Hello all!

[ZugZug]

Nice to meet you all!   did me justice by pointing me to you

Soo need a lil help/advice!  - background - I'm 21 yrs old, atheist, and experiancing random death terrors, FUN! Amirite? (the answer is no btw) I used to get them when I was maybe 15-16, laying in bed tryin to sleep, then outta nowhere my restless mind would bounce back to death somehow, and needless to say, if I accidently get engrossed too much, I have a lil panic attack. It kinda happens more when I'm stressed or depressed.  I'm working 61+ hours a week to providing for my daughter and wife, and am about to go back to school as well. It's rough, but worth it. I can't really talk to my wife about it because she's Christian, and doesn't really understand what I'm going through.  She tries to help, and I love her for it, but the terrors aren't really something you can explain well enough to someone who believes in an afterlife.

You can't change what you believe, even if the ending is grim.(I loved the positivity in the atheist quote btw, not enough people understand that)   So - what I ask is, does anyone have any advice with coping with such a situation?  Any input would be greatly appreciated! Apologies if the thought process here seemed confusing, typing as I think!

Much thanks,
ZugZug

[Tank]

Hi ZugZug

Do you find yourself focusing on the mechanism of your death or the result of it? Do you worry about the condition of being dead? Have you witnessed death in real life, even such as the death of a deeply loved pet? Are both your parents still alive and/or have they had serious illnesses that you have witnessed. Was there anything particular that happened when you were a teenager that triggered the fears, such as a horror movie? As you can see I'm looking for a cause here so any information you can provide as background may help us help you.

Welcome aboard.

[philosoraptor]

As Tank said, additional information would be helpful.  However, what you are describing isn't all that uncommon a phenomenon.  You don't have to be religious to fear or fixate on death.

You may or may not find these links of interest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_drive
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6881/is_2_19/ai_n31874749/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jul/13/heidegger-being-time

[teifuani]

Hello ZugZug!

I've been having similar issues, so I can at least tell you you're definitely not alone. Mine started in February; I was in bed and just randomly started thinking of dying, and over time it became an obsession. I've been struggling to overcome them for several months, but what I find helps me for at least a while is thinking about all the things I love and focusing on them. For example, I start thinking about all the positive things I've experienced in my life, all the joys I've felt. I think of my time in theatre where I found a home, of Japanese and how good it feels for me to learn the language, etc. I find filling my mind with all the things I love takes the edge off of it for a little while.

I've also found some comfort in reading things online. Here are a few links to some material that helped me:
http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/dawkins3.htm (Scroll about three-quarters of the way down; you're looking for the "Improbablity of You.")
http://ask.metafilter.com/19541/How-can ... bout-death
http://ask.metafilter.com/26347/Coming- ... or-dummies

I'm not sure if these will help you since I don't know your personal circumstances, but I thought I'd share these in case they might help. Hang in there!

[Davin]

Hello ZugZug, Warcraft fan?

Welcome to the forums.

[xSilverPhinx]

Hi ZugZug  


*edited for clarity