Are you afraid to die?

[survivor999]

Either way, please say a few words about why.

[johnnie]

1. Nope

I am afraid of pain I may have to suffer, but that's about it.

[Retired AF Dem]

10. Your reply reminds me of

"I'm not afraid of living and I'm not afraid of dieing. Its that transition thing between the two I'm worried about."

[survivor999]

13. Good one.

Where is it from?

[Retired AF Dem]

14. Sorry

I can't for the life of me remember who said it.

[MessiahRp]

33. Same here..

I'm less worried about dying than the pain I might go through instantly before hand... I figure once I am 42 I can die safely (my son will be 20 by then) and not worry about his future as much.

Rp

[I Have A Dream]

2. I believe in reincarnation, so I believe that dying is just the next...

step. I don't want my death to be painful, and I don't want my family and friends to suffer because of my death, but I have no fear. I hope that it's fast and painless when it happens.

[TahitiNut]

3. Dunno. I don't recall ever trying it.

:shrug:

[bobbolink]

4. As a person in poverty, I'm afraid of dying before my time

It's clear that this misadministration wants to rid the US of poor folk like me, and I don't see much support coming from the "opposition party".

Yes, that scares me.

It also hurts.

[Union Thug]

5. I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of how it would impact my family

more than anything else.

But death, in general... not so much. There is a point in your life where you just stop worring about these things and press on. Once I was afraid (and ironically, that was BEFORE I abandoned religion/spirituality), but as an atheist, strange as this sounds, I'm more comfortable with the idea than at any other time in my life.

[Pobeka]

6. No.

Either there is an afterlife, a next life or none at all. Any scenario is fine with me.

What I am afraid of is a wasted life:

• a life that I didn't at least try to live as fully as I could,
  
• or a life of a child that is taken needlessly.
  

I'm doing what I can reasonably do on both of those fronts.

[acmavm]

7. I can accept dying naturally. A death by violence no.

[BooScout]

8. Only if it hurts. n/t

[survivor999]

85. Same here! n/t

[TomInTib]

9. I am not afraid, having tried it out a couple of times.

I drowned when I was 13.

Flat-lined.

Took me two years to re-learn to do everything. I didn't even recognize my Mother.

And some years later, I almost went a couple of times in the Naval Hospital, Yokusuka, Japan, due to combat-related misadventures.
During that time, I was never afraid of dying but I was absolutely petrified at the thought of my Mother getting that knock at her door.

[survivor999]

11. Wow.

Did you have any sort of near-death experience?

[TomInTib]

24. Oh, yeah. And I remember them as if they happened ten minutes ago.

But I am running late for breakfast and I am glacially slow on the keyboard.

If you like, I can PM or simply reply to this thread sometime later in the Day.

Pretty damned interesting, if I do say so myself.

[onecent]

28. Oh, Tomintib please do share your experience. I would love

to hear about it. It's fascinating to hear about stories from the other side.

Thanks.

[TomInTib]

76. Since you asked..

I will PM you on Tuesday

[survivor999]

31. Sure, fire away when you can!

Interesting story!

[TomInTib]

77. How is Tuesday?

I will have some time, then.

[Bjornsdotter]

32. Please

...if you don't mind sharing your stories, I think a lot of us would find them interesting.

Glad you are still with us!

Cheers

[TomInTib]

78. I don't mind much

and I don't have much of a mind.

I will PM you on Tuesday.

Tom

[Subdivisions]

56. Adding my vote...

I very much want to here about your experiences.

[TomInTib]

79. Well, since you are from Texas...

I will PM you about my experiences early next week.

[quiet.american]

12. It could be easy to say no, but no one's holding a gun on me at the moment

I think I'm more afraid of being murdered than dying. Thoughts of a "peaceful" death -- say, lying in a hospice bed with my family around me and slipping away, doesn't scare me. But the thought of a violent death is scary.

[Retired AF Dem]

19. Two weeks ago I went to see my family

it's been fifteen years since I seen my parents. My mom is in the final stages of dying from a brain tumor. She has chosen to die in her bed, in her house and doctors be damned. The week I stayed there I think I was able to talk to her for a total of ten minutes. I have lived my entire adult life doing jobs that can get me killed violently. I would rather go that way than the way my mom is going. But that is just me of course.

[quiet.american]

34. I'm most sorry to hear your mom is so ill. It must be very tough.

When I was much younger, I used to think I'd be prepared once I was much older for the passing of my mom. (Very fortunately, that is not an issue currently). Now that I am much older, I know I'll never be prepared.

You have my sincerest sympathy.

[Retired AF Dem]

82. Thanks

She passed today 8/13 at 4am. I'm glad her suffering is over.

[quiet.american]

84. ....So sorry to hear that.

But can imagine how you may feel that her pain is finally at an end. My best to you and your family at this time.

[karlrschneider]

15. Not afraid, but somewhat pissed. More things I wanna do than

time to do 'em in. ;-)

No sense worrying about something we can't change.

[blue sky at night]

16. if one would get in touch with one's spirituality...

one would KNOW, not KNOW ABOUT our oneness with god, with everything......and that the soul is ageless, and we never die. We are not bodies.

[survivor999]

20. I would like to agree...

But when you spend time with people with neurological disorders it's just very difficult to believe the soul is anything more than the body. At some level, the idea of not existing (to the extent one can even conceive of it) is not scarier than the idea of being anesthetized.

[I Have A Dream]

22. I agree with you, blue sky at night.

I took "die" to mean leaving this incarnation. Indeed, I agree that we are not our bodies, and, I believe that we are not our minds either.

[ClintonTyree]

23. Got any proof for those hypothesis.........

or is it just a "belief" or "a feeling". I'm not one to accept any answer based on beliefs, I need hard data. :shrug: I'm the world's biggest cynic, what can I say?

[Phredicles]

17. I don't know if I'm "afraid", but I'd definitely rather not do it.

As Woody Allen once said, "I don't want to achieve immortality by my work; I want to achieve it by not dying."

[midnight]

18. No,but from all the nonsense that congress is letting go on,

I'm afraid they are more afraid to let us live.

[onehandle]

21. Not of death itself, but of missing the future.

They promised us flying cars and moonbases by the seventies.

I want my damn flying car!

[MrCoffee]

25. On a long enough timeline, the survivial rate for everyone drops to zero.

With apologies for stealing that line.

[catmandu57]

26. No, I'm just not in a big hurry

to do it. There really isn't anything I can do about it, once you're gone, you're gone. What pisses me off I believe you get one ride, that's it, that's why it's such a shame that people live such hard lives when it's not necessary.

[MuseRider]

27. No but I am afraid of HOW I might die.

There are a couple of things I am afraid of, if I can avoid those I will be at peace with it. I don't even care if I see it coming and it scares me at the time. As long as it is not the things I am afraid of I will be fine with it.

[dkofos]

29. Not religious

No reason to fear death.

[chefgirl]

30. NO

When I was a teenager, I was extremely sick for five years (between ages 15 and 20). Without going into it too much, I finally had to have surgery after 5 years of drug after drug, none of which ever had any lasting positive effect.

I almost died a few times during the five years, because of loss of weight, low blood pressure, septicemia, etc... Every time it happened, and I survived, I was more and more petrified of death.

Finally, the surgery was a last ditch attempt. It carried a LOT of risk, so my Doctors gently suggested that if I opted for surgery I should probably also make my peace with the less than 50/50 odds I was given.

It took a lot of soul searching, deep thinking, fear, tears, lashing out, etc..., but I DID make my peace with the concept of my own death. For me, it was a matter of accepting that if it happens, it happens, and it eventually happens to us all.

Thankfully, the surgery was successful and after being forced to come to terms with death, I've never been afraid of it since.

-chef-

[Withywindle]

35. Yes, but only because

...for all its fucked-upness, I love this world MADLY - so many things about it, all its beauties and sensual experiences and wonderful people (yes, they're everywhere!) and brilliant books and fascinating geography and delicious food, and trees and mountains and oceans and music, fer Chrissakes.

It's very hard for me to imagine how one might be at peace with the idea of giving all of it up forever, when no human lifetime can ever be long enough to savor it all. But I do hope I manage, somehow.

[Marie26]

36. No.

I'm curious. :P

[Zhade]

37. Nope, and I'm an atheist who doesn't have the possibly false promise...

...of an afterlife. Frankly, no one knows if there is one, and while that used to frighten me, it no longer does.

I was thinking of this in bed last night. It's like going to sleep. I don't know for certain that I will wake up, or even dream, yet I'm not afraid to go to sleep.

Plus, the atoms that make up my body and consciousness will be around pretty much forever, under the physical laws we understand and this universe is governed by. My atoms may end up in countless places in the future - supernovas, sunflowers, killers and compassionate heroes, a part of life and existence basically for all time.

That's pretty awesome. Sure, I hope we retain consciousness somehow, but if not, I'll have a good run and leave behind a nice history if I can.

That's a huge change from earlier in life, when I was so afraid to die that I couldn't kill myself when I was really depressed (thankfully).

[Popol Vuh]

38. No

But I think it would suck if I died before my natural time was up, but I am not afraid of death. Also, from my astral projection experiences I have the perspective of what happens after death.

Death is just the flesh. Flesh is not Consciousness. We ourselves don't die.

[survivor999]

39. MANY brave people at DU!!!!

I'm pleased. :) I wonder if freepers are more scared about dying, with all their tough talk.

[MisterHowdy]

40. No.

But i'm afraid of the pain and confusion that preceeds death.

[ldf]

41. yes and no

yes, i am afraid of the ACT of dying.

it would be nice if we could just flip a switch. but no, it's gotta be messy, painful, lingering.... or quick and VERY messy.... x(

as an atheist i am not afraid of judgement, etc, bla bla. i believe i will just cease to be, whatever energy that is the mind rejoins the universal pool of energy.

and once those who knew you are gone, it is as if you never were, other than some entry in a record book. big deal.

i believe that the fear of death is well exploited. it makes good economic sense to have us afraid of dying. great for the corporate bottom line.

i believe in voluntary (does it need to be said?) euthanasia, and would like to control my exit.

hopefully i will.

hey, this little belief system works fine for me without all the additional baggage of other belief systems (for which there is not one iota of proof). :shrug:

needless to say YMMV.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

81. I have to respond to what you said about the act of dying

because your words brought up a memory. I was a nurse for many years, and I saw a lot of people die. Many gently, some not so much. But I remember one lady in particular. She had to take medicine every night at two a.m. and usually she was somewhat awake because she was used to being awakened at that time. But one night when I went in the room, she was sound asleep, and when I touched her arm, she fought waking up, and finally she opened her eyes and said, "Oh no! I was dreaming about my husband who passed away long ago, and it was so real, I just hate letting go of the dream." I felt so bad, but nothing to do, I gave her the medicine and left the room. The next night I went in the room at the same time and touched her arm. But this time she didn't awaken. Her husband had come for her a little bit sooner this time. And it made me happy. I think I interrupted him the previous night, but on this night she got her wish and was finally able to go with him.

[SmokingJacket]

42. Yes.

I don't want my kids to grow up without me -- though they have other people to love them, no one can love them like I do. So that's my fear.

But I have a sensible idea about risk management. How many thousands of flights go off without a hitch each day? Each year? Since 9-11??

I'm so much more likely to choke to death on a sandwich than I am to be a victim of terrorism. I don't want to die, so I chew very carefully, get mammograms, and never drink and drive.

There's no way to TOTALLY remove threats from your life, so it makes sense to focus on the most likely ones.

(If we put HALF the energy we spend on these terror threats towards, say, skin cancer screening -- how many lives could we save??)

[patdem]

43. Still waiting for TomInTib to return to give MY answer..hope he has not

died yet AGAIN!

[tinfoil tiaras]

44. Yes, I've always been afraid of dying

or, more particularly, of being murdered. I know it's a very irrational fear because I'd probably die in a car accident before I would get murdered, but just watching all those damn A&E crime shows freak me out...:scared:

[Critters2]

55. I, otoh, am afraid of dying in a car accident.

I've known enough people who've been in bad car accidents that I'm just terrified! I think I'm more afraid of NOT dying, and being paralyzed or crippled or something....but I have to make myself not think about it, or I'd never get in a car. It really is one reason I never want to live in a big city--more people, more cars; more cars, better chance of an accident.

To the point of being phobic, really.

[salitine]

45. No. I'm afraid of fear.

After dieing a couple of times, I feel disposed to tell you that being dead sucks. It's boring. Nothing to do there. Everything that there is to do is here, on this side of the divide. It is nice meeting those entities that remind you of people you miss, but it dosen't suprise you. It's amusing to look at your life, and recognise your limitations, and understand your freedom, by comparison. People are limited by life, and unlimited in death. Problem with death is, you have no limitations, and every science we know is useless. It is life that limits you, and it is up to you to grow beyond those limits. If you think knowing everything, and having no limits sounds great, you'd be wrong. We came from infinity to limit ourselves. And in those limits, and in finding ways to surpass them that we find greatness in ourselves. In life, we can be suprised by the sunrise every day. Death has no suprises.

[survivor999]

48. Well, many people are already dead

even though they still walk around...

[pitohui]

46. the way it's going, shoot me now

death is nothing to fear, as mark twain pointed out, he had 70 million years of nonexistence before he was born and it didn't give him a fraction of the stress and worry of the 70 years after he was born -- so how fear death?

death is not the problem, it's the long dying of certain diseases that is to be dreaded

[Montagnard]

47. I am more afraid that I will not live.

Death is the end....We started the end when we commenced the journey. The trick is not concern yourself with the end, but handle the middle the best you can.

[HeeBGBz]

49. Not afraid to die but...

Afraid of lingering painfully before death occurs.

[rocktivity]

50. No--I'm too busy being scared

of not being able to meet the obligations of life (paying bills, being loveable, job security, etc.)

:headbang:
rocknation

[MODemocrat]

51. Can't really say I'm not afraid to die

Leaving my husband and my children and grandchildren are what scares me the most; However, at times, I get so lonely for
my parents and my nine siblings, who have all died; it almost feels good to think about possibly being
with them again or mainly, not having to be lonely without them I'm really not afraid of the dying process at least not at this time.

[BlueStater]

52. I'm afraid of what happens to you after you die

I hope there is a purpose to it all in the end.

Fortunately, I'm young so it will hopefully be a long time before I'll even start to have to worry about it.

[CanSocDem]

53. It might have been the drugs...

.....or the books I was reading at the time, but once I realized consciousness was separate from the body, my life changed.

Up until that time, 'death' was everything. It determined what I ate, where I went, what I feared and what I thought about the world around me and tormented me with what to do about all the many faces of death I was being forced to quantify. It took different things, in different times to finally realize that death wasn't the end. And more importantly, perhaps, was that living a life without 'fear of death' is really worthwhile, on all levels.




.

[RagAss]

60. Yes !!.....The Eternal Shared Consciousness.....

[133724]

54. A Fellow DU'er once Said:

We are a not Human Beings having a Spiritual Experience
But
We are Spiritual Beings having a Human Experience

I think he was right...

[pitohui]

58. a bumper sticker from the 80s said that

and i wasn't convinced the first time i heard it

facts not in evidence unfortunately

[Marr]

57. Hell yes I am.

I believe that when I die, I'm over. Poof- that's it. You bet your ass I'm avoiding death just as long as I possibly can. There are too many things I haven't done yet.

I've informed my family that, should I end up on life support, they'd better spend every damn penny I've earned keeping that fucking machine operational. I'm going to be dragged out of this world kicking and screaming. I love this whole sentience thing. I am NOT going back to dirt and water until I absolutely have to.

[RagAss]

59. Were You Afraid Before You Were Born ?...well then, there you have it.

[WinkyDink]

86. I keep telling myself this. Also, that better men than I, Gunga Din, have

gone through it. So buck up!

[City Lights]

61. No, but I'd like to hang around at least until my kids make it to

adulthood.

[MrSlayer]

62. No, no point in worrying about it.

Everyone buys it eventually. Just try to have as much fun as you can while you are here.

[Darkseid69]

63. I'm not afraid of being dead..

as much as I am afraid of how I get there.

[NMDemDist2]

64. no, it's the pain that scares me n/t

[ThatsMyBarack]

65. Sometimes....

....but not very often.

[VelmaD]

66. I don't want to die yet...

I have things I still want to do. I have friends and family I want to spend more time with. I have mistakes I need to corect. I have broken relationships I would like to mend. And I have things left I need to learn. I'm not ready to go.

[mystique]

67. I think I am...

Becasue of the "unknown", but also because if there is really a God, then I really am screwed real big time.

[Cleita]

72. Really do you think a loving God would be out to get some

sort of vengeance on you? Trust me if He does punish people for the lives they have led, he has much bigger fish to fry than either you or me.

[Cleita]

68. No. I'm looking forward to it.

I have already done everything I am going to do in my lifetime and so now I'm just biding my time. Also, as the Bushistas slowly erode my safety nets, like Social Security and Medicare, and my savings are worth less every day because of creeping inflation, I feel I'm too old to start over. I'd rather be dead.

[mystique]

69. ^^Jeezus, Cleita....

That's a bit too morbid. Stay and fight. Let the enemy die.

[Cleita]

70. No it's not.

I lived longer than I expected to, longer than my parents and grandparents. Everyone who ever loved me is gone. It's time for me to go when my time is up. I'm not upset about it at all.

[Deja Q]

71. I have let to live. Mind you, I died once before.

Sorry to answer a question with a question and a cryptic statement. But I know what death is. And thanks to prescribed medications, I do not want to die, nor do I fear dying.

[Raydawg1234]

73. Yes, but not from terrorism. More afraid of dieing from a hurricane,...

global warming, and hunting with Dick Cheney.

[deutsey]

74. I'm not afraid of dying...I just don't want to be there when it happens

One of my favorite Woody Allen quotes.

[union_maid]

75. At times, depending

I'm not afraid of the concept. If someone was stalking me in the dark with murder in mind, or if a speeding car was bearing down on me I'd be terrified, though. I think that's just human. But I think acceptance comes at the end. I remember once, when I was much younger, I had a car accident. The car spun out across a highway and it was heading for a stand of woods. It was a Corvair. No engine in front. If we'd hit those trees, and it sure looked like we were going to, that was going to be it. For a few seconds there, I knew I was done for. And I accepted it in that time. As it happened, a we swiped a lone tree with the side of the car and that stopped us. No one was even hurt, let alone killed.

What I am afraid of is losing people, especially now that I have children and grandchildren. Hostages to fate, every one.

[benEzra]

80. I think I fear for my wife and kids more than for me, if that makes sense.

If it were just me, I'd say definitely No, I'm not afraid to die. I certainly hope it's not in the cards anytime soon, and I'll do what I can to put it off, but the concept itself is not something I'm generally terrified of.

However, what really churns me up inside is the thought that my wife would have to explain to my 7 y.o. son and 5 y.o. daughter that Daddy is dead, and the emotional trauma that would entail. And my wife would suddenly be left alone as the sole provider for and caregiver of a high-maintenance special-needs kid (cardiac issues, DiGeorge syndrome), and would have a lot of trouble coping. For that reason, yes, the thought of something happening to me does scare me--not for me, but for what it would do to them.

[LSK]

83. I rarely think about it, but when I do, yes

[hootinholler]

87. I voted yes.

But I'm not gonna let fear stop me ;)

I had a diagnosis a few years back that included the possibility of a fatal cancer (turns out it was a fungal infection) and I was surprised at the emotional impact.

I would gladly die if I knew it would fix the country I leave to my kids.

-Hoot