- Username
- artsygirl
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Death anxiety is really rough, because it feels inescapable. We think the only way our fear can be ‘settled’, is if we experience death. That’s not the case. Mahatma Ghandi said, ‘each night when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning when I wake up I am reborn’. Sounds a little deep, but it’s really simple. you’re not as disconnected from death as you’d imagine. I understand that your fear surrounds the idea of heaven, being dead but conscious and being away from loved ones, I was the same! Think of it this way, you were dead billions, and billions of years before you were born, and you didn’t suffer at all during that time. Death is hard, but your love for your family and your connections with them are more than death. As sappy as it sounds, you’ll always be in each others hearts regardless of what comes between that. All of your fears are based on this idea of consciousness after death, which is scientifically impossible - but I understand what you’re saying. When you go to sleep, and you’re unconscious, it’s irrelevant to you whether you’re in a box or a field - as long as you’re in that state. Think of death as sleep if that helps. This was long, but I’ve been where you are. Sending my best wishes🤍
^^ we actually don’t know, scientifically, if there’s other realms or if consciousness continues after physical death, etc. There’s SO MUCH we don’t know. We know like 0.1% of everything possibly knowable. There’s string theory, Near Death Experiances (NDEs) studied by Dr. Sam Parnia, and even Stephen Hawking “suggesting ‘God’ could exist”.. There’s studies of mediums and of quantum mechanics. We know nothing 🤍✨
No, I agree!! When I say consciousness I mean consciousness in a physical sense - like electrical activity in the brain. I love contemplating about life after death, and I personally believe in reincarnation lol. I agree we know nothing, I’m not disputing that, but this person has a fear of how claustrophobic it would be to be in a coffin, and she’s referring to the possibility of being conscious in the way that we understand it, as humans who are alive. I’m not debating the idea that our consciousness transcends into something else!
Mine is Cancer and death. I feel if i could overcome fear of death then if i ever get cancer( that was hard to write btw) then i wouldn't freak out.
*****TW****** Yesssss I have a total fear that there’s no afterlife!!! My biggest core fear, EASILY!! I’ve rationalized that my other fears are okay as long as there’s an afterlife at the end of this... more to go on. But maybe there isn’t!! My family runs a graveyard (ironic) and my current exposure is to listen to nihilist quotes while walking through and imagining all the decaying bodies.. 2 times a day at least. And I listen to the quotes more. Sending soooo much love and good luck 🤍🤍✨✨✨
If you ever want to do an exposure together you can find me on IG at emidrew_xo 🤗
BTW you basically described me.
Have you done erp? Any good exposures ?
@artsygirl I am doing ERP now with my NOCD therapist. Just started, only exposure I've done so far is write a script about getting a terminal cancer diagnosis and reading the word over and over.
Quick question... does anyone know if ERP can help with fear of dying or someone close to you dying? The thoughts consume me from the time I wake up until I sleep. I've always considered myself a woman of faith. Then I think to myself "If My Faith Was Strong, I Wouldn't Even Worry"... and then I start thinking that God is disappointed with me. I've had extreme panic attacks since I was young. It's controlled by rescue med. I've been on antidepressants. I know when I'm on the right one, the need for rescue med decreases. Am I alone in this fear? Does ERP help?
*repost bc no one responded and I’m kinda desperate :( I’ve been having such bad OCD about the afterlife. I get triggers where it feels so real that I altered where I go when I die- such as like a scary void where I’ll never see my friends pets and family again. It feels so real where I almost believe this to be true and it’s making me so depressed and terrified. I’ve been feeling this way since June, and each trigger tournaments me for about a month until it switches to a different trigger about the afterlife. ERP has not been helping like it used too. It’s so hard to live like this, I don’t know what to do or how much longer I can take this.
TW death, terminal illness I feel like I could be suffering from complex post traumatic stress disorder, specifically due to loss. I just get these waves of sadness, not always physical but like a hole is in my chest and my body is compacting on itself. Sometimes it does come out in the form of crying. Random things trigger it, mostly music, and sometimes it seems like nothing at all has. Death has always been a core part of my life and my childhood. I have a massive family and im one of the youngest, so that means much of my relatives have and will die before me (potentially.) my grandma when I was age 2, great grandparents around 5-6, 2 cousins around age 8, grandpa at age 9, aunt at age 10, other grandpa at age 12, other grandma at age 13, more aunts and uncles age 14-16, and most recently, my uncle who I was very close with died when I was 18 a year ago. They’ve all died from rather horrific causes, glioblastoma, birth defect, cancer, dementia. Cancer is the biggest. I just feel like im always anticipating the next soul shattering loss. Will it be my mom or dad? My cousin? A baby cousin? My aunt and 2nd mother figure? I feel surrounded by death. I think this is why I have such intense, spontaneous waves of depression. I feel it right now as im typing this. I think writing it out is helping.
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