# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/61 "2013-01-03T16:52:42Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Horrible to contemplate! Worst still is having to protect your legacy while stumbling around wearing nothing but filthy bandages and knowing all the other monsters like Dracula and the Werewolf are so much more awesome than you. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/62 "2013-01-03T17:31:29Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > My fear is real, I’m not going to have it compared to a happy caterpillar being scared of growing wings. > > . . . and knowing that I’m hurtling towards once again ceasing to be capable of thinking is pretty fucking scary to me regardless of how other people manage to cope. > > . . . I didn’t post to be cheered up about death, people will have to forgive me if I come across as curt when they try to. Other people sharing their thoughts and coping mechanisms does not impart upon you a requirement to be unwillingly comforted. Nobody is trying to force you into a PollyAnna view of the final rest. But if you engage in a conversation, there’s a pretty high risk (especially around here) that somebody else might respond with a thought that wasn’t actually in your head to start with. That’s sort of the point. TL:DR If you don’t want to know how other people view it, why are you still reading? ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/63 "2013-01-03T17:46:48Z")
I am not afraid to die. Actually, I’m kind of looking forward to it in a way (but not to the point of hurrying it along, of course)! What I mean is that, death is just about the greatest unknown we have. Science has yet to figure out what happens when we die. Religion tries to, but there are so many different versions, that at the least, most are wrong, and possibly all are wrong. So when we die, finally we’ll figure it all out. Okay, if we simply cease to exist we won’t know it, but that’s kind of an answer anyway. And if there is some sort of “afterlife”, we may not have picked the right one, but at least we’ll finally know it. I think it’s going to be quite an adventure! ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/64 "2013-01-03T17:46:51Z")
Meant to be TL: DR, danged little smily face! ---
**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 3, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/65 "2013-01-03T17:54:48Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > If you don’t want to know how other people view it, why are you still reading? I’m fine reading how other people view it. He responded to me and I responded back. **Nzinga** pointed out how dismissive I was of the content of his post and I explained why. :shrug: I don’t have anything against anyone who’s posting why they’re not afraid of death in the thread and I’ve read their responses without issue. ---
**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 3, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/66 "2013-01-03T18:07:05Z")
And look, everything I said was true, but I’ll admit I was more on edge than I should have been when I initially responded. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/67 "2013-01-03T19:16:08Z")
I think a lot like you do Melon as far as the endgame goes but there is always a small part of me that says “What if you’re wrong?” Nature is pretty stingy and recycles everything else, why not conciousness? We are all the stuff of stars, and all that we are physically becomes something else and came from something else. Matter and energy are the same thing so doesn’t it make sense that energy gets re-cycled too? I read somewhere that the molecules of our bodies contain a few hundred atoms of all the world’s great people (and I suppose the worst too, come to think of it) You will be part of a caterpiller at some point whether you like it or not… I like the idea that we are all unique and get this one shot in this one configuration to be in; a wonderous 100 year firework. We get the choice to make our lives whatever we want them to be, ultimately. That’s not denying that there are people that get the really shitty end of the stick, but that is part of Life overall. It’s not fair, and you generally have to bust your ass to make change happen. I’m not afraid of dying in the end, but of never really having lived the way I wanted to. ---
**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 3, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/68 "2013-01-03T19:31:26Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > I think a lot like you do Melon as far as the endgame goes but there is always a small part of me that says “What if you’re wrong?” Nature is pretty stingy and recycles everything else, why not conciousness? We are all the stuff of stars, and all that we are physically becomes something else and came from something else. Matter and energy are the same thing so doesn’t it make sense that energy gets re-cycled too? We have no mystical life energy. Even if we did (and there’s no indication we do): If I smack the surface of a table the energy I imparted will indeed live on forever- and if I smash a lightbulb with a hammer (the same hammer as before, if you’re wondering) the energy it was giving off in the form of light does indeed also live on forever. But it’s stupid to say that the “smack” or the light continue on in any meaningful way. Yes, when I die the atoms that make up my body will become atoms that make up other things, but that really has nothing to do with what I’m talking about. ‎"Most people are dead. Did you know that? It’s true. Out of all the people that ever were, almost all of them are dead. There are WAY more dead people. And you’re all gonna die. And then you’re going to be dead for WAY longer than you’ll be alive! Like that’s mostly what you’re ever gonna be. You’re just dead people that haven’t died yet." Louis C.K. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/69 "2013-01-04T02:46:58Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Well, to a certain extent, you go to sleep every night and practice this “ceasing to exist” phase quite well. Oh sure, there are the occasional dreams - but for the most part - you are a lump of nothing and sort of cease to exist for about 8 hours every single night. Activity is not the same thing as existence. When you turn the engine of your car off, it continues to exist even though it isn’t doing anything. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/70 "2013-01-04T03:13:03Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Sounds cowardly. 😉 That flicked my funny bone. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/71 "2013-01-04T03:28:15Z")
I’m envious of you folks that close your eyes and 8 hours or so later wake up, with no idea of what happened inbetween. That sure isn’t my norm. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/72 "2013-01-04T11:33:21Z")
I fear nursing homes as a last stop on the way out. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/73 "2013-01-05T02:35:21Z")
[QUOTE= 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. [/QUOTE] > [@Smapti](#): > > This. The idea that one day I’m going to go to sleep and never wake up again _terrifies_ me. Hunh. I would have thought that this would have been one of the most comforting things about being an atheist and not believing in an afterlife. There’s absolutely no downside to ceasing to exist and be aware. During the years when I was deeply depressed, the thought of continuing consciousness was what depressed me even more, and I wished I could believe that mind ceasing to exist when the body dies was true. ---
**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 5, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700/74 "2013-01-05T02:38:36Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > Hunh. I would have thought that this would have been one of the most comforting things about being an atheist and not believing in an afterlife. There’s absolutely no downside to ceasing to exist and be aware… I’m on your side. I’d be terrified if I thought I faced an eternity of punishment for all the shit I pulled while I was alive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-of-dying/645700.md?page=3)