Fear of mortality

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BornInMarch

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Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

I am in no danger at the moment, and still have several years ahead of me, but witnessing the untimely death of a close loved one and watching the years go by made me acutely aware of the fact that everybody dies.

I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of dying, I am afraid of being dead, and I am afraid of being no longer able to do things.

I trust that Heaven exists, but humans can’t know for sure. And even if it does, what if the entry bar is higher than I think? Even within this forum I found different opinions on how high or low it is (in Christianity as a whole that fluctuates much more).

Does anyone else fear death? And does anyone have any advice on how to cope with that and/or how to increase my faith?
 
BornInMarch said:
Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

I am in no danger at the moment, and still have several years ahead of me, but witnessing the untimely death of a close loved one and watching the years go by made me acutely aware of the fact that everybody dies.

I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of dying, I am afraid of being dead, and I am afraid of being no longer able to do things.

I trust that Heaven exists, but humans can’t know for sure. And even if it does, what if the entry bar is higher than I think? Even within this forum I found different opinions on how high or low it is (in Christianity as a whole that fluctuates much more).

Does anyone else fear death? And does anyone have any advice on how to cope with that and/or how to increase my faith?
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Welcome to the club, amigo!

To my mind, there are 2 kinds of human beings in this regard: those who are horrified of death, and self-kidders.

My condolences as to the personal loss you have sustained.

ICXC NIKA
 
BornInMarch said:
Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

I am in no danger at the moment, and still have several years ahead of me, but witnessing the untimely death of a close loved one and watching the years go by made me acutely aware of the fact that everybody dies.

I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of dying, I am afraid of being dead, and I am afraid of being no longer able to do things.

I trust that Heaven exists, but humans can’t know for sure. And even if it does, what if the entry bar is higher than I think? Even within this forum I found different opinions on how high or low it is (in Christianity as a whole that fluctuates much more).

Does anyone else fear death? And does anyone have any advice on how to cope with that and/or how to increase my faith?
Click to expand...
Are you frightened of dying while in a state of mortal sin? If so, then you are not alone in your worry. All of us are worried that we may die while in a state of mortal sin, thereby it is of great interest to ourselves and to others to avail of the Sacraments often, especially Reconciliation if you have such worries.
 
GEddie said:
Welcome to the club, amigo!

To my mind, there are 2 kinds of human beings in this regard: those who are horrified of death, and self-kidders.

My condolences as to the personal loss you have sustained.

ICXC NIKA
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No I’m not, I’m looking forward to dying. For me I have hope and trust in Gods mercy and look forward to heaven. This life has been very tough for me and I hope to see the end soon.
 
BornInMarch said:
Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

I am in no danger at the moment, and still have several years ahead of me, but witnessing the untimely death of a close loved one and watching the years go by made me acutely aware of the fact that everybody dies.

I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of dying, I am afraid of being dead, and I am afraid of being no longer able to do things.

I trust that Heaven exists, but humans can’t know for sure. And even if it does, what if the entry bar is higher than I think? Even within this forum I found different opinions on how high or low it is (in Christianity as a whole that fluctuates much more).

Does anyone else fear death? And does anyone have any advice on how to cope with that and/or how to increase my faith?
Click to expand...
I’ve heard of two people [Catholic] who had near death experiences and had their fear of death destroyed. I don’t know the specifics, but so long as one dies in a state of grace there’s no condemnation.
 
Blue_Rose said:
No I’m not, I’m looking forward to dying. For me I have hope and trust in Gods mercy and look forward to heaven. This life has been very tough for me and I hope to see the end soon.
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I’m not either.

My view is not quite the same as yours. I’m not looking for things to “end soon”, but having had a fairly rough life and having witnessed a lot of suffering, I’m not afraid of death, but simply accept it. I also accept that death is not the end.

I’m more afraid of living into advance old age and having my mind decline, or becoming infirm in a suffering fashion. That’s not particularly Christian of me, but that’s a greater fear for me.
 
I personally do not fear death, but I dread it. As an elderly woman, there are still so many things that I wanted to do, and haven’t done yet. There are places I wanted to see that I haven’t, and now due to physical limitations I can’t. Old age came faster than I expected, and I feel like I’m leaving things undone. This also applies spiritually. I feel that I have not been as humble, charitable and giving as I should have and now time is so limited. I also dread/fear purgatory, because of the evil things I have done during my life. Through reconciliation, I know I have been forgiven, but I also know that I will have to be cleansed before entering heaven. Am I alone in this?
 
josephback said:
I’ve heard of two people [Catholic] who had near death experiences and had their fear of death destroyed. I don’t know the specifics, but so long as one dies in a state of grace there’s no condemnation.
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After my father died I had an experience that to me seem to have touched the next world through him. I’ll not detail it, as things like that are highly personal and too easy for a person who didn’t experience it to dismiss. But, one thing that brief experience brought to me was that for him, things were okay.

By extension, our concern here should be the state of our soul. Worrying about the end it self otherwise is perhaps not really something we should concern ourselves with too much.
 
tonnieam said:
I personally do not fear death, but I dread it. As an elderly woman, there are still so many things that I wanted to do, and haven’t done yet. There are places I wanted to see that I haven’t, and now due to physical limitations I can’t. Old age came faster than I expected, and I feel like I’m leaving things undone. This also applies spiritually. I feel that I have not been as humble, charitable and giving as I should have and now time is so limited. I also dread/fear purgatory, because of the evil things I have done during my life. Through reconciliation, I know I have been forgiven, but I also know that I will have to be cleansed before entering heaven. Am I alone in this?
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As long as we’re living, there are still things we can do to address the state of our soul. As for purgatory, it’s going to be what it is, so worrying now, except to address what we can, would serve no purpose.

As for not doing what would have liked to, I can relate to that but in a bit of a different fashion. I have a lot of regrets about some choices I made early on, and I do have a hard time getting over that.
 
BornInMarch said:
Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

No, I am not afraid of dying and as the OP said, everyone does die, it is a fact and just a matter of time but although I am not afraid of dying per se, what I am afraid of is my judgement before God which of course, comes immediately after one dies. That is what we should all fear because our final destination whether it be Heaven or hell will be for eternity and there will be no going back for a “do-over”.
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BornInMarch said:
Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

I am in no danger at the moment, and still have several years ahead of me, but witnessing the untimely death of a close loved one and watching the years go by made me acutely aware of the fact that everybody dies.

I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of dying, I am afraid of being dead, and I am afraid of being no longer able to do things.

I trust that Heaven exists, but humans can’t know for sure. And even if it does, what if the entry bar is higher than I think? Even within this forum I found different opinions on how high or low it is (in Christianity as a whole that fluctuates much more).

Does anyone else fear death? And does anyone have any advice on how to cope with that and/or how to increase my faith?
Click to expand...
How old are you, if I may ask? Speaking for myself (I’m 21), I’m know not particularly eager to die at this point in my life. I have a theory, and it’s that as we age, we get closer and closer to a point where we just get sick of living. This is especially true for people who are 80+, because at that point you’re dealing with age-related medical ailments, your spouse/siblings/friends may have already passed on, you can’t do many of the activities you love, etc.

Death is a scary thing no matter how old you are, but I think the incapacitation that accompanies old age/severe illness makes it much easier to face for a lot of people.
 
BornInMarch said:
Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

I am in no danger at the moment, and still have several years ahead of me, but witnessing the untimely death of a close loved one and watching the years go by made me acutely aware of the fact that everybody dies.

I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of dying, I am afraid of being dead, and I am afraid of being no longer able to do things.

I trust that Heaven exists, but humans can’t know for sure. And even if it does, what if the entry bar is higher than I think? Even within this forum I found different opinions on how high or low it is (in Christianity as a whole that fluctuates much more).

Does anyone else fear death? And does anyone have any advice on how to cope with that and/or how to increase my faith?
Click to expand...
I’m sick … have been for 30 years now … the disease I have could decide to take me at any time. The only way that I have been able to overcome my fear of dying is to stay very close to Jesus. If I drift away immediately the fear of dying comes back. The closer I get to Jesus, the less I fear and the better I feel overall.
 
BornInMarch said:
Everybody dies. That is an unavoidable fact and always has been.

I am in no danger at the moment, and still have several years ahead of me, but witnessing the untimely death of a close loved one and watching the years go by made me acutely aware of the fact that everybody dies.

I’m afraid of it. I’m afraid of dying, I am afraid of being dead, and I am afraid of being no longer able to do things.

I trust that Heaven exists, but humans can’t know for sure. And even if it does, what if the entry bar is higher than I think? Even within this forum I found different opinions on how high or low it is (in Christianity as a whole that fluctuates much more).

Does anyone else fear death? And does anyone have any advice on how to cope with that and/or how to increase my faith?
Click to expand...
I think most people do. Life on Earth is all we know for certain. I try not to think too hard about it. No body really wants to die. Try to live according to your convictions. I have not came to terms with the reality of death. No one important to me has died yet. I will cross that bridge when it comes. It is one thing to intellectually know and it is another to experience death.
 
CRATUS said:
I think most people do. Life on Earth is all we know for certain. I try not to think too hard about it. No body really wants to die. Try to live according to your convictions. I have not came to terms with the reality of death. No one important to me has died yet. I will cross that bridge when it comes. It is one thing to intellectually know and it is another to experience death.
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Like I said, I want to die!
 
I think there is also a kind of separation anxiety, you have the people you love and want to stay with them.
 
ConfusedLucy said:
I think there is also a kind of separation anxiety, you have the people you love and want to stay with them.
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Well yes, especially those with young children.

I’ve worked in healthcare and seen many deaths, mostly older people and sometimes they accept death because their children have grown, their partner and friends have died and they are content with their life and are now ready to die.

I have a friend the same age as me (26) who shares my desire for dying young because we have both led extremely hard lives and want to be with Jesus and not have to suffer anymore. Neither of us have children or are married.

For me not to desire death I would really need a good reason for me to be here. I just feel like I’m lingering on. I’m trying to do good things for God through my work but I’m weary.
 
Austere said:
Are you frightened of dying while in a state of mortal sin? If so, then you are not alone in your worry. All of us are worried that we may die while in a state of mortal sin, thereby it is of great interest to ourselves and to others to avail of the Sacraments often, especially Reconciliation if you have such worries.
Click to expand...
I agree – and your post bears repeating.
 
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