The inevitability of death (how do you deal with it?)

[Knight Captain Kerr]

Yeah, I really started panicking when I was 12 due to the concept of death and turning away from Catholicism. Death terrifies me. Just because I've accepted that death exists doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.

But inevitability? I sure hope not. Why do we assume that dying after 80 years or so is an inevitability and not something we can one day overcome? I'm really hoping I live long enough for transhumanist technology to allow me to live indefinitely, I honestly think technology can (and does) greatly improve our lives and change things for the better. Death is something that terrifies me and something I usually prefer not to think about. I'm agnostic and I have no idea what happens after death, that not knowing terrify me. Even if it was lets say, reincarnation where you lose all your memories and personality, well my memories and personality are what make me me, so without them I'd be dead.

Who wants to live forever? I do, because living is awesome I want to keep doing it.

 

[Artina89]

I can't really say I think about death all that much, I just try and get through life learning as much as I can and having as many experiences as I can, death is inevitable and there isn't anything you can do to avoid it, so I believe it is a bit of a waste of time and energy dwelling on it, at least that is my take on it.

 

[Mossberg Shotty]

I'm sure you've heard that old saying, "Life is a game, death is the objective and suicide is cheating." Well it's kind of true. Life is a big game, but that doesn't mean it's devoid of meaning. Everyone who posted in this thread, including myself will die, but it doesn't have to be sad. Death is just us paying the toll for life.

Also, luckily I believe in an afterlife. That helps.

 

[DSK-]

I'm completely fine with it. Hopefully my final moments will be more exciting than the subtotal of my years in existence.

I'm not one to be overly concerned over an inevitability that I've known about since I was a small child.

Death; the fact that, for a lack of a better description, my existence, with the exception of my physical body, will be destroyed doesn't bother me. The pain I'm going to go through during my aforementioned death, does

"Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true!"

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

"Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true!"

Nice! That's my favorite Python movie.

I'm completely comfortable with the notion of death. I had to be resuscitated when I was 7 years old after spending a bit too much time at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean (well, not the BOTTOM bottom, just the floor of the ocean about 50 feet offshore). At the end of the ordeal it ceased to be scary. Call me morbid, but drowning is a peaceful way to die.

As soon as we came back from that vacation, I started researching afterlife studies. Stuff like EVPs, ITC (including video ITC), the Spiricom project, all of that. So I'm not scared of dying. I've experienced what was almost the end and it's nothing to be worried about.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Its helps that I am religious, for obvious reasons.

However, I've also just accepted it at this point because its part of life that cannot be avoided. Theres no point worrying about something you can't change.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Death and I have been intimate together, twice now. Both times I got cab fare back home. Must've done something right... wasn't worth the defibrillator though....

 

[OrokuSaki]

Honestly, I don't think it's something that you really want to get over. I used to fear my inevitable death too, but then I came to realize that I was utterly helpless to do anything about it. Giving in, I let my inevitable death be my excuse to really indulge myself in living the life that I wanted; I don't pursue relationships or careers because I take no particular joy in the hassle of managing either to any success and I just kinda cruise through life.

Which doesn't seem that bad, but once you've accepted the fact that you can die at any minute, you eventually reach the increasingly sad conclusion that you didn't. Now I live in constant fear that there will always be a tomorrow, that my life won't suddenly end, but that like the final dungeon in a JRPG, it's going to drag on and on meaninglessly until it reaches it's ultimate anticlimax.

So if you're genuinely afraid that you could die then be happy, because that means that you have something worth living for.

 

[KOMega]

I've thought about this for a while.

I don't think it bothers me anymore. I mean death isn't that bad, it's the dying part that's painful. Like as if life cursed you with pain as you left it prematurely.

So I'm not bothered by death, but I'm not in any rush to get there either.
(I'm not dying to get there right now or anything. ba-dum-tss)

No one knows what happens to anyone after death, (personally I don't think anything happens, but that seems to scare some people and I'm not sure why) but like most problems we face, it is better to concentrate on things we can control first before we stress about things like that. And right now our problem is getting through life and trying to enjoy it.

Rather than trying to find meaning after death, try to find meaning in what's around you and enjoy what you can.

Also, because this seems to be physically affecting you, I would recommend seeing a doctor or something.

 

[Ieyke]

Quite easily. I don't worry about it. I'm an atheist as well, so I don't believe in any afterlife. But I'm still not worried. When I die, I die. So I just live my life not worrying about death since it is impossible to stop.

I really have no tips for you besides this. Don't worry about things you can't control. You just get yourself worked up over nothing. Enjoy your life as much as you can.

This.

I essentially have no fear in the first place....or maybe it's because It don't fear death that I have no fear. I dunno which way that actually goes. Real Ouroboros-y.

Anyhow, if you're an atheist, what is there to fear? Literally nothing. You will experience nothing. Or rather...you won't. Like a dreamless sleep you never awake from.

Closest I come to worrying about death is working on living long enough to become immortal.
Given the rapid march of medicine towards being able to replace every body part, with cloned partes or bionics, and the very real process they're making towards halting and reversing aging....I figure I just have to live long enough. Hell, they just put a bunch of people in suspended animation so they can fix them when science catches up to what's wrong with them.

I'm not afraid of death. I'm greedy for more life. Too much I want to do, not enough time to do it.
*shrug*

 

[TWRule]

You're not alone in feeling this angst; though I tend to think it's not physical death itself that is truly horrifying but facing the possibility of absolute meaninglessness.

In that regard, religion means to serve as a consolation, but I'm in agreement with Nietzsche in that it not a lasting solution - and in any case, it seems you already sense that religion will not satisfy you. I tend to think that, if you aren't naturally inspired by religious experience, you won't convince yourself into being a believer. You'll remain incredulous even as you waste your time pretending the part. So, if you want my advice, avoid that route.

However, that said, there's no simple answer I can give you. I'm still in the process of finding an answer myself. I can only tell you a few things I've decided: to reach out to others in discussing this problem however I could (by cultivating interpersonal relationships with others, and by seeking venues that lend themselves to directly discussing this problem - for me the later meant majoring in philosophy and attempting to become a professor, but you may wish to go about this differently). Besides reaching out to others who I trust to listen.

As far as the form of the answer itself, I expect that what's needed is some sort of prescription for a general direction humanity (and our individual lives by extension) should be moving in. We need some sense of where all this should be heading - not necessarily a concrete goal, but a direction of movement that can dictate how we live our lives. Religion gives a ready-made answer roughly in this form, but if we fore-go the luxury of true belief, we have to fill in the content of this answer for ourselves; not as something handed down by revelation or 'discovered', but as constructed amongst ourselves.

Hope that helps. Hang in there.

 

[Alterego-X]

I'm still holding about 10% chance that we will find a way to make it evitable over the next 50 years.

If we don't, and neither do we invent reasonably long life extensions (like 100+ years guaranteed), then by 2065 I'm storing my head in liquid nitrogen for future resurrection, that can still increase my survival chance by a few extra percents.

 

[UniversalRonin]

I've never been worried about the fact that one day I'll cease to exist. Frankly, whenever that happens I wont be there to worry about it, and right now all I can do to affect how long it takes to happen is eat healthily and exercise. But if I'm hit by a car on the way home from work tonight, then I'm still dead.

 

[Zipa]

In the words of Freddie Mercury: "Who wants to live forever?"

Technically those would be Brian May's words since he wrote the song.

OT: I don't worry about it death is the natural progression at the end of life. Just make sure you don't waste the life you have, do something you want, something you love and you will have little regrets when death comes.

 

[WarpZone]

Man, fuck death.

Entropy in general is some OP bullshit.

And when the Reaper comes for me, he's going to get an earful about it, let me tell you.

 

[ProfClarion]

Spoilers: Quite well, actually...

Anyway, despite being as religious as a tsundere with an unhealthy fetish complex[footnote]Don't ask...[/footnote]

How can one not ask. That's an amazing line.

 

[Keiichi Morisato]

i tend to run around in circles like a chicken with its head cut off, so... i don't really deal with it well at all.

 

[The Lunatic]

I've no idea, yet to experience it.

My theory on death is that we simply cease to exist and function.

Our consciousness fades like sleep, but, we don't wake up.

I guess it's not a very comforting thought, but, it's what I regard as a reality.

 

[Annihilist]

Hey everyone, I've been doing some thinking as of late. Well, overthinking, more like. And I realized the gravity of the fact that we're all going to die some day, and our short lifespans don't exactly help matters.
So needless to say, I'm terrified. Terrified at the prospect of tipping over into the great beyond, the great unknown, the inevitable.
It's really started to affect my ability to function on any sort of level, and I feel myself getting more and more paralyzed with each passing day, to the point where I have what my flatmate describes as 'mild panic attacks' fairly often - I.e., I don't show it externally, but I lose my breath and become nauseated and panicked.
As you might have guessed, I'm not a religious person, it's never been in my nature, and now I'm kind of cursing that fact, because if anything, even if the afterlife exists or not, it's safe to say that religion provides a lot of comfort for people. I've considered taking up a religion just to have something to believe in, but that would just be very hollow, and I'm not sure I would believe in it.

I know how you feel; I've the same feeling. The cessation of consciousness is a horrible thought.

But, after a year or two, I barely notice it. You just grow used to the feeling, I guess, and it subsides; fades into the background of your psyche. You never lose it, but over time it stops dominating your thoughts and your emotions, and your ability to function improves.

I suppose all I'm saying is that it will pass. It did for me.

I don't know if you're one for long youtube videos, but I'd recommend looking at this one. It's Christopher Hitchens whom, you may know, was a stern atheist, in a debate about the afterlife. It's very interesting, I find, and you may find it so too. It certainly helped me.

If it gets boring, skip to the 9-10 minute mark.

 

[Annihilist]

I'm sure you've heard that old saying, "Life is a game, death is the objective and suicide is cheating." Well it's kind of true. Life is a big game, but that doesn't mean it's devoid of meaning. Everyone who posted in this thread, including myself will die, but it doesn't have to be sad. Death is just us paying the toll for life.

Also, luckily I believe in an afterlife. That helps.

"meaning", as most people use it, is a misnomer. There is no objective meaning, and life has no intrinsic value. But this does not invalidate our own subjective meaning - which is what we personally get out of life. People fail to distinguish the two, and often assume that the absence of one necessitates the absence of the other.