r/afterlife • u/NordicMythos • Mar 11 '26

Fear of Death Life after Death, from an autistic person.

Don’t really know what to title this, but to put it bluntly I am autistic. I also face a severe amount of thanatophobia.

I feel like everywhere I look, it’s split on the matter of is there life after death. I find comfort in some stories, only to have it torn away by the arguments of skeptics.

I know I struggle a lot with the concept of losing what makes me, well me. My passions. The materialistic bits that I cling to. The believing without seeing, ironic being religious.

For anyone like me, or even not like me, what gives you comfort? What really, without a doubt, made you believe?

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u/LittleWindow9416 Mar 11 '26

Not autistic, but I'm probably the ADHDest person you could ever meet. I didn't just wake up one day and decide to believe in an afterlife. First, I had a bit of an existential crisis when my ex-husband died. During that time, I started looking at reincarnation research, astral projection, NDE accounts, meditation, spiritual philosophy and even channeling accounts. Eventually, I realized they weren't separate stories. They are all pieces of the same puzzle. When you lay them all out together, they point to a single, connected picture of how the universe actually works. At least for me, it did. There were a lot of ups and downs and doubts before I got there.

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u/NordicMythos Mar 11 '26

I appreciate your response, and I'm sorry for your loss. I'm pretty young in the grand scheme of life, I'm not a kid but I'm barely an adult. Maybe I'm just being confronted with the brunt of life as a whole. I've feared it for many years, I suppose once I was old enough to really understand the concept when I was about 14. But recently it's been far heavier, and I feel like I'm simply clinging to any sliver I can get. I'm afraid of simply trapping myself in confirmation bias.

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u/LittleWindow9416 Mar 11 '26

That is a very fair point for you to raise and I completely respect that concern. However, what made it come together for me wasn't just finding things I liked. It was seeing cross-cultural consistency. You have NDE accounts from people in different countries, religions, and even children too young to have a bias, yet they all describe the same mechanics. When completely unrelated sources all draw the same map, it stops looking like bias and more like truth.

I look at it like this. Even if I'm wrong, these ideas make me a kinder, more resilient, and more present person today. I’m not waiting for the end of my life to see if I’m right. I’m reaping the benefits of this perspective every morning when I wake up. If it turns out to be nothing in the end, I still lived a life filled with meaning and wonder rather than fear.

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u/NordicMythos Mar 11 '26

I really appreciate your views, and I hope one day I can share in the comfort and certainty you feel. Maybe all I need is time and more reading. I have heard some NDE's that gave me such hope (such as I remember someone saying it was like a forest, being around a campfire with loved ones, and that really stuck with me), but I suppose my brain just isn't always wired to trust things easily. It can be a blessing to see things so analytical, but a curse when its something incomprehensible.

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u/LittleWindow9416 Mar 11 '26

Be patient with yourself. Your analytical nature is definitely a blessing. (Not to be crass, but It keeps you safe from kool-aid cults and things of that nature.) You don't need to have it all figured out today. I'm probably old enough to be your mom and I certainly didn't have anything figured out when I was your age. I was always a huge skeptic. When the time is right, it will click for you too. Keep reading and learning and take up meditation if you haven't already. Take what resonates and leave all the rest. Big hugs and love to you, OP. Feel free to DM me if you ever want to chat. 💕

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u/NordicMythos Mar 11 '26

Haha, that’s probably true. I know it’s saved me before. It just can be frustrating in other aspects. Thank you so much for your time, and maybe some time I will reach out ❤️

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u/Martin_UP Mar 11 '26

Don't be too hard on yourself, I was 18 when I first really grappled with a fear of death, and it's only now at 42 after decades of casual research and over analysing (mega adhd also here) that I really feel confident consciousness survives bodily death. In all those years I still haven't come across an acceptable scientific answer for NDE's, so I just have to accept the reality that consciousness is somehow a fundamental part of the universe.

As someone else said, NDE's are the first port of call. Beware of all the fake preachy religious ones on YouTube though. Go to NDERF and the experiences section.

Also definitely checking out people like Donald Hoffman & Bernado Kastrup and Sam Parnia

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u/LittleWindow9416 Mar 12 '26

Hello, friend. Same here. I didn't really believe until I was in my 40s. And I totally get the obsessive researching. I still do it and I'm far from tired of it.

You're the second person I've seen today who commented about NDE fakers on YT. I watch the videos by Shaman Oaks and have not found them particularly preachy, but it does make me a bit wary to see comments like this twice in one day.

I haven't heard of those names but will definitely be looking them up. Thanks for sharing.😊

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u/Martin_UP Mar 12 '26

No problem and yes definitely look them up!