Many people are afraid of dying on some level, if not most. Should we be? How do you feel about it? Is it something you've come to terms with or do you still struggle with the thought that someday your life will be over? What do you believe will happen after you die?

Personally, religion gave me more reasons to fear death than anything else. I'm still scared of the actual process of dying, I can't imagine being aware of the fact that my life is about to end and that there's nothing I can do to escape or avoid it, especially if it was due to something abrupt and unexpected like a car accident. But the state of being dead, non-existence, I'm pretty sure I'm at peace with it. It used to terrify me but at this point it almost sounds peaceful relative to some of the things we experience while alive.

Anywho, what do you think?

I've personally never been afraid of death, but that doesn't mean I'd be okay with it, especially if like you said, it was abruptly. If I live long enough to be an old man, I'd pretty much be in peace and anticipate it, though I'd like to think I'd continue being lively. However, dying out of nowhere, like an accident is a thought that chills my spine. Not because of death itself, but because of life. There's still so much I haven't done that I wish to do, and dying isn't anywhere near those, so I'm more afraid of not getting to live my life fully than dying, if that makes sense.

being afraid of death is pointless because eventually it's going to happen to everyone. There's no getting away from it so you might as well come to terms with it.

that said, if you do die by some abrupt and unexpected circumstance then you may feel:

Quote from Godfather

There's still so much I haven't done that I wish to do, and dying isn't anywhere near those, so I'm more afraid of not getting to live my life fully than dying, if that makes sense.

But this only makes sense to you now because you are alive, when you are dead you probably won't care about anything.

Not that i want it to come any sooner than it will but i'm actually kinda looking forward to death, I want to see what happens afterwards.

We're biologically programmed to fear death. Or at least fear death BEFORE our biological clocks run out. It is the one thing common among all living creatures.

From a logical standpoint though, right now I wouldn't want to die because there are so many things I want to achieve, like Godfather pointed out. I don't agree with Xaio's point about how it doesn't matter if you don't know. You can still care about your legacy enough to the point where you fear death. Exilement's point isn't about whether we fear death AFTER we die, its about how we feel right now, isn't it? Unless I'm misunderstanding your point.

My biggest fear at the moment regarding death is putting my parents through the death of a child, which is the worst thing that can happen to anyone in the world. Especially a child of many years.

Quote from XaioShadow

being afraid of death is pointless because eventually it's going to happen to everyone.

I'm not following. My first time behind the wheel of a car was a pretty scary experience. I can't tell you how nervous I was to have my first kiss. The fact that most people do these things on a regular basis didn't change the fact that it was a new, unfamiliar experience for me and I didn't know what to expect, which naturally translates to fear/nervousness. How is death any different?

I think allowing your life to be crippled by a fear of death would be pointless because it happens to everyone. But fear of death is absolutely not pointless. In fact, it is a strong motivational tool for many people to get shit done and make something of themselves.

Plus, whenever you're in a crucial predicament that may indeed cost you your life, that fear will kick in your survival instincts to attempt to escape. I doubt anyone would just accept death if there was a way to cheat it.

Quote from Exilement

I'm not following. My first time behind the wheel of a car was a pretty scary experience. I can't tell you how nervous I was to have my first kiss. The fact that most people do these things on a regular basis didn't change the fact that it was a new, unfamiliar experience for me and I didn't know what to expect, which naturally translates to fear/nervousness. How is death any different?

What i meant was, your fear should not be something you focus on.
For instance, most people are scared to try something new like driving a car but you shouldn't let the fear of getting in a car accident get in the way of you learning how to drive.
In the same way people shouldn't let their fear of death get in the way of them living their life.

Quote from Godfather

Plus, whenever you're in a crucial predicament that may indeed cost you your life, that fear will kick in your survival instincts to attempt to escape. I doubt anyone would just accept death if there was a way to cheat it.

But what if you are so scared of your imminent death that your fear gets in the way of you trying to escape that situation.
I never said that anyone should just accept death, if there is even a small chance of avoiding death then you should try take it.

Quote from XaioShadow

but what if you are so scared of your imminent death that your fear gets in the way of you trying to escape that situation.

if that's how fear worked, we wouldn't have it. we've evolved to feel fear because it triggers the fight or flight response, which results in an increased chance of survival in otherwise confusing and dangerous situations.

thanks for clarifying, that makes more sense.

Quote from Exilement

if that's how fear worked, we wouldn't have it. we've evolved to feel fear because it triggers the fight or flight response, which results in an increased chance of survival in otherwise confusing and dangerous situations.

What about when people get 'frozen in fear'?
in these situations people let their fear of something stop them from taking action against it.

I only fear a painful/gory death, or one that is early and sudden, rendering me unable to experience all I want to experience. The only thing you can do to help lower the odds of that is to be generally aware and careful.
As for what happens after death or the concept of being "gone, that doesn't really worry me much. All I'm gonna do is just not be a dick to anyone and try to improve the world as much as I possibly can. The worst that could happen is me being gone for good and not being aware of it, and I would have left a positive mark on the world (hopefully). I don't think that if a deity of any system of belief did exist it would choose to eternally punish it's creations for not being 100% sure it's actually there. It doesn't any make sense whatsoever, as it's not even a "choice" whether you have faith or not. The best that can happen I can't really say, and no one else. State of eternal bliss, reincarnation, other worlds? I don't know, but I can't imagine that it's going to be bad in anyway.

When you die, well, you rot. and that's the end of your life. I don't think there's an afterlife. Some people likes to believe death is a disease, that can be cured with the right treatments. I'd like to think the same thing. It's possible, though somewhat unlikely, that 30 years from now, there will/can be nano-bots in your bloodstream, helping you stay alive... forever, as long you don't do anything too dumb.

Quote from XaioShadow

What about when people get 'frozen in fear'?
in these situations people let their fear of something stop them from taking action against it.

freezing is another automatic response to fear and from what I've read it can increase chances of survival in prey animals by keeping them still enough for predators to overlook them or mistake them for dead. when it happens to humans it might simply be confusion, you're not feeling true fear, you're just facing something sudden and confusing and it takes you some time to properly process the fact that something scary is in front of you, and once you do you'll choose to fight or flee.

just the same, though, you can choose to flee from a scary situation and run into oncoming traffic while you're distracted. these specific examples don't change the fact that it helps us more than it kills us.

Quote from XaioShadow

What about when people get 'frozen in fear'?
in these situations people let their fear of something stop them from taking action against it.

You're referring to crippling fear which happens to people even in cases where death is not involved. However, if you spur yourself into action, fear mixed with adrenaline (caused by the fear) actually does help.

You know people say when they drown, they see their life flash before their eyes? For a long time, people thought it was some fucking myth or a poetic story to remember your loved ones before you die. But its actually TRUE. Neurologists now theorize that your life does LITERALLY flash before your eyes, memories that you didn't even remember clearly. It all flashes before your eyes in a sense of FATAL PANIC because your mind is essentially going through every single memory you EVER lived through to find a solution to your problem. A swimming lesson you once took in school that could save you, a fucking snippet of info on the coral reef where you are which you saw 6 years ago on the Discovery Channel, anything. It doesn't always work that way, but it is an action motivated by a biological terror of immediate death.

for me death is something to be happy about, not just because I am Christian, but because heaven or not, I will be relieved of this dreadful world . don't get me wrong I want to live life to fullest but the world is a place I rather not want to experience for eternity