Does anyone Obsess about death/dying/dead bodies/coffins/nothingness once we die?

[noelliesmommy]

I have a very diffult time with death and always have. funerals deeply disturb me. My cousing who I was close to died of a brain tumor about 4 years ago and I had a nervous breakdown and was almost hospitalized. I developed a phobia of sleep and of illness. I am still recovering. I am afraid I may lose my mind when my parents die. Part of this is because I have lost my faith and am not sure I believe in an afterlife/heaven/hell anymore. I fear that this life is it! This has spiraled into a horrible anxiety of compulsions and obessions fo death. If I touch something that belonged to someone who had died I wash my hands. It is wierd!

 

[MikeyC]

Hmm, that's interesting. There are people out there who certainly fear the afterlife. Maybe it's because it's something that nobody has the answers to. I'm sorry you feel so extreme about death and nothingness, although I know that dwelling on such things can be mind-boggling.

I am no longer afraid of death because I have come to the realisation that everyone dies at some point and there's no real need to fear it. It doesn't matter how rich you are, we will all die at some point and that's just the way it is.

I do believe in reincarnation, despite my atheism. Is that hypocritical of me?

 

[Kiwong]

A few years ago I did. I thought I was dieing. They were intense panic attacks. Any symptom I felt was a potentially life threatening heart attack. I was convinced I had a brain tumour, that there was something wrong with my heart. Eventually I fought these panic attacks and I decided I wanted to live.

 

[Kinetik]

Well, if there is an afterlife, you have a nice homecoming waiting for you on the other end. If there's nothing, you won't be able to care about there being no afterlife because you'll cease to exist.

One thing that helped me is to realize that people really do go when it's their time. There is absolutely no telling when it will happen, but I believe it will come precisely when it's meant to. I don't know why, but I find that thought comforting.

 

[kilojoule]

Sorry to hear

Yes I can relate.

I deal with in the context of my whole health issues stuff and I can manage it but
I do have the intrusive obsessive thoughts over aspects of death. When I was younger, I saw my mother die. She was at home in a coma with cancer, I sat with her because I didn't like her to be alone. But she woke up in the middle of the night and died. How she died was gruesome and bloody. I see it all the time, I have nightmares that picture stays with me and I obsessively wash my hands. It definitely traumatised me.

 

[Feathers]

Aww, sorry to hear about it, guys (gals)...

I hate it if other people mention funerals and other people dying casually, at lunch or first meal in the day especially... For my parents' generation it's something 'so casual' to discuss, for me it's been extremely stressful... And then they can be insulted if I don't wanna go to a funeral or such, yikes.

I do believe the soul persists even after we die, or that it's two options like Kinetik says, I just think it's a crying shame that so many people die young or before their time, just because of pollution/bad environment/bad nutrition etc - factors that could've been prevented...

So yeah, I do not fear death itself, I just don't want other people to suffer unnecessarily... Sometimes death is actually a relief for someone who has suffered in a disease etc. (and their relatives)

 

[WeirdyMcGee]

I don't fear it, the way the OP seems to...
I do think about death constantly. It's one thing that's at the back of my mind.

Life is fleeting.
I've had several family members die in the past year and several more the year before - so I know that you can be living one moment and not living the next; without any warning.

I have a morbid sense of humor, though.
So, if I think about what happens after we die; I imagine it as something hilarious or ironic rather than 'nothingness'.
What's wrong with 'nothingness', anyways?
Sounds peaceful to me.

 

[awkwardamanda]

A couple of really weird things bother me about death.

First off, I'll just say that while I am not a religious person at all, I still believe that there may be some sort of afterlife and that ghosts and paranormal activity may be real. I don't think that the existence of a god is necessary for this to be the case. I just think that there is a lot we do not yet understand about this universe (or parallel universes, for that matter), and that it is plausible that one day there may be a scientific explanation for these things.

Now that being said...

I sometimes worry about what would happen if I were to die unexpectedly. Not obsessively, but it's in the back of my mind. I worry about other people having to clean through my stuff. I shudder at the thought of people finding anything that might raise an eyebrow. I've got a few secrets that would embarrass the crap out of me if anyone were to find them. Sure if I were dead, I guess I wouldn't able to be embarrassed, but still, I'm disturbed by the thought of what might go through someone's head. Also, it is entirely possible that my dead self could watch this and cringe.

On a somewhat related note, I also worry that when other people die, they'll be able to watch me and find out all my secrets. They'll be able to see everything I do when I'm alone. I feel like I may never have total privacy. This is always going to be in the back of my mind.

My mind is a strange place.

 

[noelliesmommy]

I have thought that actually as well. An old boyrfriend of mine died and for some reason I am bothered by the fact that he may be able to see me undress. I also wonder if he gets mad when he hears me talk about him once in awhile. When I have sex I wonder if my grandma ever looks down peeping in. These thoughts are so bizzare that I am sure many people don't even bother to think this way. Good to know I am not the only wierdo

 

[Sora]

Your not a weirdo for these thoughts, I don't have a problem with it and I am not afraid of it. I am afraid of dying alone though which feels like more and more of a chance of that everyday lol.

I'm sorry you have this fear of it, maybe talking about it will fix it. Doubt it will just go instantly but hopefully it can!

I definitely have thoughts about the afterlife though and if people are there that we can't see. I don't even question it, I know theres some kind of afterlife, my imagination is good but not this good, sometimes I have felt that someone was there, a feeling so sure you know it to be true, also seen a few things too. I honestly believe there is something afterwards. I just donno what.

Part of me hopes we get to just float about, moving around the city flying very fast (I have an obsession with wanting to fly haha). Perhaps we can fly about protecting our loved ones! (somehow lol, maybe by just been there to the point were the living feel like someones there, maybe that is a sign not to walk down that alley! if you get me lol).

 

[awkwardamanda]

I have thought that actually as well. An old boyrfriend of mine died and for some reason I am bothered by the fact that he may be able to see me undress. I also wonder if he gets mad when he hears me talk about him once in awhile. When I have sex I wonder if my grandma ever looks down peeping in. These thoughts are so bizzare that I am sure many people don't even bother to think this way. Good to know I am not the only wierdo

It's good to know I'm not alone. People talk about how their deceased loved ones are watching down, but during the good times, and hard times too. No one ever speaks of the same during the intimate times, the awkward times, the private times, the inappropriate times. Who's to say they can't see all. o_0

 

[Sora]

during the intimate times, the awkward times, the private times, the inappropriate times. Who's to say they can't see all. o_0

I sometimes wonder this but then I tell myself they would be decent enough to not look when they start to see it happen! I know I certainly wouldn't want to see that about my family or friends so I would look away or go spook someone else if you pardon the pun lol

 

[YellowBird]

i know how you feel,this might sound awful,but when i was a teenager i thought suicide is an option and i found relief in it,i knew i would kill myself at some point,eventhough i kept putting it off,but just thoughts that i do it and it ends and i'm free were such a relief for me,now it's like no matter what i'm f*cked anyway,there's no way out.sorry that's not very cheerful of me,but i haven't found help either and there's no where to talk to about this stuff,let alone that i don't have friends,if i start a conversation like that with people my age,the best scenario would be that they only ignored me and run off.

 

[Sora]

i know how you feel,this might sound awful,but when i was a teenager i thought suicide is an option and i found relief in it,i knew i would kill myself at some point,eventhough i kept putting it off,but just thoughts that i do it and it ends and i'm free were such a relief for me,now it's like no matter what i'm f*cked anyway,there's no way out.sorry that's not very cheerful of me,but i haven't found help either and there's no where to talk to about this stuff,let alone that i don't have friends,if i start a conversation like that with people my age,the best scenario would be that they only ignored me and run off.

Aww! You can talk to me about it all you want, I will never run off. I don't want to kill myself but sometimes I do have the thoughts and think this is never ending, there is no escape but I could never kill myself, don't believe in it and I do like life but it can be too much sometimes!

I'm here if you need to talk, promise I will never run no matter how negative you get.

 

[awkwardamanda]

I sometimes wonder this but then I tell myself they would be decent enough to not look when they start to see it happen! I know I certainly wouldn't want to see that about my family or friends so I would look away or go spook someone else if you pardon the pun lol

Well, I'd like to think so too, but then some people are perverts while others are just plain nosy. Unfortunately, not everyone you meet in life is inherently good. So, the thought bothers me anyway.

 

[theslowesthand]

I'm not fearing my own death so much, but more the rest of my life after my parent/s and pets die. That terrifies me (as i feel i would then be "all alone" in life)

Life is fleeting ... so I know that you can be living one moment and not living the next; without any warning

For me, life just seems an awfully-long DRAG ...... 18,482 days still to go ..... YAAAAAAWWNNNN

What's wrong with 'nothingness', anyways?
Sounds peaceful to me

I believe this "nothingness" to be (nothing more or less than) our remnant energies, no longer manifested in physical form. So, i dont think its quite absolutely nothing, just like in space there's all sorts of unseen energies/radiations passing through it.

 

[MrJones]

We know nothing about death, maybe it's good (the afterlife) maybe it's bad and maybe it's nothing, no one knows.

What we know is how life is. It can be good or bad, but it's the only thing that we know for sure.

I don't see the point on thinking about what we can't know. Just try to live life as long as you can. Not saying that it's bad, I just prefer to focus on what we have, and we're all lucky we have LIFE.

 

[kilojoule]

Having seen death happen, seen the struggle, the pain, the fear and the gore, I have decided it's not for me.

 

[YellowBird]

Aww! You can talk to me about it all you want, I will never run off. I don't want to kill myself but sometimes I do have the thoughts and think this is never ending, there is no escape but I could never kill myself, don't believe in it and I do like life but it can be too much sometimes!

I'm here if you need to talk, promise I will never run no matter how negative you get.

thank you so much you are very sweet
i don't have those thoughts anymore,atleast not that often,it's weird but i wish i felt sorrow again,i'm overwhelmed with so much stress,i think i will explode one of these days,i don't have 'the luxury' to be sad anymore,i can't cry,i can't do anything,depression was my way of 'letting go',the lesser of two evils,you cry,you attract attention,someone wipes your tears(i was a teenager,i had my parents to be the grown ups,now i have to be a grown up something i'm utterly incapable of),this anxiety and isolation..you're on your own,not only you can't afford to be sad,you have to fake everything and be the exact opposite with the hope that someday you'll be good enough for someone,to keep you company and not feel so dreadfully alone.

 

[AsTimeBurns]

Worry about it all the time, especially at night trying to get to sleep.