How do you cope with knowing you will die?

[nemo37]

VGPolyglot said:

nemo37 said:
I am in the same boat as the OP with regards to how I view death. I know some comfort themselves with spirituality (namely with concepts of the afterlife or a rebirth) and/or focus on their life so that they do not think of death; however, for me, even the possibility of losing consciousness (no awareness, no dreams, etc.) forever, because I no longer exist is maddening to think about. I try not to think about it, but when I do...oh boy...

Yeah, it's very difficult for me as well, I remember having a few spurts when it was especially bad where I was depressed for months and essentially had no motivation to do anything.

In my case, I started to think more of death about 6 years back. I was in the final year of high school with lots of pressure regarding getting accepted into university, my Mom got diagnosed with cancer, and I had several members of my extended family pass away within close range of each other, and on top of that I was at a point where I was also coming to terms with being gay. It got me to a point of extreme stress and anxiety and constantly thinking about death and some times even suicide. Thankfully, my situation did improve. My Mom, thankfully, got better and is now cancer free and I went through the initial phase of my University education successfully (my sexuality is something that I have still not fully dealt with, but I am coping with it a little better). I still do have bouts of depression and intense anxiety, albeit a lot less frequently now, and when they hit it brings along all the thoughts and anxieties regarding death, which just leads to further downward spiral with regards to mood and even functioning. The only way to get myself out of it is by trying to distract myself with something else.