Social Anxiety Support

Madison_Rose · 05-20-2009, 10:19 AM

[Apologies if this is in the wrong forum]

Do you talk about it with your nearest and dearest? Do you contemplate your own mortality? Do you think people should be more open about it?

Until recently, I wasn't an organ donor, because I just didn't really believe that I might die young! I know that that's daft of me, but... anyway, I put my name on the register today.

This BBC article made me want to ask the question.

If, like me, you don't believe in life after death, does the thought that you will just end one day bother you? It's just not something I can really get my head around. Maybe I shouldn't try. Thoughts?

NOT looking for a discussion about suicide here.

screwjack · 05-20-2009, 11:30 AM

i'm not technically an atheist anymore but I used to be so i'll try to answer. That we only get one chance to make on the world pushes you farther and there is no reason to dwell on mortality as it is probably similar to the state as before you where born.

Sabu · 05-20-2009, 11:31 AM

It doesn't really bother me too much but then again I'm pretty young. I think it all becomes a lot scarier when you get older.

I really should put myself down to be an organ doner the only thing that stops me is I think it may upset my family if they think I've been taken to peices when I die. I've never really talked about any of this to anyone though.

Akane · 05-20-2009, 11:45 AM

Honestly I don't really care or think about it too often. I refuse to act different just because it might get me a different result in death or because there is no result. Whatever happens I will find out or not when I die and dwelling on it does not help me live. What happens after death is simply a passing though to me and then I realize nothing can be proven so I quit wondering. My views or lack of them on death are actually part of the reason I follow no religion. I'm not interested in finding an answer before I die.

Thomas Paine · 05-20-2009, 12:28 PM

I wouldn't try to get your head around it unless you want to become agnostic.

jk

Delacroix · 05-20-2009, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by screwjack

i'm not technically an atheist anymore but I used to be so i'll try to answer. That we only get one chance to make on the world pushes you farther and there is no reason to dwell on mortality as it is probably similar to the state as before you where born.

Exactly. Done is done. It's nice to think that our "spirit" or what have you persists, but really, at least for quite a while now, I've been content with the idea that my time on earth is finite, and I need to make the most of it now. Now, the SA has always been a major roadblock in bringing that plan to fruition, but I think I'm actually OK with the idea that someday, I won't be here.

downbutnotout · 05-20-2009, 01:36 PM

It is a bit of a weird thought, that one day i wont wake up.

I think everyone has had this thought in their lives.

Its like thinking about what is in space. Who knows?

The ironic thing is that i dont like the thought of death, yet living is tough.

I need to do things in life. I hope i get to!

DepecheEyes · 05-20-2009, 01:44 PM

To be honest with you, it sort of fascinates me that one day my sense of self will be gone completely. My consciousness will no longer be. Mind you, I'm not suicidal just that death fascinates me, like a mystery.

Madison_Rose · 05-20-2009, 05:06 PM

Hm, interesting answers. It doesn't really bother me much at the moment, but I think if I ahd a terminal illness, if I were faced with death, I would be terribly afraid to die.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabu

I really should put myself down to be an organ doner the only thing that stops me is I think it may upset my family if they think I've been taken to peices when I die. I've never really talked about any of this to anyone though.

Ooh, and that's really interesting too, I feel a new thread coming on...

CircularThinking · 05-20-2009, 05:18 PM

Bothers me because as far as I'm concerned reality only exists for as long as I'm alive.

Luckily because of that I won't have the luxury of regret when it's over.

Cait Sith · 05-20-2009, 05:20 PM

get yourself frozen and return in a few hundred years or so - ever considered this?

Madison_Rose · 05-20-2009, 05:27 PM

Sabu, I guess it's worth asking your family. They might not be upset by the idea, or they might say "we don't like it, but it's worth it to help somebody else live."

Madison_Rose · 05-20-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CircularThinking

Bothers me because as far as I'm concerned reality only exists for as long as I'm alive.

Luckily because of that I won't have the luxury of regret when it's over.

this post + your username... er...yes... I think my mind is too boggled to say anything sensible about it...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cait Sith

get yourself frozen and return in a few hundred years or so - ever considered this?

I know you can have your head cryogenically frozen, for a price, but I think I'd feel like it was a waste of money. Maybe it isn't, maybe the frozen people will be brought back to life in the future... It would be totally amazing to wake up in the year 3000 and see what it's like. But what if something went wrong? What if I was revitalised brain-damaged, or as a brain in a jar with an eyeball attatched, and used as a lab rat, or something equally horrible? Eeurgh, I'm scaring myself...

CircularThinking · 05-20-2009, 06:15 PM

Quote:

this post + your username... er...yes... I think my mind is too boggled to say anything sensible about it...

You only know reality exists because you can perceive it. From your perspective, before you are born and after you are dead, not only do you not exist but neither does anything else.

If there's absolutely nothing at the end of the tunnel then why wouldn't that bother you? I think a lot of people are confusing bother with worry/fear. It bothers me in the sense that it sucks that I don't have infinite time to be stimulated by my existence, but I don't worry about or fear it because after I'm dead I'm not going to be thinking "Damn I wish I hadn't died."

The only rational reason I can see as for why it wouldn't bother anyone is if their existence was so dull and depressing that it's not worth continuing.

Cerberus · 05-20-2009, 06:52 PM

I agree with Epicurus's take on death: "Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come,we are not."

And its not like we haven't been in such a state or non-state before, as Epicurus pointed out: we were there before we we're born. Death does not bother me.

When I'm dead, it's not like I'll be able to look back on my life and think, "wow! My life was awesome," or,"Wow, my life sucked." I won't be able to reflect on anything, and if I die at a young age suddenly like in a car accident or whatever, it still won't matter all that much because I'll be fu-king dead!!

What's to be afraid of? Immortality would probably get boring because death is what makes life exciting in the first place. Why do people get a rush from doing something fearful like jumping out of a plane or whatever? It's because they could die. Remove the possibility of death, and I don't see what would be exciting about it.

Adrenaline rushes, pain, and so on -- we have these feelings for survival purposes. Without the possibility of death, such things would just be masturbation for the hedonistic or masochistic enjoyment of someone living forever in some after life or on Earth or whatever. And, that would surely get boring after a while.

Perfectionist · 05-20-2009, 08:13 PM

Doesn't bother me. I've accepted it, and it doesn't torment me at all. As mentioned above, I'll just, well, be dead. I won't know the difference, even if I die tomorrow.

Loved ones dying is far more troubling to me.

yellowpaper · 05-20-2009, 08:24 PM

Death weirds me out. I randomly think about it. The thought of dying from a freak accident or something is just crazy. Tomorrow I could just not be here. What's the point in living, when you're just narrowly escaping death, second by second? That's what goes through my head. I'm so afraid to lose the people/animals in my life.

SilentLoner · 05-20-2009, 08:49 PM

It doesn't bother me too much. I find it a bit comforting almost at times. I don't like the thought of missing out on stuff but what can you do?

Once Mark Twain was asked if he feared death. He said that he did not, in view of the fact that he had been dead for billions and billions of years before he was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.

whitesnake87 · 05-20-2009, 09:34 PM

If it makes you feel better, you have always existed and always will. It's not a matter of religion. It's actually science. Your body decays and deteriorates into the environment. Before you were born, all the materials that were required to make you were on this planet. And when you die, all the materials will recycle to create something else.

It sounds frightening at first but it's actually kind of peaceful if you think about it. I hate talking about it because people think I'm crazy or talk nonsense.

Scientists know exactly what your body is made out of. There is carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, iron, copper etc. All those things are found in space and in you. We came from the stars and the stars came from us. That isn't me talking, that is science. (look it up)

CircularThinking · 05-20-2009, 10:18 PM

"You" have only existed forever if you define yourself as the elements that make up your body, something most people don't believe.

I do love knowing that we're all stardust though. Anyone who's interested in the topic should check out some of the interviews of Neil Degrasse Tyson or Michio Kaku.

Tons of videos of them on youtube.

05-20-2009, 10:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
Madison_Rose Status: conservative gay hamster Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United Kingdom Gender: Female Age: 27 Posts: 1,307	Atheists, what do you think of death? [Apologies if this is in the wrong forum] Do you talk about it with your nearest and dearest? Do you contemplate your own mortality? Do you think people should be more open about it? Until recently, I wasn't an organ donor, because I just didn't really believe that I might die young! I know that that's daft of me, but... anyway, I put my name on the register today. This BBC article made me want to ask the question. If, like me, you don't believe in life after death, does the thought that you will just end one day bother you? It's just not something I can really get my head around. Maybe I shouldn't try. Thoughts? NOT looking for a discussion about suicide here. __________________ Freethinker? Skeptic? Agnostic? Atheist? Not sure? www.the-brights.net

05-20-2009, 11:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
screwjack Status: SAS Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pacific NW Gender: Male Posts: 986	i'm not technically an atheist anymore but I used to be so i'll try to answer. That we only get one chance to make on the world pushes you farther and there is no reason to dwell on mortality as it is probably similar to the state as before you where born. __________________ But what exactly is social anxiety? It’s the experience of apprehension or worry that arises from the possibility, either real or imagined, that one will be evaluated or judged in some manner by others.

05-20-2009, 11:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
Akane Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: iowa Gender: Female Age: 24 Posts: 477	Honestly I don't really care or think about it too often. I refuse to act different just because it might get me a different result in death or because there is no result. Whatever happens I will find out or not when I die and dwelling on it does not help me live. What happens after death is simply a passing though to me and then I realize nothing can be proven so I quit wondering. My views or lack of them on death are actually part of the reason I follow no religion. I'm not interested in finding an answer before I die. __________________ Tomorrow’s another day And I am not afraid So bring on the rain http://www.ladyjayes.com/bringonrain.html

05-20-2009, 05:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
Madison_Rose Status: conservative gay hamster Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: United Kingdom Gender: Female Age: 27 Posts: 1,307	Sabu, I guess it's worth asking your family. They might not be upset by the idea, or they might say "we don't like it, but it's worth it to help somebody else live." __________________ Freethinker? Skeptic? Agnostic? Atheist? Not sure? www.the-brights.net

05-20-2009, 06:52 PM	#15 (permalink)
Cerberus Status: SAS Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 5,721	I agree with Epicurus's take on death: "Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come,we are not." And its not like we haven't been in such a state or non-state before, as Epicurus pointed out: we were there before we we're born. Death does not bother me. When I'm dead, it's not like I'll be able to look back on my life and think, "wow! My life was awesome," or,"Wow, my life sucked." I won't be able to reflect on anything, and if I die at a young age suddenly like in a car accident or whatever, it still won't matter all that much because I'll be fu-king dead!! What's to be afraid of? Immortality would probably get boring because death is what makes life exciting in the first place. Why do people get a rush from doing something fearful like jumping out of a plane or whatever? It's because they could die. Remove the possibility of death, and I don't see what would be exciting about it. Adrenaline rushes, pain, and so on -- we have these feelings for survival purposes. Without the possibility of death, such things would just be masturbation for the hedonistic or masochistic enjoyment of someone living forever in some after life or on Earth or whatever. And, that would surely get boring after a while. __________________ "Through the valleys grey Through the shapeless land I walk alone I'm left alone Through the deepest void, a blackened paradise I walk alone, I'm left alone"

05-20-2009, 11:31 AM	#3 (permalink)
Sabu Status: SAS Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: West Mids, UK Gender: Male Age: 24 Posts: 608	It doesn't really bother me too much but then again I'm pretty young. I think it all becomes a lot scarier when you get older. I really should put myself down to be an organ doner the only thing that stops me is I think it may upset my family if they think I've been taken to peices when I die. I've never really talked about any of this to anyone though.

05-20-2009, 12:28 PM	#5 (permalink)
Thomas Paine Status: Fail Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: USA Gender: Male Age: 28 Posts: 1,700	I wouldn't try to get your head around it unless you want to become agnostic. jk

05-20-2009, 01:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
downbutnotout Status: Permanently Banned Join Date: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Age: 22 Posts: 729	It is a bit of a weird thought, that one day i wont wake up. I think everyone has had this thought in their lives. Its like thinking about what is in space. Who knows? The ironic thing is that i dont like the thought of death, yet living is tough. I need to do things in life. I hope i get to!

05-20-2009, 01:44 PM	#8 (permalink)
DepecheEyes Status: Permanently Banned Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 501	To be honest with you, it sort of fascinates me that one day my sense of self will be gone completely. My consciousness will no longer be. Mind you, I'm not suicidal just that death fascinates me, like a mystery.

05-20-2009, 05:18 PM	#10 (permalink)
CircularThinking Status: SAS Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: California Gender: Male Age: 25 Posts: 189	Bothers me because as far as I'm concerned reality only exists for as long as I'm alive. Luckily because of that I won't have the luxury of regret when it's over.

05-20-2009, 05:20 PM	#11 (permalink)
Cait Sith Status: SAS Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: UK Gender: Male Age: 19 Posts: 69	get yourself frozen and return in a few hundred years or so - ever considered this?

05-20-2009, 08:13 PM	#16 (permalink)
Perfectionist Status: Too Cool for School Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: At the Hundredth Meridian Gender: Female Age: 21 Posts: 2,313	Doesn't bother me. I've accepted it, and it doesn't torment me at all. As mentioned above, I'll just, well, be dead. I won't know the difference, even if I die tomorrow. Loved ones dying is far more troubling to me. __________________ -Oh if Hans Christian Anderson could've had his way with me

05-20-2009, 08:24 PM	#17 (permalink)
yellowpaper Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Gender: Female Age: 20 Posts: 696	Death weirds me out. I randomly think about it. The thought of dying from a freak accident or something is just crazy. Tomorrow I could just not be here. What's the point in living, when you're just narrowly escaping death, second by second? That's what goes through my head. I'm so afraid to lose the people/animals in my life.

05-20-2009, 08:49 PM	#18 (permalink)
SilentLoner Status: Otaku Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Lost in thought, though occasionally I may be located at an anime convention. Gender: Female Age: 22 Posts: 2,452	It doesn't bother me too much. I find it a bit comforting almost at times. I don't like the thought of missing out on stuff but what can you do? Once Mark Twain was asked if he feared death. He said that he did not, in view of the fact that he had been dead for billions and billions of years before he was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it. __________________ "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” -Plato "When a cold wind blows it chills you - chills you to the bone. But there's nothing in nature that freezes your heart like years of being alone." OTAKU UNITE! “We honor Dr. Tiller’s legacy of service to women.” Dr. George Tiller 1941 -2009 Memorial Web Page http://www.iamdrtiller.com/ http://www.remembertiller.com/

05-20-2009, 09:34 PM	#19 (permalink)
whitesnake87 Status: SAS Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Behind you... Posts: 40	If it makes you feel better, you have always existed and always will. It's not a matter of religion. It's actually science. Your body decays and deteriorates into the environment. Before you were born, all the materials that were required to make you were on this planet. And when you die, all the materials will recycle to create something else. It sounds frightening at first but it's actually kind of peaceful if you think about it. I hate talking about it because people think I'm crazy or talk nonsense. Scientists know exactly what your body is made out of. There is carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, iron, copper etc. All those things are found in space and in you. We came from the stars and the stars came from us. That isn't me talking, that is science. (look it up)

05-20-2009, 10:18 PM	#20 (permalink)
CircularThinking Status: SAS Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: California Gender: Male Age: 25 Posts: 189	"You" have only existed forever if you define yourself as the elements that make up your body, something most people don't believe. I do love knowing that we're all stardust though. Anyone who's interested in the topic should check out some of the interviews of Neil Degrasse Tyson or Michio Kaku. Tons of videos of them on youtube.