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Yeah, a lot of people will talk about being afraid of dying alone, but I'm pretty much just afraid of dying. The circumstances of my death are really just a lig

Yeah, a lot of people will talk about being afraid of dying alone, but I'm pretty much just afraid of dying. The circumstances of my death are really just a light seasoning compared to the main fare that is the terror of that death itself.

neom 2y ago
Out of sheer curiosity, have you always felt this way or was it a getting older thing for you?
- silverquiet 2y ago
  I was under the impression that the fear of death is a near universal instinct amongst living things, but humans, given our unique intelligence may know the fear of it better than any other animal because we understand that it is coming for us all. Personally, I was around seven years old when I realized that there was no god and it meant that death would be the end of my consciousness. It probably didn't help that I had an operation about that time using general anesthesia which effectively turned my brain off for a few hours and showed me what it might mean to be dead for a short time - a period in which I was not present and formed no memories, and what it would mean to be dead for an infinite time. I was not a particularly easy-going child after that.
  - layer8 2y ago
    While I would like to live essentially forever, I wasn’t ever really terrified of death. It’s more like a regret or melancholy that that’s how physical reality works. Maybe readings like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8579608 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8579608 could improve your coping with the outlook.
  - neom 2y ago
    I had no fear of death at all till my 40s, and I wouldn't call what I have now a fear, a slight sadness maybe, just about how many more bats I can swing or whatever, this life has been a great one, so it will be annoying to end it, still it's not fear. I really appreciate you sharing your story, helps me think about my own thoughts and feelings. :) <3
  - tagami 2y ago
    “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.” - Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
    - silverquiet 2y ago
      Makes sense, but I've also seen many brave fools meet their end rather young.

neom 2y ago

Out of sheer curiosity, have you always felt this way or was it a getting older thing for you?

silverquiet 2y ago
I was under the impression that the fear of death is a near universal instinct amongst living things, but humans, given our unique intelligence may know the fear of it better than any other animal because we understand that it is coming for us all. Personally, I was around seven years old when I realized that there was no god and it meant that death would be the end of my consciousness. It probably didn't help that I had an operation about that time using general anesthesia which effectively turned my brain off for a few hours and showed me what it might mean to be dead for a short time - a period in which I was not present and formed no memories, and what it would mean to be dead for an infinite time. I was not a particularly easy-going child after that.
- layer8 2y ago
  While I would like to live essentially forever, I wasn’t ever really terrified of death. It’s more like a regret or melancholy that that’s how physical reality works. Maybe readings like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8579608 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8579608 could improve your coping with the outlook.
- neom 2y ago
  I had no fear of death at all till my 40s, and I wouldn't call what I have now a fear, a slight sadness maybe, just about how many more bats I can swing or whatever, this life has been a great one, so it will be annoying to end it, still it's not fear. I really appreciate you sharing your story, helps me think about my own thoughts and feelings. :) <3
- tagami 2y ago
  “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.” - Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
  - silverquiet 2y ago
    Makes sense, but I've also seen many brave fools meet their end rather young.