Yesterday I asked, are you afraid of dying? Interestingly, the response was less enthusiastic. Here are the responses I got.
Samantha: Love the blog hun! I have never been afraid of dying until recently. I'm a Christian and believe that I'll be going on to paradise. I don't know what it'll be like but i know it will be fab! I think it was a Jewish man that once said 'We have as much concept of the afterlife as an unborn baby does of the outside world' but that doesn't bother me. I don't fancy the idea of drowning but the actual moment of death i imagine to be very peaceful. HOWEVER... since having my baby boy I'm terrified of leaving him. I'm also scared that something could happen to me while my husband is at work and my baby would be screaming until he got home! It's amazing how having a child changes your outlook on life! X
Lee: I'm not afraid of dying, or death, but I do worry about those I would leave behind if I did pass on.
WWKnight: Im afraid of living an insignificant life, and thus I am afraid of dying without having achieved anything. But I am not actually afraid of the dying itself.
Karen: No I am only afraid of the way I will die as long as it is painless and with dignity I have seen so many deaths in my life and know how horrible death can be so I am hoping i go quickly and in my sleep. I also would rather die than live with dementia or alzheimers disease.
@paolavanessa: I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of dying too soon.
Anonymous: As terrified as I am of public speaking, I would choose that over the coffin only because the thought of my kids without me breaks my heart.
The following conversation also took place on my blog...
Anonymous: Death doesn't worry me - why spend your life worrying about death. I don't believe in after life's, heaven and pet cementaries so there isn't motivation to end up in the fluffy clouds or worry about burning my toast in hell. Death isn't something I contemplate or consider the ramifications of. Those who fear death - in what way does this fear impact on your living?
Samantha: I am afraid of death. Well, I am afraid of ceasing to exist. The impacts for me are huge. I have suffered panic attacks since I was 11 and have been in and out of therapy since then. Nothing has helped. Most recently, I was in hospital with a burn and while on pain killers, lost complete control and started screaming, I mean really hysterically screaming because I thought about the fact I am going to die. So it definitely impacts on my living.
Anonymous: yeah, death itself doesnt phase me, I wont know about it when I'm gone. Losing someone else close (children, husband etc, not parents cos I see that as the natural order of things)and experiencing that pain again is enough to put me into a state of manic terror.
Samantha: "I won't know about it when 'I'm gone". It is exactly that thought that terrifies to the point that I can't breathe... Literally being unable to think, feel, love... oh God... :(
I also posted a poll on Facebook asking if respondents were afraid of dying. My boyfriend & another friend responded. That is it. And they both said no. So what am I to gather from this response? I may just be inferring but from what I am lead to believe, most great scientific discoveries started out as mere hypotheses. I wonder if maybe people are more willing to talk about other fears. Other fears like heights, spiders, snakes and insects can be avoided. Theoretically, you could survive the rest of your life without ever climbing a ladder again. If you were lucky enough, maybe, just maybe, you would never have to come across another spider ever again. But death? I could live for another week and die or I could live for another 80 years and die. But whatever happens and however long it takes, I am going to die. You are going to die. Every single person you have ever known, or will ever know, is going to die.
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| He's coming for you, you know? |
I know this is a morbid topic and people don't like to think about it. It is my belief that people without thanatophobia / fear of death are not void of a fear of dying. I believe they simply don't think about it.
Tell me I'm wrong.
Miss SAMawdsley xx
You are wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou know me, I have my own neurosis to deal with, so I would never belittle yours, but to many people death is just a fact of life. Just as we dont go around thinking about breathing, we have no need to go around thinking about dying.
And for me, I view death more as a release from pain, than any negative situation. One may infer from that that I am a negative person (or at least that I live in negative circumstances) but i'd argue that the majority of deaths come from the eldery who have lived their lives and are now dealing with their bodies shutting down. The cancer/aids sufferers who live each day in pain.
For all the phobias out there of flying and spiders and whatnot, while they can lead to death, its usually very rare that death will sneak out from behind the wall and say boo! In MOST cases, he calls in advances to announce is arrival, comes on over, askes for a pot of tea and stays long after you have run out of things to talk about. By the time he gets up to leave, you are more than happy to follow him and get the situation over and done with.
I think I am a person who has thought about death ALOT to be honest. Myself dying, those around me dying, people I dont even know dying. But it doesnt scare me. Like WWKnight's theory. I see it as a release. I'm not an overly religious person. I consider myself catholic and I beleive there is an afterlife and with experiences I've had (that you yourself have shared Samantha) I'm 99.9% sure someone special is already there waiting for me. Is it morbid to say I'm almost looking forward to death? I have too much going on for me in my life right now to want to die, but I have had some deep dark moments where all I wanted was to visit that special person and be with him again (again, moments you've shared :/) I dont find the concept of death scary.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. One day I hope to share your sentiments! :) xx
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