I can’t stop thinking about death

And I dont know how to stop. Every minute on my mind of me trying to make myself feel better about it, hoping there is an afterlife. I keep trying to not think about it but It keeps coming up. I keep trying to imagine it to hope I give myself peace about it or think of possibilities that were in a timeloop and I’ll be born again after the loop. It’s gotten to the point where I keep thinking im about to die. Im hypersensitive to everything about my body and I keep checking my pulse to see if my heart is beating normally. I keep trying to reassurance myself im not gonna die but the thought is scary and I know im not supposed tk seek reassurance but I dont know how im not supposed to seek reassurance about this. I dont know what to do. I just feel like vessel with a brain.

blp99

Date posted: 1y

But you got this!!! We will enjoy life and free ourselves from our cage which is just made of thoughts

TechnoRecord

Date posted: 1y

@blp99 Thank you. Im gonna try what you said. It’s so scary when the feelings of dying almost feel weird. But i’ve been trying to ignore it. Im gonna stop trying to reassure myself.

blp99

Date posted: 1y

@TechnoRecord Good Luck! We got this!!

blp99

Date posted: 1y

First of all YOU ARE NOT ALONE, I used to feel like this all the time “a vessel with a brain” that’s exactly how I felt, it still occurs sometimes but now I’m able to enjoy some moments, to forget about it sometimes. And what was the thing that made me change? Well, there are several things: reaching for help (going to therapy with a psychologist specialized in ocd), accepting the anxiety or the uncertainty (maybe it will happen maybe not) I know this sounds really scary how is it possible to accept that? For me this is the most difficult part but I’m convinced that it is the most useful

blp99

Date posted: 1y

You need to not try to answer the question that pops up in your head a hundred times a day “am I gonna die?” When this will pop up tell yourself “everybody is going to die someday, it is impossible for me to know when that will happen, try to enjoy now is all that youve got” and DO NOT try to answer the question by reassuring yourself (I’m not going to die cause my pulse is normal etc etc) this will never work and this will keep you stuck in this cycle

blp99

Date posted: 1y

Because the fact of doing that will make your brain think that yes, indeed, there is something wrong with you and then the probability of you dying in the short term will become more and more likely to your brain

blp99

Date posted: 1y

The only way to stop it is to STOP ANSWERING THAT QUESTION and yes, that will make you feel anxious at first, and yes, this is a GOOD SIGN

blp99

Date posted: 1y

Once you are brave enough to face this anxiety you will start to feel it less and less and the question will pop in your head less times a day and you will be able to enjoy life more and more

blp99

Date posted: 1y

I know this seems really difficult to do but you can do it! And it doesn’t matter if sometimes you have a set back or if sometimes you give in and you try to answer the question, the important thing is to keep in mind that it is just you that can free you from this and that you need to keep fighting to not answer the question

blp99

Date posted: 1y

And if it feels impossible well, you can always try medication, you can always reach out to someone and cry and share with them how you feel and be taken care of

Karotajs-the...

Date posted: 1y

Same. Its awful. Hang in there!

ana444

Date posted: 23w

Been obsessed with death

Of course we can’t stop the inevitable but with my ocd it’s all I can think about. I’m afraid I’ll be alone for ever and I’ll fear forever. Fear does not stop death it stops life. But how do I stop fear??? I can’t think of anything scarier than the fact that our conscious will vanish for eternity. I am only 20 years old but I mean the last 5 years flew by like nothing.

Draykewampler

Date posted: 18w

fear of death and ocd

so i have ocd but this is the main theme ive been dealing with for the last few months, im obsessed with my mortality and i feel trapped by the reality of death. i dont really believe in an afterlife which makes it scarier, not that i dont wanna my brain literally just wont let me. but i have daily panic attacks thinking about death all day, its honestly the toughest thing ive ever dealt with. does anybody have any tips on how they manage this if they have ever dealt with it? not looking for reassurance, just some non compulsive ways to kind of lessen the grip of the fear.

oopiedoop

Date posted: 17w

tw for talk abt death

the concept of death & existence is ruining my life rn 😭 im losing so much sleep. i try to close my eyes & all my brain wants to do is try to wrap itself around the idea of what not existing feels like & i get this sinking feeling that grows & grows until my eyes snap open & i have to go back on my phone to distract myself until im literally too exhausted to keep my head up & my body forces me to sleep. it makes having the motivation to do anything hard because all i can think is "it wont matter when i die". it sucks because i know that having MORE in my life might actually improve this, im 21 unemployed still living at home with ASD & i know once i have a job that will definitely give me more to focus on & other stresses to have lol, but i feel like im stuck in the endless cycle of "not having a life makes me worried im wasting my life & itll all be over so fast" & then "being so stressed about my life & time passing is exhausting & makes it too hard to find the motivation to do anything other than sit here" & repeat. spirituality is hard because i like thinking that way, like afterlife & shit, but i worry that im just "in denial" & using it as an unhealthy coping mechanism that leads to magical thinking thoughts. then its like i have some sort of meta ocd spiral obsessing over if what im doing is bad & unhealthy for my ocd or not. i LIKE being spiritual but im worrying im hurting myself & doing a compulsion thinking that way. it also doesnt help that religious spaces have hurt & traumatized so many people & im terrified of being apart of a "delusional" community that spreads a false narrative & attacks anyone that doesnt agree with them. i know i am not like that but i worry im still apart of the problem even thinking this way. at the end of the day no one knows the truth, no one knows what happens after death. im just struggling to sit with the uncertainty. it is so late rn idk of any of my words make sense lol

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I can’t stop thinking about death

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