Does Death Scare You?

[Twanger]

Does the mystery of death scare you? The fact that at one point it will all go black and you'll never see anyone you love ever again or be able to enjoy the things in life that you love so much?

The more i think about it the more frightened i become as i love life and all in it and to one day have all that is dear to me ripped away and me thrown into the dark abyss or void if you like really scares and saddens me.

How do you deal with the certainty that this will happen to you one day?

[EcclesCake]

My dying doesn't bother me, how it will affect others is of greater concern.

[Everhelpful]

I'm with "Lazy Gun" on this one.I think once you are dead that is it,but,willing to be proved wrong, with hard facts.

[RATTER15]

I dont know why anybody would fear death, apart from the religious who think they are going to Heaven or Hell, that could be a tough one!

As an atheist, I have no thoughts of Heaven and Hell (other than fairy stories) so I cannot fear them, they just don't exist, apart from that I see death as a permanent sleep, in fact safer than sleep, nothing can happen to you in death, it is literally THE END.

[RATTER15]

Everhelpful, "I think once you are dead that is it,but,willing to be proved wrong, with hard facts."

don't hold your breath!

hard facts! any facts would suit me, even some reasonably convincing evidence would be a start.

[Everhelpful]

Precisely,Ratter.

[Jan1957]

Death used to scare me, but since my husband died life scares me more.

[RATTER15]

Jan1957, I agree, life can be far more scary, dead is pretty safe, it aint gonna get no worse!

[sandyRoe]

Being there isn't frightening. It's the, hopefully brief, crossing that sometimes scares me.

[Mammar]

Like others, death doesn't scare me, just the journey to get there.
However, I'm a list sort of person so I've devised a tick-box form re what I'd like at my funeral etc, sticking labels on various precious or sentimental artefacts so the kids don't argue and every time they leave to go home I give them a kiss and tell them I love them (as if they don't already know).
Now all I have to do is arrange to drop asleep while watching a favourite tele programme and I'm sorted. But don't tell me when - surprise me.

[mallyh]

it didn't till i read this !

[mibn2cweus]

^ D'oh! ^

[wildwood]

My fear is definitely of the possible 'vege state' i may be in if i had a severe stroke or such, if my mind was still alert. Terminal pain or suffocation also does not appeal to me. Actual death does not worry me.

[atalanta]

I fully intend to live until I am 102 and then die of Misadventure. Then all my descendants can sob buckets for a few days and get drunk on my money and say "what a way to go", and then get on with their lives - with perhaps a few memorable memories

[Octavius]

"I dont know why anybody would fear death, apart from the religious who think they are going to Heaven or Hell"

Any facts, other than anecdotal to substantiate that? The general consensus on this thread seems to be balanced towards non fear whether religious or not. Most agree that the method is the scarey part.

[mibn2cweus]

What frightens me more than the contemplation of death and dying is dead people, who in a wink have the potential to dramatically alter my current world view . . . if not scare the life outta me!

[Baldric]

At the moment no, closer to the event, who knows?

[idiosyncrasy]

No. I go to sleep every night and I am not frightened, so why should dying be anything different!

[Aaralyn]

The mystery of death does not frighten me because I regard it as life's last adventure. As a Christian, of course, death is more like stepping through a door to another world for me, rather than an actual end. However, I used to be an atheist and firmly believed death was the absolute end and so I can sympathise with those who might find death a frightening prospect because of the end it represents. Yet, I never found death a scary prospect, probably because then I used think if death was the ultimate end then there was nothing to be frightened of because I wouldn't know anything about it once I was dead and as long as I lived my life well then my relatives might be sad to lose me, but at least they would look back with pride on my life, so the actions of the present would provide the comfort of tomorrow.

[chrisgel]

I'm quite surprised you could find time to think about death. You've been very busy answering questions all day from people who have been registered for years but who have never asked a question until today?