# I'm afraid of dying **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700 "2012-12-31T19:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/21 "2012-12-31T23:13:31Z")
You can [be prepared.](http://www.amazon.com/Original-Handbook-Recently-Manual-Field-Operators/dp/0895560682) Like Batman! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/22 "2013-01-01T03:52:07Z")
If you’re stuck between life and death, you get to haunt Demi Moore. You could do worse. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/23 "2013-01-01T03:57:01Z")
'Do not be afraid. There is a way out." - Shiva ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/24 "2013-01-01T04:00:55Z")
" Every man has a final weapon: his own life. If he’s afraid to lose it he throws the weapon away." General Gordon didn’t actually say that, but Charleton Heston did, so that’s almost as good. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/25 "2013-01-01T04:04:01Z")
“I came into this world screaming and covered in someone else’s body fluids. I’m not afraid of going out the same way.” not sure who I’m quoting, but it sums up my attitude most days. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/26 "2013-01-01T04:07:54Z")
Who was it who said it’s not death they were afraid of, but the transition? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/27 "2013-01-01T04:08:43Z")
The reason you ought to be afraid of death is that it might be preceded by a moment of apparently infinite duration in which you fully understand that this is really irrevocably the end, and you made a lot of mistakes in your life that can never be fixed, and to top it off there may a sense of dread or a panic attack and possibly a perception of intense pain that is multiplied by a feeling of total paralysis and claustrophobia. Plus, on top of that, you might actually have heightened sensations of the condition that’s causing your death, such as internal bleeding, grossly enlarged glands, or possibly even decapitation. There are some very good reasons to fear death but IMO unpreparedness is not the chief thing. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/28 "2013-01-01T04:13:06Z")
C’mon sodbuster, three breaths before your last… channel Sergio Leone. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/29 "2013-01-01T04:17:13Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > The reason you ought to be afraid of death is that it might be preceded by a moment of apparently infinite duration … I recall from my youthful acid trips that one of the benefits was total control of time and space. Based on this, you might consider spending the remainder of your life tripping. You can actually extend your life by any amount you want, and also extend or shorten your death by as much as you want. Win win! ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/30 "2013-01-01T04:27:15Z")
_“It’s longer than you think!”_ ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/31 "2013-01-01T04:30:23Z")
I’m not afraid of dying per se, I’m afraid of going before I’m ready. I like to be organized. Oh, and I’m afraid of pain. I really don’t do pain well. Not worried about pain of death, but pain of great pain. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/32 "2013-01-01T04:44:41Z")
I plan to go quietly in my sleep. Not screaming in terror like my passengers. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/33 "2013-01-01T05:12:36Z")
[Pay attention to the lyrics](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu7XWgczC7o) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/34 "2013-01-01T09:29:10Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Being atheist and having no belief in an afterlife, I am not afraid of death per se. I’m an atheist who also has no belief in an afterlife and that’s precisely what terrifies me. Ceasing to exist is the most terrifying thing I can think of, and I do pretty frequently. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/35 "2013-01-01T10:47:26Z")
I’m kind of looking forward to it. Not in any hurry, though. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/36 "2013-01-01T10:50:50Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I’m an atheist who also has no belief in an afterlife and that’s precisely what terrifies me. Ceasing to exist is the most terrifying thing I can think of, and I do pretty frequently. This. The idea that one day I’m going to go to sleep and never wake up again _terrifies_ me. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/37 "2013-01-01T16:46:38Z")
The truth is that ultimately, we all die alone. So take solace in knowing if you do screw it up, no one else will be there to notice, it’ll just be you. No one will know. So don’t worry about it any more! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/38 "2013-01-01T16:57:24Z")
Yup, everyone and every thing dies. There are no exceptions. Even the Universe itself may one day cease to exist. But you are always here. Right now. It’s all you have. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/39 "2013-01-01T17:04:51Z")
_You think you’re not ready to die? Never fear; nature will provide full and adaquet assistance when the time comes_ - Edward Abbey ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/40 "2013-01-01T17:10:50Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I’m an atheist who also has no belief in an afterlife and that’s precisely what terrifies me. Ceasing to exist is the most terrifying thing I can think of, and I do pretty frequently. Me too. Except I’m not quite an atheist, more of a desperately-clinging-to-hope agnostic. And much more than I’m scared of dying, I’m scared of my loved ones dying before me. I soooo want to believe I’ll see them in an afterlife. Because I don’t believe that, I don’t think I’d think I’d ever recover even a little bit from my mom/daughter/etc. dying. For the rest of my family and for my own last shred of sanity, I’d pretend I did believe it, but I wouldn’t really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700.md?page=3)