Do young people think about death and aging?

[Arra]

As a 22 year old who has been terrified of death and old age since I was 12 or so, and is often plagued with obsessive, nightmarish thoughts about it, I'm bewildered by older people when I hear from them things like: "When I was a kid I thought I'd be young forever." "You just don't think about death when you're 20." I hear this type of thing often. Do people generally not think about death and old age while they're young, or am I just an abnormal case? The only other young people I've talked to about this have agreed with me. They do think about death. Although I tend to befriend those who are introverted and think a lot in the first place, so that sample might be biased. Is it just forgetfulness on the parts of the older people? Is it something about our generation? (In the poll, decide for yourself whether you should consider yourself an older person or not. Probably while youth is fading, when health problems are of greater concern. Maybe 40 or so? It might be different depending on the person.)

[Marvo]

Basically, when you have time to think, you think more about this kind of stuff. A lot of the things we do are just to distract us from our innevitable demise. Ironically, we also use such activies, simply to kill time. Bringing us closer.

[Solarflare]

I definitely thought of death when i was 11/12. And i was absolutely terrified of it. But after lots of thought i finally overcame it.

[khh]

Yeah, I thought about death when I was younger. Especially, if I recall correctly, after my grandfather died when I was 12. It scared me a bit to begin with, but I got on terms with it fairly soon. I've talked with one other of my age on the subject, and I know that he was very much afraid of death when he was young. However, the bias still holds. Dreamviews also has a lot of introverts.

[Arra]

I wish I could edit the poll. I should have taken away the implication of stress from thinking about it. And for some reason I wasn't considering people who have overcome the fear while still young. I suppose if you don't fit into any of the categories, just don't vote. However, the bias still holds. Dreamfall also has a lot of introverts. 'Dreamfall'?

[Solarflare]

Okay there is a poll now, between options 3 and 5. I thought about it before and it caused me COMPLETE sadness. Now only sometimes i think about it and i might get a little sad.

[khh]

I wish I could edit the poll. I should have taken away the implication of stress from thinking about it. And for some reason I wasn't considering people who have overcome the fear while still young. I suppose if you don't fit into any of the categories, just don't vote. You can ask a mod to edit it for you. 'Dreamfall'? Sorry, ment Dreamviews. "Dreamfall" is the name of a game whose forums I frequent. I got my wires crossed.

[Photolysis]

I've thought about the subject of course, but I got any issues on the matter resolved a long time ago. I don't think about it much now because for me there's nothing else to think about. Besides, I kind of expect medical advances to have a big impact on this anyway, even if no progress whatsoever is made on halting or reversing ageing (which I expect some progress will be made at least).

[HeavySleeper]

I started having serious thoughts about death a few years ago, maybe when I was 14 or something. It could have been younger. I don't think it's strange to be contemplating these things when you get to that age. This is roughly the time in life when everyone starts growing out of childhood and really starts to look at life through the eyes of an adult. You start to question things, look to the future and think about what kind of life you're going to live. The fact that some people start to think about how it will all end when they think about these things isn't really a big surprise. I would always get the same replies whenever I got into a conversation about death, and still do sometimes, depending on who I'm talking to. Whenever I brought up how I saw my life a few decades down the line or even mentioned the thought of dying, someone would usually say "You're far too young to be thinking about these things." I never understood it either. Most older people you talk to were probably just too active at the time to ever stop and consider this stuff.

[Arch]

I used to dread death when I was young, especially afraid of family members, I still am alittle, but I've learned to accept that the way life is. I couldn't as a kid, which is why it was so horrible, the uncertainty of death freaked me out! I only hope now, but yeah, you're not alone on that one.

[Original Poster]

I said it causes me serious stress because back when i was little it used to.

[Xei]

I'd guess at the age of six or seven I was terrified of death, perhaps sooner. Nothing triggered it; nobody I knew died. I suppose it must have just been from a latent tendency to think about it... I didn't go through a process of 'working it out' either; my conception of it was intuitive (and hasn't changed over time). Often on a night I'd cry about it and have to come downstairs where my parents were still awake. Fortunately since then I've discovered my faith in atheism, which has been a source of great hope to me.

[AngelZlayer]

Young (soon 20) - between options 3 and 5. Most of the time the thought of old age/aging, death/dying/being dead etc scares me a little. I personally find it most believable that we (our conciousness) cease to exist when we die. I want to be able to continue doing the things that I feel gives my life meaning, I don't want it to end. I really hope there is some kind of [good] afterlife though. Almost two years ago I had a week of depression. Each day was nothing but extreme anxiety. It started with a dream in which I felt intense fear, and I woke up with the same feeling, literally shaking in my bed. Because of the fear, I see the dream as being about death, even though the scene itself wasn't (without interpretation). Also, once when I was around 6-8 years old, the thought of death made me start crying while lying in bed. My mom heard it and tried to comfort me by saying that it's a long time till then. Ironically, future angst regarding school and [eventual] work sometimes make me wish I was dead. Well, not dead, but I do wish I could dissapear and "go underground" for a while. Lately, what makes me the most anxious is not strictly death or old age, but what I want to do with my life. For most people (including me), I guess it's true as they say: Fear of death is fear of the unknown.

[Original Poster]

I'd guess at the age of six or seven I was terrified of death, perhaps sooner. Nothing triggered it; nobody I knew died. I suppose it must have just been from a latent tendency to think about it... I didn't go through a process of 'working it out' either; my conception of it was intuitive (and hasn't changed over time). Often on a night I'd cry about it and have to come downstairs where my parents were still awake. Fortunately since then I've discovered my faith in atheism, which has been a source of great hope to me. This sounds identical to my story. But a little reading cured me of the atheism.

[Arra]

I wonder why it is exactly that old people tend to claim they never thought about death. Were they really that much more busy than the modern kid that they never had enough time alone with their thoughts? It seems like it should be the opposite, if anything. I heard the "You just don't think about that type of thing when you're 20" line from my grandmother recently. My parents both agreed, but I and my boyfriend who was there didn't respond for some reason, and we both think about "that type of thing" quite a bit. As for atheism removing the fear of dying, I don't see how it would. It isn't exactly a 'fear', because there isn't anything to fear. I won't be losing anything because there won't be an 'I' to experience any loss. But there is still an instinctual feeling of not wanting to die. It hurts to think about the fact that everything I am will be gone someday, even though I know I won't be there to experience any loss over it. The fear of other people dying is something else, a more serious issue, because there is actual loss there. Especially if the person is extremely important to you, if the person is central to your life, and you cannot imagine living without the person. Then the thought of that person dying is worse than any nightmare. And again, I don't see how atheism could help with that. The fear of old age is similar. Of becoming feeble, repulsive to look at, of mentally declining, of becoming worse as a person in many ways, and knowing that once that happens it will never get better, it will just continue to get worse until you die. I'm bombarded daily with thoughts of that. I don't see how I might get rid of that fear, aside from realizing it's pointless to think about or something like that. But even that realization can't keep the thoughts away all of the time.

[Photolysis]

I wonder why it is exactly that old people tend to claim they never thought about death. Because either they're not very introspective, or because they're talking shit. Possibly both. As for atheism removing the fear of dying, I don't see how it would. It isn't exactly a 'fear', because there isn't anything to fear. That's precisely why I don't fear it. If on the other hand I believed there was a chance of hellfire instead of it being identical to the time before I was born, then I probably would fear it. Note: Fear of death != fear of dying. Death doesn't scare me much. A painful and untimely demise does. And again, I don't see how atheism could help with that. Well, such a person isn't using childish delusions to escape reality, so one might argue that such people are stronger, and better equipped to cope? The fear of old age is similar. Of becoming feeble, repulsive to look at, of mentally declining, of becoming worse as a person in many ways, and knowing that once that happens it will never get better, it will just continue to get worse until you die. The worst thing about old age I can see is when those people barely have any quality of life. I've seen those able to live an active and fulfilling life well into old age, and I've also seen those who walk with an extreme stoop and exceptionally slow shuffle, barely having the strength to walk. I'd rather be dead than experience the latter.

[Xei]

The atheism thing was sarcastic humour, sorry.

[Solarflare]

The atheism thing was sarcastic humour, sorry. it hard to tell with some of your posts :/

[Sornaensis]

Death? Kind of. Mostly just. The dying part...

[Ne-yo]

I thought about it here and there as a child but after getting older you realize there's nothing you can do about it and everyone eventually dies so why worry? Just make this life worth something for the people you love so that you may live life through them and they may carry you on within their memories. If this was a scenario that only a select few would undergo and others would live on for eternity then I'd have a problem with that. But since we all share the same demise, I'm cool with it.

[Original Poster]

It's a little different when you get into a car accident or something and realize how fragile life is. When you see death, realize that it's death and don't know how to stop it, your reaction in that moment is a lot more telling than your opinion. Being able to accept death is the only way to stifle panic and do what's necessary. Like something in your brain goes "if I die, I die but this is what needs to be done." Humanity has put a lot of work into ignoring that last doorway. I live with that doorway, when I can. It makes you realize life is precious.

[Xei]

What do you mean by 'that last doorway'? "If I die, I die"? That's basically how all of humanity copes with it.

[Arra]

The atheism thing was sarcastic humour, sorry. I'll just assume from now on that everything you say is (except that).

[Xei]

except that Your fatal error. Nah, just kidding. Or am I..?

[Solarflare]

Your fatal error. Nah, just kidding. Or am I..?