going out, doing much, continually worry yourself into a bleeding ulcer.

B: Live life pretty much as you would, take a few chances if the payoff seems worth it to you and LIVE before you die.

EITHER way you (and me, and everyone else) is going to experience that long sleep in the end anyway.

The only difference is that when the time comes, if you choose option B, you can look back in those final moments and say "MAN WHAT A RIDE!"

October Marie - Feeling frisky!

Hi there,
I am a 40 year old male who keeps good health, however death is always at the front of my thoughts, constantly and has been since I was a young boy. I would love to stop thinking about this but I cant. I even went through a period where I didn't want kids cos I knew one day they would have to die!!!!. I have 3 wonderful boys but still feel like this. I need to stop these thoughts. Has anyone any serious suggestions? has anyone tried hypnosis or any other types of therapy? I am still not sure if I believe in God but I have tried really hard to believe but i'm still not sure. It is really starting to get me and my wife down cos I am not joking when I say this is a CONSTANT thought. please help!!!

My brother past 3 years ago...before then i used to drink every weekend and socialize like a normal 18 year old... after that iv looked at life in a different perspective. i cant joke around like everyone eles, i used to have a huge sense of humor and now nothing really makes me laugh.. it is true that all life ends...and no one knows what happens after you die...i think about death everyday...ill just look at a group of people such as in a mall and look at them and say...they dun think about whats coming....inevitable death... but looking at this blog im glad that there are actually poeple that feel the same way... i dun really have a point, but for the first time since the accident im actually talking about the way i feel...and i actually feel better for it...i dunno about god and heavan and all that...i hope theres something after...if its not...well never know anyway... i have to admit that im after seeing signs of an 'afterlife'...i really miss my brother and when im really down somtimes, ill pray to my brother for a sign that hes ok...it may not be right then or the day after...but shortly after i ask him...i get a sign...when im down and i really miss him, he will come in my dreams and ill get to hug him, thats the best times i get no a days...i do not know how dreams work...but if there is a heaven im sure hes in it and im sure he visits me whenever he can.. all i can say is...everyone has to do it...and im sure its not painful. id say its the best feeling you will ever feel. thank you for reading if you made it to the end...:)

Since I was about 15 (start of high school) I've always thought about death. While watching a happy movie. While at school and at work. I'm not religious. I think of death as emptiness, a state of never having lived, I guess. I don't really even need to think about it to know I'm thinking about it.

No one really wants to talk about it. They just try to change the topic to make me feel better, to stop crying usually. If they don't change the topic they just say what I already know. That it's inevitable and not to dwell on it. Most people don't think about death the same way as I do or at all and I'm glad, but they also have no idea how to help me. No one has ever made me feel better, but I do get distracted from time to time doing things I like.

I talked about it a lot with my sister, but I accidentally made her start thinking the exact same way as me. Now, I can no longer talk to her about it because we both lose it. We just cry together. I did talk to a doctor (who doesn't really talk, he isn't a therapist) and.. medication doesn't help me because there isn't anything wrong with me. It's just my thoughts and the way I feel about it.
A bad comparison-My boyfriend is always thinking about one certain video game and how he loves it. Constantly talking about it and day dreaming about it like me and the thought of death. There isn't anything wrong with him like there isn't anything wrong with me. They are just my thoughts. Sad unwanted thoughts. Medication can never stop you from thinking your thoughts.Unless you're in some kind of hospital for really mentally ill people, then there might be some kind of medication to prevent thoughts, not sure though.

Anyways, I live life -everyday- with a paranoid feeling that I'm going to die one day. It's part of me now, part of my normal everyday life and makes me who I am... a nice, caring, wonderful person, who cries a lot. I wish things were different, but they aren't.

I have only thought about this twice in my life,, the first in 2005 when my grandad past away this thought stayed with me for 5-6 months, i thought of all different things like; will i ever see anything again,, will i have another life? or will i ever go to heaven or hell?
The second time is still happening; i am thinking about it more strongly now because i am 13,, the first time round i was 8,, I think about how many years do i have until i will not live anymore,, sometimes i have mini panic attacks,, sometimes when i get out of bed i get a worried pain in my chest,, I really need some advice any help???

God is behind you put your trust in him you'll be granted life forever not in earth but in heaven god will support you no matter wat

YOU may have ocd.. I am also going through this.. Get therapy or talk to teachers/counselors. Many people struggle with ocd and unwanted thoughts/urges. <3 Bless you. Enjoy life, it may seem short.. but in the end, it was pretty long.. My best wishes to everyone struggling with hardships in their life. Visit twohla.com. :]

I am 25 years of age and cant stop thinking about dieing this is in my head alot tried to talk to friends about it but they just shurgged of my questions, what scares me the most is not kowing anything about what happens when you, and dont want my life to end, is there anything that i can do to take my mind of it, I had have no near death experience and really wish i could go on with life without think of death

I find death scary not knowing what's going to happen when you die. I wouldn't think about it just do stuff that you enjoy to keep your mind off it and try and enjoy your life.

It is normal. I never thought about death until the year 2007. The first time was when my home was invaded by two masked gunmen. I can remember seeing one of the masked men pointing it directly to my face. I ran into my room and locked the door and went into my bathroom and locked myself in there sitting in the shower praying, asking God not to let me die this way. The gunmen ran out of my home, but it affected me mentally and physically. I started having panic attacks and soon afterward, I left the city and moved in a smaller city. I begin feeling better immediately, but six weeks after moving, my oldest daughter died at the age of 14 due to complications of a congenital heart defect. That morning we were talking and I planned on doing the mother-daughter thing by taking her to her favorite restaurant. I left the house and her and my youngest daughter were getting ready when I received a phone call on my cell phone from my youngest daughter screaming, telling me that my oldest daughter was blue. By the time I got there she was gone to the hospital. I received a call from the hospital telling me I needed to come. I knew in my heart she was gone, but I didn't want to believe it. When I walked in the room where she was laying, she looked like she was sleeping. I held her, crying, wishing she would wake up, but she never did. That is when I realize that death was real. Since she passed, I think about it all the time. I realize that God tells us to focus on today because tomorrow has it own problems. I think we are all scared of death in some way, but, you know what...several days after my dughters funeral, she came in my dream and let me and her grandfather know that she did not want to come back here, that she was happy. God also confirmed to me that she was in Heaven with him. I guess you never really think about it until you have lost someone you loved so much or if you had a near-death experience.

Honestly, I consider you lucky. This didn't hit you until how ever many months ago. I've had this on my mind every night since I was eight years old. For a decade it's been haunting me.

How do I get through it? Death is inevitable. No matter what, we will die.

We don't know what will happen when we die. So a few weeks ago I realized something. If when we die, our minds carry on into heaven or whatever, we'll be kicking ourselves in the asses for worrying and obsessing over it.
And if not, if we just die and nothing else happens. Oh well, what can we do about it? Nothing, just live our lives.

I hope this helped you, cause it helped me a little just writing it.

If you're constantly thinking about death, that may be normal but it's definitely a hard thought to overcome.
I have problems sleeping at night because I feel my child, my husband, or even I may die in sleep. I try to clear my mind and eventually I will lull myself to sleep.
A friend of mine attends a mental health center and recieves help for her constant thoughts of death...maybe you should think of doing that too.

omg...i am so glad this blog is here. i have been so morbid of late. i look at everyone and think...we all have to die. and will it hurt? is there any good way to go? i would prefer to go in my sleep. but the good news is when i read the above post..i had to laugh....i felt the same exact way about everything...why have kids...they have to die anyway...all living things will have to go...life is bad joke when you dwell on this. i feel better reading all these posts. i found humor in my fear...and hell i am just powerless over this. i don't get to pick how i leave this earth, i don't know when it will be..(thank god) and i take solice in the fact that i don't remember being born so i am not going to remember dying. anyways, this fear may not have total left me yet....but i do cherish my life, my health and those around me so much more after going through this. now i need to think about the present moment and live my life NOW!

Go to church and maybe you'll feel better. =)

In all seriousness it is normal to feel this way, but you have to think about it like this, Would life really make sense if you could live forever? Would you really want to bear living on and on forever and dealing with life? Like 2pac said "Death has got to be easy because life is too hard" I'm not saying you should go kill yourself, just enjoy your life and try to make the best of it, because life always must come to an end.

did anything happen when you were around 15 (or maybe even earlier)that might have triggered these thoughts?

"I think of death as emptiness, a state of never having lived, I guess. I don't really even need to think about it to know I'm thinking about it." --that's really deep; i feel the same way...

and i know 100% what you mean about no one wanting to talk about it...

i wish i had someone to cry with over it...maybe you feel bad cause you made your sis start thinking about it, too...but darn i'd live to just sit and talk about it and cry cry cry with somebody about it, share the feelings about it with someobdy else for once, instead of always alone...i always imagined that the act of sharing feelings together and crying together would feel comforting (even just for the time being-b/c i know it wouldn't stop the thoughts of death...)...but to just share the thoughts together...to just cry with someone...

ever talk to your bf about death? maybe he could help?

This is beautiful (even though it's sad and scary, too): " Anyways, I live life -everyday- with a paranoid feeling that I'm going to die one day. It's part of me now, part of my normal everyday life and **makes me who I am... a nice, caring, wonderful person, who cries a lot.** I wish things were different, but they aren't." ---a nice caring wonderful person who cries a lot...i'm with ya on that!

it's both a blessing and a curse, eh? we see life differently. it's a curse b/c a terror lives within us and so we always feel afraid...and we don't even have to think about it; it's just there dwelling inside us...but it's a blessing b/c we tend to be more passionate and love more b/c of this fear that those we love will die, that WE will die, that everybody will die...we tend to see more beauty, and though afraid, feel more life...

i have no answer, as i am probably in the same boat you are...i rarely sleep and when i do, often wake up with night terrors. there's a cold fear running through my veins all the time.

they say to busy yourself with things you enjoy right? but i don't understand that, as it is only avoiding the real problem. have you ever heard of terror management theory? in short, it's this theory that we humans live our lives in ways that help disract ourselves from death. a lot of this we do on a subconsious level. here's a good quote to sum it up from the movie My Life Without Me: "“You see things clearly now. You see all these borrowed lives, borrowed voices, Milli Vanilli everywhere. You look at all the things you can’t buy – now you don’t even want to buy – all the things that will still be here after you’re gone, when you’re dead. And then you realize that all the things in the bright window displays: all the models and catalogues, all the colors, all the special offers, all the Martha Stewart recipes, all the piles of greasy food, it’s just all there to try to keep us away from death, and it doesn’t work”......................

When you die you will start a new life. ITS FREAKIN AWESOME!!! its not that there is million thousand of spirits when you die :D hell no XD you can be dog , cat , human , alien , bacterias. its awesome!

I just realize how old most of the posts are. And the fact that i stumble across this site was because i am wide awake in the middle of the night thinking about death.

I just turn 32. My mom died about a year ago at the age of 52. Witnessing her death sealed my obsession about death. Although most of the people i grew up with hardly talk about the subject. I felt cheated. Why no one thought to explain to me about the inevitable.

So i read. I read a lot. Through research and convinction and a lot of prayer. Religion plays a huge role when it comes to death for me. I had all my questions answered. I think, thinking about death is a blessing. Because it makes you question yourself, the universe and everything. Had i never thought about death and dying, i would probably be living life heedlessly. Without thoughts to consequences and repurcussions.

So what i've learn and come to believe so far is:

We all have a soul. When we die, its the body that dies, but the soul lives on forever.

There are five stages to the soul. Firstly it was created by a Creator. Then it was put to a body in the womb. Thirdly, we are here living on earth. Fourth, when the body dies, the soul gets separated temporarily. Its placed in another realm unlike this world. Fifth, upon Judgement Day, everyone gets resurrected to meet the Creator again.

I like that there's order and it makes sense to me. Sources from the Quran and Hadiths. And a lot of YouTube vids. Although my post is really just a summary. I hope for whomever that happens to read this in the future can look into these sources as a possible guide. God Willing.

And may you find Peace.

Death is such a horrible word i think the words death and dying scare people. Most natural death stories are always claimed to be peaceful and not bad at all. we should look at it as passing on to the spiritual life, for non believers (God help) The ultimate rest. also. people who have near deaths and pass for certain times claim they will never worry again because it was an amazing experience. If you disagree nobody here cares we are wanting mental peace. im tired of scientists trying to disprove everything i love and put my faith in. one thing i have noticed is when we kept everything simple life wasnt a drag with depressing thoughts. science disproving seems to me like a group of people trying to pull us from our creator. to think we poofed outta nowhere is ridiculous. instead of somebody replying to me with science to piss me off just know i wont care until you have an answer for every single thing.Jesus is my man he came here and walked his talk and was crucified for us. a 2000 year old story that hasn't been disproved can't be believed, yet we believe stuff from 10,000 years ago?!?! c'mon people keep it simple im reaching out to you to remind you why your here. THERE IS PURPOSE!

I try and not think about and yet I do. It would be a lot better if I knew just what the hell would happen. But, I will say this as everybody else is saying, enjoy your life now. Who knows if it will turn into perpetual darkness with nothing at all, or if you'll have some afterlife based on your actions, or even reincarnation. (I'd love the latter, yet I think it's an afterlife.) I find it morbid, yet we can't stop thinking about it. Enjoy your life now.

you know what, i think about the same things. And yea you are normal. My friends think about it too. But do you know how i get over it. I think to myself, god is real heaven is real. if god wasnt real how would we be here, how would we have nature, and trees, and humans.

Hi there,

Thinking about death is a normal thing to worry about but we all (I guess) try to 'not think about it).
I look at this this way, if a teenager of 18 dies then their 'middle-age'was only 9. If you knew that at 9 you would try to LIVE your life to the best of your ability.
It is completely normal and I have had a few scares when I've thought "Aaa ok this is how it's all going to end"
Talk to your friends and others, maybe your Dr if things get too bad otherwise just keep on trucking like the rest of us try to do.
Hope you feel a little happier soon.

Mitch

I think about death all the time. Sometimes it will just hit me out of nowhere, like when I'm driving or wtching a movie. I think "holy shit, I'm gonna be dying one day." To be accurate, dying and not death is really the problem for me. I have no idea what death is so it doesn't concern me. But dying freaks me out because I worry it will be painful or happen to early and that I won't be ready. Can you imagine, being really sick and knowing you aint gettin better. Just worse and worse and in the end you're gonna be so sick that youre body and mind will just give out completely. Oh how horrible.

Wow just seeing these coments tells me that im not the only one that thinks This way more people think This way i thought that i was the only one that thought This way but This made me feel that im not the only one

I feel like it's more common in atheist's because we know that death will swallow us whole and that one day all we'll know and love will be swallowed. Sorry did that not help?
Besides from the obligatory comment, you're going through something we like to call,
an Existential Crisis!
definition of google: An existential crisis is a moment at which an individual questions the very foundations of their life: whether this life has any meaning, purpose, or value. This issue of the meaning and purpose of existence is the topic of the philosophical school of existentialism. Another way to think of it, as that one day we'll all die and eventually no one will be alive to know nor care. But damn it, life is way to short to be thinking about those things. Now, depending if your male or female your average life span is about 46 - 84 for men, and 52 - 90 for women. So that's a lot of years, let me bust out the calculator here, that's 365 x 84, & 90- HOLY SHIT THAT'S A LOT OF DAYS (Pardon my language) for 84 years, that is a total of 30,660 days, and for 90 years old, 32,850 days.
So now that you have the statistics, go out there and live life to it's fullest, because if you feel that the world will forget you, go and make your mark on the world so it won't! Invent a new virtual reality sex video game with the HTC Vive! Go and design the most aesthetic-ly pleasing tower ever! Go become president/prime minister of your home country! WHO GIVES A DAMN!
(this is probably the longest post I've made since I also have a lot of bottled up feelings about life, just to let you know you're not the only one out there.)
~L3X.

have you ever been diagnosed with schizoaffective..I was diagnosed 3 years ago and one of the major symptoms for the disorder is the fear of death...

I guess you never really think about it until you have lost someone you loved so much or if you had a near-death experience"
This is absolutely true because I remembered how fear of death ruined my life few years ago before I come out with a solution for that .It first started on 2009 when I was nearly to complete my high school after losing my virginity to the girl that I was later discovered she was HIV positive.No condom used that day even-though I quit after my first ejaculation soon after realizing what I did.Since then my life was completely worse because I was afraid to get tested since I believed there could be no way to have unprotected sex with a positive and u get out negative.I remembered I use to cry myself as a child in my room and suffered from severe anxiety.It ruined my life,I was a super boy,charming,talkative and very bright but all turned off and become history.One day I get up and got tested and it was like a miracle to me because I tested negative and I couldn't stop to verify after every 3 months from 2010 to 2013 and the results was same"NEGATIVE".Since then I couldn't stop thinking about death and get scared of it..it sucks.I have completed my Bachelor degree IN 2014 and having my own company and I still couldn't control the fillings..Sometimes I thought may be I was not that smart as people saw me from the outside because it sucks if you can make big and successful decision for the company and fail to control the fear of death,It was crazy.But I come to realize that non of us do not fear death,everyone did in some point of life so just accept it and live.Remember when you were a child you already knew that there is a life and death so this is normal right..Get up and live guys don't waste your time thinking of something that is NORMAL.Dont think of how much pain your loved one will get after your death because non of them too will live forever to remember your death. Good luck for everyone suffered the same problem.

You may need to go to the hospital. Just say you feel unsafe.

Tho I am only 19 years old I feel the impact of a mid-life crisis too. This is because I believe that anyone's life can be taken at anytime...I could die tomorrow! So it's possible I've already lived half my life, or even majority of my life...you never know. That's why I feel the need to contemplate the idea of death even at this stage in my life. I do hope that there is something for us after death...something good. I would be happy with the idea of reincarnation tbh...having the chance to live another life and achieve new dreams and meet new people. I dont mind the idea of an afterlife either although the idea of "forever" and "eternity" disturb me. I just hope I can find my own answer someday and I hope that everyone on this thread can find the answers they are looking for too. This is the first time I've found interest in a thread and the first time I was prompted to create an account and contribute to the conversation. Y'all are amazing <3
Peace!

I think about dying all the time, it's scares me, not the thought of getting old, but the thought of when I'm gone, I'll see or be nothing again, we have one life and when it's gone, I'll be nothing again, I'll feel nothing again, I'll be nothing again, I don't want this to happen, it terrifies me, it's makes me feel sick, I don't want to die, I don't want to go and not be a part of the world again, what will happen will I die and for that to
Be it? I so scared

Same...Like i know that i won't die but i think about it everyday like it passes in my head and then i think and read blogs about it...I found out the symptoms and i will not die :D

Hey i am experiencing something different.

I cant sleep at night and this just started happening recently. It is visions of myself dying/me killing myself/me killing others. They happen daily and are usually in my head but sometime i just see myself falling from a building or getting hit by a car in the real world.

This is extremely scary and im afraid to talk to anyone about it. If anyone else has experienced this id love your input.

I used to be afraid of death. My son expresses how he cant sleep at night because the thought of returning to nothingness overwhelms his mind. I told him about what happened when my dad died when I was 2 yrs old and the things that happened that day even before my mom identified the body. All the cabinet doors opened in the kitchen and the drawers opened to the very edge right before they would fall, all by themselves.( paranormal stuff)I vaguely remember being woken up that night and seeing something. Then nothing ever happened gain until I was in my late teens all the way till I was 25 yrs old. I was kept awake by heavy breathing noises in my room at night. I would hear noises on one side of my room then near me and I would just throw the covers over my head and turn on the t.v to drown the breathing noises. then with the covers over my head I would hear this gasping or heavy breathing right in font of my face but I wasn't going to peak out of my covers. I still had trouble believing in life after death. then I saw The Dead Files on t.v. and was blown away. Now I don't worry anymore. I watch it every week after ghost adventure.. I'm not religious but I can believe energy goes onto something.

Dear All,

I am 33 years old and i have this crazy feeling thinking about death and getting old all the time ! I do think about past alot like we used to all together with family and girlfriend and having grate life , however i was not earning much so i had limited spending! But my life was much better as now !
I have stopped doing any business because hat i have saved will last me forever till another 100 years ! So and the reason I stopped working or do any business because i always think no matter what i do i will die! And no need to work for it !
I started hating people around me because i think they are close to me just for money or what I have but I hope i am wrong !
I want help please i want to go back to my life in past living in one bedroom flat with my dog and my girlfriend! I dont want all this what i have if i am not happy and always thinking of death, coffins, left alone under the ground or scary grave yard ! As i fell I will die just now and my nose start bleeding and hart bidding fast and I feel pain in my chest when i think of death .
Could anyone help ! Please

i agree completely I think about this every day and try to live my life reducing things that would get in the way of living healthy but i find i also succomb to failing to enjoy the moment way too much so I try to enjoy everything i find in my way that is good and god-like

I don't know how old this topic is but I recently found it and feel compelled to chip in.

As a young child I would think of death occasionally and it would scare me so I ended up speaking to my mum, who usually calmed me down until the next time I thought about it.

Now I am 36 and have these thoughts quite frequently..."What is the point of it all?" and "What's my purpose in life now?". My parents divorced when I was 16 and I have had one short term relationship since then and crave a companion. I have always had no self-esteem.

More recently I have struggled with turning 30 (36 now) and all the pitfalls of growing older (which seem to start around passing that milestone like losing hair and fitness levels/appearance). I am single, unemployed with no job prospects, and I miss being young so much. I would love to just re roll the dice and go back to being young again. Even though I know it's silly and this is just an impossibility I still think about it.

I have lost the passion for life I guess. I look back on photos of my 18 year old self and the young man looking back at me is full of joy. I don't think it's just that easy to "stop worrying" and think of something else. If it was that easy people wouldn't be having the thoughts frequently in the first place. I would imagine the majority of people who think like this are unhappy with the current state of their lives and cannot see any way of improving their quality of life. I guess it's all about finding things to take your mind off it...hence why I mentioned finding a companion, getting kids, aging being kind to you etc

Tbh I think I am probably experiencing what they call a mid life crisis. The bittersweet nature of it all is that I can never go back. Things don't last forever...I struggle with that notion in all forms...and death is the ultimate one of that. If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it :(

Hi im sixteen and its nice to see other people who feel the same there have been moments when i think about it and moments when i don't but when i do it can last for months and its starts off with panic attacks in the middle of the night. I just cannot handle i've gone to counseling and that was partially for a related fear of flying and dying. I feel like i can't live without thinking about its a constant panic and lump in my throat and im becoming depressed or may already be i feel that a relatives death is trigger as recenetly i knew a few people who have died. From the previous comments its seems people are stating that they experience it to and to turn to god but what OTHER solutions are there can you take some medicine to calm my thoughts, would hypnosis work something to just stop the thoughts and i don't want to go back to counseling please help and just thinking about happy things makes it even more prominant

Hi! I am 37 years old and I feel the same way. I sleep odd hours or until I'm entirely exhausted because of this fear. I am a Christian and I find comfort in the Lord. I pray constantly that he takes the fear away. And He does. But I guess being human, it always still creeps up on me. I know too that oftentimes, the devil plays on your fears so you would just be consumed by it. Call out to Jesus and keep on rebuking the fear. That's what I do. I pray for all of us who are going through this.

I'm glad that I found this thread. I am 23 years old and recently I have been thinking a lot (too much) about death late at night. For the most part I am terrified of losing the people around me. I have always thought that if I died, then that would be it, but I'm not sure that I could handle the pain of losing someone that I love. I do everything to be in the moment during the day and be present, but it still feels like time is going by so fast. My father is older than most of my friends' dads (he is 63) and that scares me most of all. I also recently moved away from home and I can't help but think that I will never be as close to them as I was before I left. There is so much I want to experience with my parents and older relatives, like when I get married and become a mother.

But sometimes I think about my own death. It can be sparked by anything... Even the thought of what my hands will look like when I'm dead. And like a sharp knife to the gut, I realize that when we die it's forever. The word 'forever' reminds me of a lot of pleasant things, but when I think about how long that is, I start to cry. My family is not religious, but we are all very highly educated. And I feel that the more educated I become, the less I am able to believe in life after death. But I feel like I won't be able to go on much longer without at least the false comfort of something after death. Sometimes I feel so alone that I pray to God. I must say again that I am not religious at all, but it gives me such comfort to imagine a divine being that has everything planned out for me. I can't believe after so many years of fighting the wrongs associated with religious bodies that I am considering turning to it now. But I feel like it's the only way that I can be at peace with the inevitability of death.

I'm a 36 year old father of four and evidently, not as big of a sissy as I've always assumed I was before realizing so many other intelligent people have similar problems. Like most of you, I'll often find myself being consumed by thoughts of death and more-so a fear of the unknown. If I'm alone and allow myself to dwell on it, I can quickly sink into a panic attack, while little else in this world can rattle me. It gets so bad that I have to deliberately think about something else. Worst is when I'm really enjoying life with my kids in some terrific moments and then I fear losing all of it - for eternity... Seems like a cruel joke (being given life that is) but suppose you could think of it as an amazing gift too. What's supposed to make you feel better often makes me feel worse - like how when you go to sleep, you do so peacefully and are not guaranteed you'll wake up, yet you always have so you should think of death similarly - try not worry and just convince yourself you'll wake up. Or even better - when people tell you to think about the eternity that existed prior to your birth - which quite frankly just depresses me more :) It's the raw intensity of this fear that actually drives me away from any real capacity for faith in God - because I clearly see in these moments the desperate need/motive/desire to create and believe in an afterlife. I'm sure that we as a race have had this primal fear from the moment we were capable of contemplating such things. However - this doesn't mean that there isn't something after we die because I think everyone should be open to that possibility. In fact, for you scientists out there, remember that a requirement for scientific laws is that they hold open the possibility that they could be wrong. And given the evidence of intelligent design behind the universe (e.g. ratio of phi found throughout the earth and our own galaxy among many other commonalities), in addition to the fact that if our universe were to have expanded one millionth of a second faster than it did, grey matter/gravity would not have been strong enough to hold it together and form galaxies/stars/planets. Conversely, had it expanded one millionth of a second slower, the same forces would have been to great and it would have collapsed back upon itself. Pretty lucky I'd say! So who knows?! No one can prove it, but even science has it's limits!
I guess what I really want is to know that I'm special - more than a blink in the eye of eternity. But I don't want that being the reason I blindly believe in something I can only say at this point that I'm open to acknowledging its potential, and desperately hoping for its reality. One thing we should all take solace in is that were all in it together. I think sites like this where people can relate and share our deepest fears and talk about what really matters, along with the love of family and friends, is what makes life worth living - regardless of an afterlife.

My first big encounter with the fear of death was a couple years ago now. One morning I just got hit by the thought that one day I would die and there was nothing I could do about it. I panicked, cried and screamed. It was horrible.

Up until that point I was a militant atheist that scoffed at religion and spirituality, but in my despair I started googling about afterlife, god, near-death-experiences and the like. Eventually I even branched out my research into the realm of neurology and quantum-physics, desperately looking for an answer.

I don't remember if I got a satisfying answer or if my brain simply became tired and decided to "switch off" the anxiety, but after maybe a month or two the feelings of dread and panic went away and I was no longer plagued by constant thoughts of death.

I was a bit changed though, from materialistic atheist I got a more agnostic approach to the universe and developed a belief that "death is not the end".
Besides I was(and still am) young and I guess that played a role in making me feel more "safe".

Now its 2014 and here I am again, stuck with the same fear. It began after I visited the doctor about a certain health-issue thats been bugging me(dont know the cause, still waiting for results).

I believe its even worse this time because it has dawned on me just how fragile life really is. People of all ages and nationalities die everywhere, every day. You can be the healthiest person in the world and still end up with deadly cancer for example. There is absolutely zero ways of knowing when tragedy will hit. Ive never lost someone close to me before, not even a pet. Should my parents die I dont know what I will do.
My beliefs about death not being the end do nothing to comfort me anymore because I realized I have no idea what will happen. If I could choose an afterlife it would be to reunite with my loved ones in a heavenly realm forever, but does it matter what I want? Probably not. And I dont like that one bit.
Worst of all is that I feel that I will have these same feelings even if I miraculously make it to 80, 90 or 100 years of age. It doesn't matter how much you've done and seen in this life. In the end when you're on your deathbed, taking your final breath all of your life up until that point might as well have been a dream.

Im afraid. Very afraid...

This is an old post, but maybe I can help. A constant fear of death is not normal.

Think about it; you have already been dead for an infinite amount of time. This is the time before you were born. You don't go around worrying about where you were during this time, right?

I see many people suffered through a traumatic experience (and some not) to trigger this. Traumatic events cause stress. Stress causes anxiety, and anxiety over a long term causes depression. One of the main symptoms of anxiety and/or depression is compulsive thoughts about death.

I encourage anyone feeling this way to read up on anxiety and depression. Just know, all is not lost. You can stop this cycle. Things as simple as regular exercise and cutting down on caffeine can greatly reduce these symptoms. There are also a multitude of medications that you can take short term ( or long if necessary) to break this cycle.

I'll leave with this. Death is inevitable whether you worry about it or not. Worring will not change the outcome one bit. So it's your choice, you are in control. Make the choice to live life and not worry.

Peace.

You'll stop thinking about it when you are dead.

as an advice guys i just registered for this subject and i found it interesting, iknow that my language is poor, but i want to tell you that no one of us afraid of death but we are afraid what is going to happen after we die,and our thinks goes like am i going to hevean or hell, so i would like to give an advice because most of not sure about his decision, READ ABOUT ISLAM and Beleive me guys you are going to find the answer that you needs, Read the holly Quran Beleive me i am Here to help i swear to God

i am a muslimah from Kenya..:-( for the past 1 month av been thinking about death like everyday!i just find myself crying because i feel like am not ready to face God!i think what triggered this feeling was the death of my close friend after school.ok i heard that people to die soon know that they r dying so does it mean al die sooner???!seriously am afraid of death..sometimes i look at my husband and i feel like why?why this?but i hope its what everyone should think because u cant just leave forever..every soul shall test death thats what islam and ol religions believe.is it ok if u share it to anyone??

im not scared were all dying im going to die one day, and im either going to go to the Summerland or be a ghost

everyone joins the dead eventually

I used to be so terrified of death that when I was a teenager I couldn't even sleep at night. I had been raised Roman Catholic and thought I had to earn my way to Heaven through good deeds, doing what the Catholic Church said I had to do etc.

I did not know that there was any escape from my living nightmare of terror until one day I heard the gospel and what it REALLY taught. I accepted the free gift--paid in full--and immediately all my fear left and was replaced with joy and total confidence---

How To Be Sure

There's probably more uncertainty about the most important matter in the world than about any other. Let me illustrate:

If you were to ask 100 people at random about the economy, politics, or pollution, you would get a fairly definite opinion from most.

But ask the same 100 people, Are you going to Heaven when you die? The vast majority would answer with varying degrees of doubt -- I don't know...I'm working on it...I have no idea ....I'm not sure.

Many of these same people would tell you that they believe in Jesus Christ and that they believe in Heaven. Yet they don't know whether or not they are going to Heaven.

What would your answer be?

Most of us know definitely whether or not we are working and whether or not we are married. Yet we do not know whether or not we have eternal life.

Most travelers know where their destination is. Yet ask them where their final destination will be where they will be living forever and very few know!

This uncertainty comes from a misunderstanding of what is involved in attaining eternal life and going to Heaven. If you were to ask the average person what one must do to have eternal life, his answer would probably include one or more of the following:

Live a good life
Obey the Ten Commandments
Join a church and attend regularly
Love your fellow man
Be baptized and/or confirmed
Follow the teachings and example of Christ.
All of these represent something that people do or try to do. They reflect the popular idea that eternal life in Heaven is a reward to be earned.

But the Bible states clearly that we cannot win or earn our way to Heaven. Eternal life is not a reward for what we have done or tried to do; it is a free gift. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). It is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).

So long as we think that we must earn our way into the presence of God, we can never be certain that we have done enough to deserve Heaven. Most of us realize that we are not good enough to measure up to God's perfect standards. And for us to say I know I'm going to Heaven sounds like the ultimate in pride and boasting, if Heaven is reached through good works.

The only sure answer!

The Bible, however, teaches that we cannot be good enough, that we cannot work our way to Heaven and that we do not need to! We are to realize, instead, that Jesus Christ has opened the way to Heaven for us. No matter how bad we may be, any of us can qualify.

The Bible says, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in [Gods] sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known....This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:20-22).

You see, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins yours and mine by His death on the cross. Having completely paid our sin penalty, He rose from the dead and now offers eternal life to you and to me as a gift. By simply recognizing our need for a divine Savior, and by accepting Christs pay- ment for our sins and our salvation, the matter of our eternal destiny is immediately resolved.

This is the way, the only way, to know for sure that you have eternal life.

Do you have this assurance?

If not, you can gain this assurance right here and now. How? The Bible says, speaking of Christ : To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).

Have you received Him?

How, you still ask?

Well, let me illustrate by comparing your life to your home. In the last book of the Bible, Jesus said, Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20).

It's up to you to open the door of your life to Christ. Are you willing to invite Jesus to come in and change your life? Are you willing to place all of your trust and confidence in Him rather than in your own works? If so, let me suggest you complete the transaction by praying something like this:

Dear God, I know I am a sinner and unable to save myself. But I do believe You love me, and that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins. Right here and now, I ask You to forgive my every sin and give me the gift of eternal life. Thank You, dear God, for hearing and answering my prayer, and for giving me eternal life as You promised You would. Amen.

In closing, let me remind you that the Bible says, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

Written by Arthur S. DeMoss (tract from The American Tract Society)

Why put it off? You can accept the wonderful free gift of Salvation right now wherever you are. Just ask God for it.

.

I know how you feel.. Ever since I was very little I was extremely afraid of death. I'd try not to think about it, but I'll always get these images of me just not being here anymore. I'd cry myself to sleep. Now, I try and dismiss the thought. Even though I'm still very afraid, I now understand that it's what all of us have to face. I'm very glad to have found other people who feel the same

Wow, I couldn't help but read this post. I'm sorry that you keep thinking of death like this. I don't really usually comment on things like this, but truthfully, I'm very fearful of the unknown that is death. Sometimes, I just sit in my room with these thoughts that I can't seem to control and it feels so weird to me that I'm writing this down, but these past few days, I seem to be thinking about death a lot. I guess what I'm scared of is disappearing and not having my conscience around anymore. But whenever I think of how my loved ones will feel after I'm gone, it makes me ten times sadder and it just makes me wanna cry. And I feel as if I can't tell anyone any of this, because they'll just think I'm some crazy person that needs help. I can't talk to anyone about this and just these thoughts in my head makes me feel so lonely and sad and I don't want to seem as if I'm some kind of weakling for thinking such thoughts. And that's just it. I just feel all alone because I have all these thoughts that run through my head that I can't share with anyone. This is the first time I've actually voiced it out and even now, as I'm typing this, I feel so weird. But I'm sort of glad that people actually feel this way, too and I'm not really all alone...I guess.

Death is a thought I think of lately, as a 45 yr old. It's a recall to my memory often. I ask myself why is it here? It's a culmination of facts and one is my wake up call by a Doctor. And life changes I have to face.

I do think that most people contemplate the mirror in as much as we all do. We will have many similarities to more people than we can ever imagine to meet. Try that thought the next time you sit next to your fellow passenger on your next flight. It may just bring back our humanity in coach economy. And you get a better ride too and an understanding of another human being that we may not even care of in our day to day.

I think it's normal to assess and accommodate such thoughts. It's normal to access our mortality this way. To me, lately, death is a darkened room and when you look around, a mere lamp illuminates the past events of your life, a loop of memory like an abandoned screen test. A discarded roll of film on the cutting floor. Significant. I think you can't revisit these parts of the room, you may walk towards them but they are always at a distance, well you can never reach? And it may be any part of a detail that holds a certain significance to you.. and you only : D And there hangs the catch...

But seek comfort in that, it's your life and you're still alive to contemplate that thought. Take it further when you next see the sun, that's your tip to move forwards in your life, wherever you may be here and now, or for then...

'Do not go gentle into that good night... '

I think about death everyday. I think about myself dying, I think about friends and family dying, I think about how people will remember me and what they'll say etc. Im 25 now and this has been happening for as long as i can remember, 15 years or more I guess. The thing is, it doesnt bother me. I am not scared about death, I dont panic, I dont have anxiety, I am not sad. Im not a depressed person, im always pretty much the life of the party and I do try and live every day how i like to and experience as much as I can. I just think of death so much. Its normal for me but I also think its kind of weird. My little cousin died suddenly at 18 last year, we were really close and I think about her a lot now which just adds to the amount of morbid daily thoughts. I have re-read all the messages we used to send each other and we were both constantly joking about dying or death all the time. We were so alike in how we live our lives. There is a part of me that would rather be with her.

Thinking about death is entirely normal, so is worrying about it. I went through a phase of being afraid of death, not to the point of keeping me up all night. However, i "theorized" that worrying about death is pointless, when you die, you die. When you die, as of what we know, you wont even know your dead, the process of dying should be your main concern, not death in itself. I also "theorized" that you would fear death, out of pain and the fear of missing everything dear to you, however, materialistic possessions are hardly anything worth thinking about, sure they may bring you joy till the time of your death, but they are just things, they are not "soulbound". When you die, you wont know what you had lost or had. Because you are dead, you dont know, you dont know anything, you simply died. Only the hydra can cheat death to a degree, being biologically immortal, humans unfortunately can not. Live your life instead of sitting in fear about when your gonna die, its gonna happen, when you die you die, your time has come, and if that time comes and all you have done is try to extend your longevity due to fear of death, you will only regret wasting that life. If you truly are afraid, use that fear to push you forwards. You gotta accept theres no way out.

Thank you so much all. I also get worried about death sometimes and it is really a bad feeling, but knowing that i am not alone is good one. truly said live your life with full enthusiasm do the things you love and most importantly be positive, eat healthy, learn good things, spend good time with all around you and live happily.

Death is a given... We should accept it and move on...Think about the whole picture(I know WTF but the universe is a mystery, so we should keep that in mind... )

Love this song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I

The best thing about life is that you can influence the children and educate the middle aged folks on how to to keep human kind moving forward. Otherwise, we're all screwed...

I'm terrified of death... What keeps me going is that we know something about the universe. Most scientists would state that there is no prof of life beyond death. If you look at the overall picture you have to wonder WTF.

What's going on here. Why are we on earth? Why do we love? I know it seems somewhat unscientific but seriously think about it..

It's beyond our comprehension. Live your life!

my friend what u worry about? we all die one day. it happened to billions and billions. it will happen to ME it will happen to YOU, it will happen to my dog too...:] stop thinking about death cz u miss this great thing we call life. Go outside and make stupid things, see places, watch the sunset...no one is gonna know you after 100 years.dont make investments into such stupid thinks like reputation or "image". If there is a guy up there, then for sure he want us to have fun here and maybe he wants us to realize some things and that's why he don't shows up...hahaha! plus dont forget! we are so lucky to be alive. We where that 1 out of 50-250 millions of sperms that won the lottery and got the ticket to come here..:] Don't think too much.. This is how things are! This is how things are! Dont worry about things you can do something to change them and dont worry about the things that you can not do something...;)

I thought I'd managed to ease this repetitive thought to a dull murmur... but then depression came back and the thoughts came with it. The only way to deal with it is a combination of medication and distraction. I basically can't let myself have time to think because as soon as I do, the thoughts take over. Like tonight - I've gotten so obsessed that instead of doing study I am online trying to figure out how to stop these distracting thoughts.

I've had this problem since I was 3 years old. I remember my dad was wailing "she's gone!" about his mum dying and I was absolutely terrified. It didn't take me long to figure out that existence is temporary. I thought that was pointless then and unfortunately I still do.

I'd recommend a few books to all of you. They won't make you feel overwhelmingly better, but they will explain to you what makes you different to others and that you're not alone. If anything, you simply aren't able to delude yourself into believing in things that can't be proven to exist like god or an afterlife.

The Denial of Death - Ernest Becker
The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus (it made me realise that I'm not the only one to have thought that death is waiting to tell me none of this life really happened. I guess I see life as little more than a temporary illusion since once I'm dead it no longer matters how long I lived or what I did. Graveyards make me feel empty inside.

I try to think of it like Bill Hicks - "it's just a ride" and I try to make it a good ride because we all deserve that at the very least... Just harder said than done.

I've started seeing a new psychiatrist who has started me on different medication. He is the third one I've seen and finally seems to understand because he grew up in India by the Ganges and saw bodies disposed of. He admitted to me that he would think "what a horribly undignified way for life to end, is this all it comes to?" and explained that human beings need to find ways to "procrastinate death" and we do this by setting goals and rewards. So... those years that I was working myself into a stupor were exactly the medicine I required :(

Huge thank you to all of you for sharing. You get a better reception talking about explosive diarrhoea than death, it's the white elephant, so it's a relief to be able to read others who have similar thoughts and offload some of my own.

My only problem with death is the unknown. What will I experience in the afterlife, or of there is even one. If it just like sleeping, where I will dream and watch over my family and loved ones, that's fine. But my fear is that there is nothing after this life...that when you die, thats it, your consence just ceases to exist, and you just aren't there anymore

Thanks for all of your comments. I have recently just had a baby an to be brief i had preeclampsia an had three seizures, this increased my thoughts about death in the worst way. I cant sleep an my days are horrible. I pray that i get through this an god gives me the strength i need to keep me focused on the great things of this world like my children. I am truly grateful to be alive.

I'm glad I stumbeled upon this. My cousin and grandmother recently passed a week apart from each other, and as usual, I was the one to keep people smiling. I had a couple of months afterwards where I felt "normal", but one day a few weeks ago, this constant train of thought just swept through my brain. Everyone I see, I think "they're gonna die". I'm going to die. My girlfriend, my parents, my friends, all those dear to me. I had an anxiety attack at work just last week that wound me up in the emergency room, and the whole time I thought to myself "I'm dying, right now." I could hear my mom crying and saying to my family and friends "he called me and said he was going to the hospital, he even drove himself there, and by the time I got there he was dead." I've tried to tell myself to focus on what makes me happy, and it only works part of the time. I can't escape these thoughts, and I can feel a physical difference in myself as a result of the stress. Sadly, having a few drinks at the end of the day seems to be the best way I've found to deal with it. I think I'm going to seek professional help if this doesn't pass in a reasonable time, self-medicating is probably not the best way to deal with it.

Bottom line is, I've ALWAYS been aware of the inevitable, I just want to go back to my thoughts being consumed every minute of every day. It's bad for your health.

Best wishes to all that have posted in this forum, I feel your angst.

Im feeling the same way as everybody on here. Im suffering from PAD and im currently on Sertraline medication. They are basically for my panic attacks. Ive always been scared of dying but in the past 3weeks ive been obsessing over it. Why? What? Where? When? How? Im constantly questioning everything. I dont see the point in living for it to end the way it does :( It scares me so much! I have a great life, great partner and a beautiful little boy but I cant be happy because I really dont see any point. I know that sounds so selfish. But I cant help feeling this way. I think about dying every minute of the day. No matter what I do, its going to happen! I try and enjoy myself and get excited but that thought of death always holds me back! I cant get my head around that one day I wont be here anymore. I just wish I didnt think about it all the time and I wish it didnt scare me but it does! :( Im not a religious person but I keep telling myself that there is something after death and life isnt pointless after all! Its just so diffucult. Ive got my first counselling session 2morrow so that might help... Who knows? Its nice to know im not the only one whos scared and thinks about it all the time.. :)

I've been feeling this way for quite awhile now and just experienced a fresh panic attack...That's what brought me here because when I feel this way; when I start to worry about somwthing so inevitable, I feel very much alone. Not to say that the way we feel isn't burdensome on us, but I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has these thoughts.

I'll be honest with you...I'm an atheist, but what I really want is someone to tell me with complete certainty that I have a soul and I won't fully cease to exist. That's what really scares me....No more thinking, no more "being". I'm so scared of my thoughts and feelings disappearing forever.

Someone mentioned earlier that traunatic experiences with death can bring this on and I think that helped me. When I was younger, my mother's fiance died in a drunk driving accident. He and I were close and I was actually pretty glad that he was going to be my stepdad. He had a few drinks; they couldn't do an open casket. The coroner, from what I remember, had brought a piece of the mangled wreckage and in front of it, pronounced my mother's fiance dead. I didn't cry until my mother dug her nails into my shoulder and began screaming at me that he was dead.

I feel a lot better now that I kind of understand where this paranoia might stem from...Thank you guys so much.

I am so relieved and glad to have found this site. I have lived the past four years thinking i was the only one who felt this way, and here i have found that thats not the case at all. when i was 14 my sister was in a very serious car accident that she barely survived. she was paralyzed. i spent an entire summer in the hospital, and then i had to pick up and move right after that bc my dad got transfered. i remember being at my best friends house, having our last sleepover before i left. we were jumping up and down on the couches, and i thought 'wow this is like exactly what im supposed to be doing right now, having all this fun. and then like running into a brick wall, i had the thought 'but then im going to die someday' i spent my entire summer obsessed with it. i couldnt enjoy anything. i was miserable. when i went back to school i somehow just got busy and completely forgot about it, but its come back. Its not as bad as before. I love my life and enjoy everything. Its just something that is always in the back of my mind with everything that i do. im going to college next year and all i can think is what does it mattter if i become a lawyer when this will all be over eventually? i turn to God and i pray to him, and that makes me feel a little better. i believe in Heavan, and that i will see my loved ones there. its the only thing that makes me feel okay. i want to have kids, but i think the same thing. whats the point? the second i have them, they will start dying. it may take 80 years to get there, but they will die. this blog has been a huge discovery for me though. its such a comfort to know that im not the only one who feels this way, and neither are you.

btw ur lucky to have ppl to comfort u
also another thing... do u have this weird numbness area in 1 part of the head? or a feeling of being deatched to the world ?
also fatigue?
im going through something atm and iduno if its gonna kill me or really what the dr said
1 dr said its nervs from dislocating my arm also the drugs they pumped into me
another dr said its all in my head

i went through this as a kid..
sadly my sister passed away in front of me when i was 9 after that i didnt want to lose any family members or pets
sadly it just doesnt work that way
my advice no pets
and date girls so u get ur heart crushed a few times
but over time it will ease out of ur head
anxiety kills us
if u wanna get help go see a dr as well.. he will give u some drugs to help cope with it all
although a healthy walk outside alone and a hobbie helps too

me too :'(

yeah that happens to me too, some people say i am obsessed with death, but i don't fear it. no point in being scared of something that you have no control over.

I am not really concerned about death, not scared of it, just because it's inevitable anyways

When I was a kid it used to really bother me. Not that it doesnt now but I see the world differently. "Death is the final reminder", it puts things in perspective.

I used to feel that but what can you do other than live in the moment and dont let life pass you by. Death used to pop up in my head whenever and i used to cry, just sit in my roo mand cry bit then i just accepted it and when i think of death it doesnt bother me

I can easily understand how death can be scary. I'm atheist so if I'm right, you will never be able to see, hear or sense anything ever again after you die.. for ever.. lol that sounds kinda scary yea. But on the other hand I don't think life is that great(dont wanna sound depressed but thats kinda how i feel), there are many times in life when you get disappointed and sad, and i think that when im about 70 years old, i will be satisified and i will probably think that i have seen enough.

No and I do not believe thearpy or any of that crap. Emotions are made and some people has a stronger tie to one then others. Obvousily you feel strongly about death but then again who really cares about dieing? Unless u deserved screw death altogether.