Thread: Why are people so afraid of death?

Yes i also believe that has some to do with the fear. The instinct of survival. Cause as you say, when you think about it there is really nothing to fear, except not being able to experience this reality any more. For my sake its how im going to die i fear... hope its painless.

i believe its more of a fear of the unkown. Everyone is used to living, and the thought that one day it might just be gone is scary. I usually dont think about it, me being young and all, but at times i do startle myself with the fact that one day i wont have any of this anymore.

i think its a bit of everything. Fear because of instinct, a primal defense fear to keep us from dieing.
Fear of the process of dieing. I imagine dieing in your sleep is a pleasure of sorts, but being stalked by a murderer or bleeding to death etc would be quite terrifying...
and fear of the unknown, i think that is a major factor. Probobly the biggest factor for myself...
and of course fear of losing all tht you have in this world,never to see your loved ones again etc

it all conspires to make a deep,imbedded fear of death in us. quite understandable if you think about it.

The idea of being "nothing" is one of the worst things there is. Everyone is scared of dieing. You just have to accept that there is nothing you can do about it.

the #1 phobia is the fear of speaking on frount of people the #2 fear is of death so if you were going to speak about a lost friend at a funearal you rather be the guy in the coffin rather than giving a speech about him

i still don't wanna die, i wanna just live on forever, but if there was life after death and we became ghosts and could walk through walls and stuff then personally i wouldn't mind

I think it is built inot out genes and it causes us to fear death. we are afraid of the unknown. Personlly, i dont fear it, i just dont want to die.

how on earth are you ever supposed to get your head round death... someone ceases to exsist so to speak on this plane of exsistence. grieving can be very selfish - but that's okay - that's humans.

this is the paradox.... some pepople are scared of death because they don't want to be without life and what it offers here. depending on personnel views once you're dead you either wouldn't have a clue, or you'd reincarnate, on move up to the next level. death is ultimate.

i reckon more people should be aware that death could tap you on the shoulder at any time. then days wouldn't be wasted in silly arguements and moods - people would make an effort to enjoy the time that they have here.

Fear of death comes from attachment to things in this world, where all things die/dissolve/change. Primarily, it comes from attachment to the idea of "self." In most life situations, we can imagine that there is such a thing as this "self," because our vision of the world is built on such delusions, but death drives home the true nature of a world in which nothing has lasting identity and nothing like a "self" can exist. We suffer fear (and more generally, we suffer) because we turn away from seeing the world clearly--we choose ignorance out of attachment to a fiction.

I think Taosaur has it most, along with other's mentioning of the fear of the unknown. Personally, because of my faith, I'm not afraid of death, however I do grow attached to things of this world and I think that's what makes the subject most uncomfortable for me.

(BTW, there's already religious discussions around so if you want to talk about faith, check one of those out. Thanks )

-Amé

Yep, Taosaur seems to ahve a good point, and it's already been said that it's probably a mix of everything: fear of the unknown/incomprehensible, natural survival instinct, link with suffering, etc.

Personally, I believe in reincarnation, so death isn't such a huge bother to me as it would be to someone who believed it was a final end. It still bothers me though, that I won't be me as I am, and that I might be wrong...

why are people afraid of tiny little spiders that we could crush with a finger tip?

why is my best friend terrified of feet?

wht is everyone afraid of the future?

why are people so afraid of losing what that have that they hold on so tightly, that when the thing finally breaks free the person holding on falls apart?

to add to infinate...

...Why are we so attached to now that we cannot accept that now is not forever, the future is not forever, and that the skipping stone ought to enjoy its flight before it sinks down into a new world?

Instead of using lots of big words that i don't fully understand do enlighten my post ill say im afraid of death because, "dying will suck"

It's ironic you know, discussing and saying your not afriad of death, i think your all in denial.

That's a great paragraph Taosaur, although i don't really think it's driving home a point besides the obvious of us attaching values and such to everything in our lives. How can you know what is clear in this world, saying that im seeing it unclearly, your in the same boat as me.
Don't understand this,

we choose ignorance out of attachment to a fiction.[/b]

If you perceive this life as something ficticious, then truly you are wasting it.

Originally posted by Xisdence

If you perceive this life as something ficticious, then truly you are wasting it.

I'm not saying there's nothing going on here; clearly, something is happening. It's just that the "reality" we project from what's happening around and through us is 90% imagination--delusions built on desire, fear, and ultimately ignorance, a willful turning away from things as they are. If you face the world as it is, without clinging to ideas of what it is or what you are, there's no need for grasping after anything, or for being afraid of anything, including death. Death certainly happens--so why be afraid of it? Will your fear change anything? Will it improve your experience of life in any way? Instead, fear leads to constant suffering, further misjudgements, more delusions to cling to or turn away from, and more suffering.

Death certainly happens--so why be afraid of it? Will your fear change anything? Will it improve your experience of life in any way?[/b]

Amen... I mean, what's the point of, say... on a Christianity standpoint, trying to witnes to Lucifer? I mean... you're not exactly getting anywhere...

Either that, or maybe it's just a case of severe procrastination while living a lifetime of spiritual senioritus....

Originally posted by Xisdence

It's ironic you know, discussing and saying your not afriad of death, i think your all in denial.

I used to think that but I’m no longer scared by death. I almost died once and the point where I thought I’m really going to die I was scared then I thought what happens happens and the feeling was really comforting and is difficult to describe. Anyway suffice to say I survived but while the process might hurt at the end there’s comfort so I don’t worry about it anymore.

I do apologise if my post came across the worng way, but this topic is full of intangible things, many of us can't describe our true viewpoints.

Sorry to hear about your close encounter Turkeh, i guess experience does judge our opinions alot.

Wow, I'm pretty impressed that you guys/gals have managed to keep this thread from turning into yet another argument regarding the existence of souls, afterlife, God, etc.

Personally, I think that the fear we feel towards death is purely genetic. Fear is one of the most basic characteristics of any animal and is a major driving force of survival and evolution. But I will say this, when I get close to the end and know that I'm about to die, I don't think that I'll fear death. I think I'll be pretty excited to find out what actually happens.

In my personal experience, I would say that I am afraid of death because I have a necesity to be in control of everything, and the thought of something so inevitable and so out of my control scares me. I also fear and hate change, and fear the pass of time. However it is argueable that I fear time because I fear death and I know that my time will one day be up...

I personally feared death because of the uncertain phenomenon that haunted me for so many years, the fucking religions... Yeah, cuz of this, it's difficult to talk about religion impartially. I'm workin on it, though.

But, being so depressed, I've actually contemplated deeply about death. I thought what suicide might be like, in what fashion would I prefer to die, what would happen to my mind if I did die. Entertaining the thought doesn't necessarily drive a person to actually do it...but I got a sense of peace from this thinking, actually. When you go to sleep, you become nearly unconscious. How would you be any more conscious if you died physically? Therefore, what is there to experience or fear?

Fear of the unkown is why most poeple fear death. Think about it for a second. Try to picture in your mind EXACTLY what nothing is...

Eg what was the universe before it existed? it was nothing and when i think of that i get a weird feleling that i can't explain. Maybe its the feeling of being hopeless to know something? What if dying is just nothing you can't imagine it at all. What if there is heaven? then it'd be great, but we don't know if it is there, not evne the most religous person will ever be 100% sure of it.

Ofcourse most people also think their death will be painful. For some it might, for some it might not be.

Originally posted by bradybaker
But I will say this, when I get close to the end and know that I'm about to die, I don't think that I'll fear death. I think I'll be pretty excited to find out what actually happens.

Sounds like someone's keeping an open mind Good to know

The sole reason I fear death is for the pain it will cause those close to me. There's nothing I hate more than the unhappiness of those I care about, and that's the only reason I don't want to go. For my own sake I don't care if I get hit by a truck tomorrow. But for the sake of those I'm close to, who it would cause pain to, they are the main reason I've got a will to survive. That and learning as much as I can about reality, but that's just a bonus. As much as I believe that this life is just a momentary sequence and that everything will make sense after death, I just don't want my loved ones grieving me. I hate causing pain, regardless of whether it's inevitable.

The idea of "nothing" isn't so hard to imagine. I think "being dead" will feel precisely the same as "not being born yet". So, I don't feel like I fear death personally. Maybe if it'll be a really painful death, I'll fear that, but that would be fear of pain, not death. (Who likes pain, anyway?)

But when you think about it, death is the second most extraordinary event of anyone's life. So I think I'm actually kinda looking forward to it. Not that I'm considering committing suicide or anything.