Cannot Cope with Death.

[Genuine_Ghost]

I don't know if this would be more appropriately posted somewhere else, since most of the threads here are about other people who have died, but I will post here anyway as it seems the most relevant. I recently finished university and turned 23, and in the last few months, I have become fully and painfully aware of my own mortality. I'm going to try and say this in the shortest way possible. I simply cannot come to terms with the fact that I am a biological entity and that I will cease to exist. I feel detached from my body, like my consciousness is more than just these physical limitations, but I know this not be true - or at least it cannot be proved not to be true. I feel like I am facing the end of the world, since when we die, the world ends and we fade into non-existence. I simply cannot comprehend this, and it has caused me major panic and and anxiety attacks, obsessing over the fragility and finite nature of this biological machine that I am. I am living with the possibility of death at the forefront of my consciousness at all times, and at the moment this is incredibly painful.

 

I really don't know what to do, so anyone who has thought the same, is in the same position, or anyone who has any advice, it would be great to hear from you.

[-John-]

I simply cannot come to terms with the fact that I am a biological entity and that I will cease to exist. I feel detached from my body, like my consciousness is more than just these physical limitations, but I know this not be true - or at least it cannot be proved not to be true.

 

Don't be so sure. Most modern people have been influenced by physicalism and think in purely physicalist terms.

 

But consider the proposition: you -- the thinking principle, your mind, or soul -- are not your body. Ancient and Medieval philosophers understood this idea, mostly anyway. And it's a proposition that science is beginning to flirt with. Consider this article from Wired that examines how the brain might "transmit, rather than produce, our mental life":

 

link removed

 

Something to think about...

[pennyloafer2]

Your temporal nature is what gives value to your life. If your consciousness was to be immortal, then this life would be an insignificant speck.

[imsuperman]

I'm sorry to hear you are plagued with these thoughts. I suffered from this a couple of years back. I got some clonazepam from a doctor and that helped somewhat. I ultimately got my spiritual stuff in order and also got busy valuing my life and the people in it that make it what it is.

 

I think things just go into different stages and not really end, but that's just my opinion. Your life will take care of itself, and it's up to you to live it to the best of your ability.

 

Only you can decide what is right, ultimately.

[Fudgie]

I used to worry about this a lot as well. I've slowly come to accept my mortality and that one of these days, I'll just cease to exist. It's hard to imagine something without perception but it's just that - nothing. Believe what you want in terms of religious stuff but without a brain, you can't perceive, at least not in this world.

 

I've come to terms with the fact that someday, i'll stop existing and just not wake up. I won't even go to sleep...I'll just stop existing. Once you feel excited and ready to be fulfilled in your life, spiritually too, it's easier to accept your mortality.

[FathomFear]

I really don't know what to do, so anyone who has thought the same, is in the same position, or anyone who has any advice, it would be great to hear from you.

 

What you describe is quite normal and commonly referred to as existential panic or an existential crisis. We tend to take our "beingness" for granted, and when we focus on it by honing in on the inevitabilty of its end a kind of terror can develop. It's been a theme investigated by Philosophers as far back as the Greeks.

 

I went through a similar period myself when I was your age, shortly after I finished studying Martin Heidegger's Being and Time. Although I found the experience shattering I also found it eye-opening as well.

[Dagless]

Here is a quote from a book I read recently:

 

"Whether people be of high or low birth, rich or poor, old or young, enlightened or confused, they are all alike in that they will one day die. It is not that we don't know that we are going to die, but we grasp at straws. While knowing that we will someday die, we think that we will be the last to go. Death seems a long way off. Is this not shallow thinking? It is worthless and is only a joke within a dream. It will not do to think in such a way and be negligent. Insofar as death is always at one's door, one should make sufficient effort and act quickly."

 

 

Now you can search for a philosophy or search religion for answers to what happens after death, I guess that all comes down to what you believe, but I always find that it is best to look at life as a series of moments and experiences. Yes you will one day die but death is just another moment in your life. It just happens to be the final moment.

 

There is nothing wrong with being afraid to die but it is an awful shame to be afraid to live.

[oceandream]

You can choose to look at it a different way, that life is fragile and only temporary and thus we have to make the most of it whilst we are here. If life was infinite perhaps we would lack the motivation to experience the most that we could because we know we have forever to do it and it would become boring. Maybe we need a time limit so we appreciate life more and do things we may not have done if we had an eternity. In a sense mortality is like motivation to really live.

[MissTammy]

I feel this a lot myself. During the day I am fine but when I lie awake at night sometimes this is all I can think about. It scares me so much that I feel I can not breathe. I become somewhat of a hypochondriac during these moments and am convinced that at that moment I am suffering from a stroke/heart attack/brain tumor etc. I am convinced that my body will stop working and wonder how it can continue to do so. The fear that comes over me is so great and I really believe I am dying that I have had to actually stop myself from ringing the emergency services.

 

I have been to the doctor about this but he seemed rather unconcerned and prescribed me some mild antidepressants that he said would help me sleep at night. But they didnt work for me. They just made me feel more tired in the morning. I didnt bother going back though as I know they would have just prescibed me stronger pills and I did not want that.

 

All I can suggest which I find helps sometimes is that next time you feel the panic rising inside you, repeat to yourself that you are not going to die, your body is strong and this is just a passing phase. It does calm me down eventually and I have managed to control my panic attacks for it.

 

I hope this helps.