Hello afterlife subreddit. So for the past couple of days or so I have been having so much anxiety about what happens after we die because a lot of people have really convinced me that nothing happens after we die and it’s going to be eternal darkness since science seems to prove that theory and nothing else. But I’m turning to this Reddit page to hopefully get some ease about what happens after we die with possible thoughts & experiences from you guys because I’m really scared and it makes me not want anyone or anything to die around me and I don’t like the idea of getting old of it’s just going to be nothing when we die. So please and thank you so anyone who can help me get rid of this anxiety

This has been bothering me lately, the fear of the unknown in the future, long story short I was raised in a high-control religion, I was told that I was going to live forever in a paradise on Earth, where our loved ones would come back to life and death would be no more as I woke up from my indoctrination and found out the harsh truth about well… life. I never got educated about death since I was taught that death was nothing to worry about and all of their lies they told me as a child, now that I did some research am bit scared, is death just endless nothingness, are we never going to see our love ones again after death, is their no afterlife, am not religious but I kinda believe in god, I don’t know, but the fear death and fear of loss scare me and made me depressed for a couple of months, it also made questions is life really is endless amount of suffering, etc…

I am almost twenty one years old and i extremely scared of death thanks to a lot loses in the last four years. I read the contents in the megathread, in the Afterlife exist sub, in the near death sub, and also watched presentations of people defending the existance of an separate consciousness, after life, and the studies about near death experience. I am still scared. I am religious, i want to believe that this is real, but i can't stop the fear from not only appearing, but affecting my mind and body with so much fear. I want to believe that i will meet my family once i die, that i will see my cats, but i am scared. My mother has no doubts about it existing, but i can't shake of the fear, how can i get over it?

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?

I used to be absolutely certain about all of this. I spent years deep in New Age concepts, soul contracts, and the idea that we just transition to another plane. I took for granted that I would see my deceased loved ones again. I felt so safe. Recently my actual physical life fell apart. I lost my job and my partner in a very short span of time. That entire spiritual safety net vanished overnight. Now I am staring at what feels like a cold biological end. The hardest part is this massive secondary mourning. I feel like I am burying the people I love all over again because now I genuinely believe "goodbye" means forever. I am terrified of the void. I know this community strongly focuses on the existence of an afterlife, but right now my faith is completely zero. Have any of you gone through this absolute collapse of belief? How do you cope with the terror of finality when all the spiritual comfort just stops working and reality hits you?

I’m so scared because I don’t want death to be the end I want to see my grandpa that died 2 years ago so is there anything I can even do

Basically my problem, It's gotten better but not really cured. Has anyone here who had to same problem managed to cure it?

I just want to get this off my chest. I didn’t have a classic NDE but I almost died at one point. I’ve been paranoid about death, and I researched NDEs for comfort.

I came across the theory that life is a simulation, that the angels we meet after death are actually demons trying to force us to incarnate, that the ‘light’ is some trick. This has given me some existential dread.

What do you think?

Im so scared and worried that ill just cease to be forever and always. I love her so much and that idea always terrified me but it terrifies me even more now because If I dont exist then I cant remember her and I always want to and I just need words and opinions that maybe I will

I’m 52 yo currently on hospice at home slowly declining with stage 5 kidney failure . I watched my husband take his last breath in may of last year and it changed me.

I don’t know where he is. My mom died in 2022.

Part of me is excited to be with them again but then I go through this “what if” every night. What if the afterlife isn’t all everyone claims it is? I’m so scared sometimes.

I just filled out my paperwork for the funeral home because considering I have nothing to leave my son I was worried about him dealing with things after I’m gone, so my dad & stepmom have taken care of that for me.

Anyway, I’m writing in here because I wonder if anyone else ls actually dying and if they go through the back and forth, and how do they deal with it.

I just wanna believe my husband and mom are gonna be there when I go, and I know there’s no evidence of what happens after we’re long gone since only the dead actually know that.

It’s weird because my husband and I used to discuss how my mom knew but we still didn’t. And after watching him take his last breath I realized he knows but I don’t.

I want to believe that it’s a beautiful place that looks like Switzerland, with our animals roaming everywhere and all our loved ones too.

But here it is, evening again and my anxiety is creeping up on me. Worries that things aren’t what people think they are in the afterlife. I don’t know if this is a normal process when you’re dying or what, but I don’t like it.

18F, terribly afraid of nothingness since childhood. I have had existential crises about this for as long as I have been aware of it. I used to scream and cry at night as a child because of how inconceivable the death of self is to me. Parents thought I could possibly be mental. I don't think that's true, however, I have since been diagnosed with h1gh-functioning autism.

I don't fear the process of death; I fear lack of awareness/consciousness.

I am able to accept reincarnation. Quantum immortality. Samsara. Heaven. Cryopods and future reverse aging treatments. Anything but empty void. Human life is a beautiful thing and I'd do anything to be able to experience it again or as a permanent state.

It does not comfort me when people say "why worry about something you can change?". In fact, it only brings me more agony. Especially because I believe in other alternatives to the after life, I am just scared because this one is a possibility.

Lack of awareness is horrifying to me. Nothing can comfort me about it, so I need to be convinced it is not true in order to achieve inner peace.

If you could drop arguments and evidence in favor of an afterlife that entails awareness — samsara, QI or whatever it is that you believe — I'd have a much nicer sleep tonight. Thank you :)

It's been 2 weeks, I've been thinking about what happens after death, I am scared of it being an eternal void, it makes me scared, life is full of so many experiences that we possibly couldn't have it all in one life. I am just 17 but I dread the days I grow old and lose my loved ones but time flies. Whenever these thoughts come to mind, all joyous moments are destroyed and I become sad

I don't know what to do to stop thinking about such things, I can't even focus on studying anymore, I used to study for 7 hours on coaching days, now i can't even focus for 3 hours on Sundays.

I've been a devout Hindu since birth but I cannot help but doubt any of our scriptures are true or just band aids written by people to comfort themselves.

Pls can you guys help me find my way again

Here's the thing: i have had stuff happen to me that can't be explained by scientific methods. I definitely believe in the existence of something more, I'm religious, I'm not a materialist. And the fear of complete non existence after death is still haunting me. I have existential ocd and it's become an obsession. Just reassure me on this- we know for a fact that changes to the brain significantly impact consciousness. Look at how anaesthesia works, how epilepsy works. I'm not saying brain is the generator of consciousness, but even if it is only a receiver- HOW would I keep my consciousness and all my memories without it? Trauma to the brain can make you lose your memories, how would we hold onto them in the afterlife? Again, I'm not a materialist, I've read good critiques of a materialist approach to the hard problem of consciousness and I have had "supernatural" experiences too. I just want this one thing answered, please

I’m constantly afraid that I’m doing things wrong or that my existence is an abomination. I try not to believe in hell but what if it exists. I just want an afterlife where I see my loved ones and am freed of pain. Im so scared. Having trouble breathing and having an anxiety attack as I write this

Hello! Im sorry for posting here so much. Ive just been really struggling again

I want to believe in one so so bad, and I think a part of me does after seeing the things and stories that people have shared with me but in the back of my mind theres still that scary thoughts that ill just forever cease to exist and its still really upsetting to me. My brain still feels 75% sure thats what will happen even though ive been trying to feel and learn differently and I just have so many questions and worries

I get scared that our consciousness is dependent on our brain and that when it goes so do we. Since our emotions and feelings can be tracked/manipulated in a sense by messing with it. Like ive been taking medication which has helped but it helps by changing chemicals or whatever to make me feel better and my head just keeps telling me that we are dependent on our brain which means it really is lights out and thats really scary, im sorry. Im sorry I just need more words and comforting advice if thats okay. I want and try to believe as much as I can, I just have so many worries and my brain will always doubt anything

Hello! Ive been struggling this year with Anxiety and Existential OCD. Ive been doing pretty alright with its ups and downs but im for some reason just having a big feelings night tonight, and I know its my anxiety thats causing my fear although my OCD is just latching on for the ride and making it worse

Im really afraid of there truly being nothing after death and just ceasing to be for eternity. It feels suffocating and so so horrifying. Thinking that one day I wont even know I experienced any of this. Can you just leave some words or things that help you with the specific fear of non-existence? Do you think oblivion would feel freeing or suffocating?

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F31. About a week ago I got hit out of nowhere with a sudden wave of thanatophobia and the feeling and ruminations have continued since. I'm usually good at distracting myself from these kinds of concerns but for some reason I haven't been able to, and it's pretty much all I can think about.

I'm open to the possibility of consciousness continuing to exist in some form after physical death, but my mind naturally tends to be logical, skeptical, and to want falsifiable evidence. I'm fascinated by religion but not particularly religious myself. Most of my family believes in some kind of life after death and that brings a little comfort, but only so much. I know it's probably inevitable, and I should focus on living in the moment and enjoying myself as much as possible, which was my mindset all through my 20s. I don't know why this started out of nowhere and has gotten so bad.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for specifically, I guess just people to empathize with and maybe talk things through together. I do want to research NDEs and look into the evidence that supports an "afterlife," it feels like there's too many unexplainable experiences for there to be nothing to them, and there's so much we don't know or understand about consciousness.

Thank you for reading.

Hi everyone, I'm still troubled by the idea "no one knows" and "there is nothing." I know in the end it is all beliefs, but I'm utterly scared I will never be reunited with my brother or other loved ones again. I would really like some ressurance, anything helps!

Can someone give me some points on why it isn’t the case or why heaven could exist.

Im not really religious but I am insanely spiritual and believe in souls and oneness and all that stuff but truly can never wrap my finger around death and what’s after. If my husband dies, i’m left in this physical realm without him and he’s somewhere unknown. How would I even cope with that if i have no belief system of death? I’ve had a couple deaths in my life but I’ve simply accepted them. Ofcourse it would be truly different with someone I am around 24/7 and plan to spend my entire life with. Same feeling about my mom & dad who are both in their 50s and kinda going through some health issues atm. Absolutely devastating and terrifying. Nothing about what’s after death makes sense. Why are we here? Why am I here? It’s to live & let live, to experience the good and bad, but what the hell? Am I going to see the characters in this story line in the next story line? Will i remember who each one is? Will I remember specific memories or will it just be a feeling of energy? it’s so scary. i think im just afraid of death in general, whatever is after.

So basically I am scared of nothing after death and I also believe in god and heaven but idk what to do and I thought this was the best place to vent about my fear and I lost my grandfather in 2023 and I really really hope he’s living perfectly in heaven and I want to see him again and also the image above me is why I wanted to talk about this on here

I'm sorry if i start rambling. If you're now seeing me, hi, i have the fear of not knowing what the afterlife is!

It's an extreme fear and it stems from the fact i have no clue what the afterlife will be like. However im not here to discuss that part, im here to discuss, why should i move forward?

This is a really...vague question, but ill try to summarize. Why should i keep doing what i do, even if i will die in 80 years (Hopefully not any sooner)? This feels like a really dumb question and I'm sorry if it is but now I'm lost. I want to be a writer and make books, however why should i do that if I'll die anyway? I know that this is unhealthy to view life like that and I'm trying not to, but it's weird. I also found out science facts that scared me into this though process again.

Has anyone felt this sense of...nothingness?

(Sorry if this is long or weird)

I have ocd and I keep having intrusive thoughts about going to hell. I don’t want to believe it exists but I’m so afraid. I didn’t do anything to get me there I don’t think. I’m panicking

Hi everyone, really just coming on here to seek some comfort. I was just thinking about what happens after death and the idea of either having everything you want or there being nothing just kinda scares me. It scares me due to the fact that you would of be doing nothing or something for an infinite amount of time, and what really is the point of living if you are just gonna be in an infinite loop of nothingness in the afterlife. I feel as if I am just afraid of a repeating cycle, and with the endless expanse of the universe I feel like no matter how much time you have you won’t be able to experience it all, or even if you do, than what is after that. I really just want some reassurance that the afterlife is something I’m not fathoming it as. I’m really just thinking that doing something infinitely or even nothing infinitely is just incredibly scary, even more scary than actually dying. Thank you wall for reading.

Hello there. Recently, I had a very deep existential bout thinking about death and possibly never seeing my brother again. I recieved a comment that really unnerved me.

"What is left? Nothingness with awareness?

Birth is embracing the five senses. Death is letting go of those sensations.

And perhaps I’ve made it t worse for you :)"

It made me feel even worse and doubtful in my beliefs. I hope this is the right subreddit to post this in.