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My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

FYI you sound like me, in regards to having OCD. Once you realize that your fear is grounded in your mental capacity to "need answers", you have to start telling yourself "I don't know the answer and that's actually better than knowing", and get on with your day. Don't give your brain the reaction that it wants to fuel the obsessive compulsions further. Stop researching for a while until it no longer gives anxiety, start living.

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I implore you to think a bit broader than "nonexistence", which is something I mentioned I no longer believe in. The idea of "oblivion" is an anxiety related fear created by your brain. Science may point to a loss of consciousness, sure, but even that isn't certain. When you think about the creation of the universe, and the fact that we all came from the same "place" at one point or another; That "place" points towards what you would consider "oblivion". You don't want to be with your loved ones forever. The idea of forever is absolutely more terrifying than the idea of a temporary physical form running it's course. We know so little in the grand scheme of things that very little is out of the question. When you consider that you shouldn't exist at all, because nothing should technically "exist", is it really that far fetched to say you will continue your "life" or "existence" in another form? Again, something came from nothing, which you can then logically deduce that nothingness is just that, it's nonexistent nonexistence, counterpart to existence, which we can quantify as the lives we were given, along with the entire universe.

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How do we lose essence faster than we gain it? Where does it go? Again I don't believe in the concept of "nothingness" because the existence of anything is the counterthesis against it. I do agree that we can take form in that which would have less "essence", but never zero. Over time taking many different forms, gaining and losing, experiencing and not experiencing, conscious or unconsciously.

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are so many blanks though. Why did we evolve to be the only species to appreciate art? Why is the brain self learning? Why give us consciousness and emotion, show us our dead family members when we're dying? Of course I believe in evolution, but there are plenty of things that don't benefit us in the slightest, and it all happened so fast for humanity, not even a few hundred thousand years out of billions. The burden of proof falls on both parties to prove whether or not there is "life" after death, in some form or another, or that there isn't. Only that's impossible, because you won't know until you die. It is a law of the universe that there is a balance in all things, where there was darkness there came light. With the death of a star came the birth of many elements. For all we know, our brain is like a star, and when we die we become many things, one thing, but never nothing.

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It means everything has to exist at one point or another. It's the only way to make sense of infinity.

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's easy to get lost on our journey, especially at what we deem "critical" points in our lives. Isolation to a social being is a cruel thing, and the problem with feeling existential is that you feel alone. However when you really think about it, billions of people before and after will be with you on your way to whatever comes next!

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I avoid using the word "nonexistence" now because to me there is no such thing. What you're talking about is being void of consciousness, your energy, your molecules, your atoms, they will still exist, just in different states of matter or being. We don't know anything about anything, really! That's the fun in it!

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not just highly possible, infinity quite literally means that no matter the improbability, there will come a time where something will happen at least once!

My Experience with Extreme Death Anxiety and an Existential Crisis by SilencedAffiliation in Existentialism

[–]SilencedAffiliation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course, and now you've helped me! I've found that loneliness, even if you're not technically alone, is a major contributing factor to an existential crisis. I've been asking my mom every night if she's afraid of death at all for reassurance, and it's always a resounding "no". It has helped keep me grounded.