I’ve been having panic attacks around dying lately I’m only 24

I don't think its so much that death pisses me off, its more like it pisses me off that the world will keep going without me. Selfish I know.

I just turned 19 and I have been experiencing panic attacks lately. I am scared of the inevitability of death.

People should talk/ponder about Death more often...

Many years ago I was depressed because I feared death, I was trying to imagine what's nothingness, and that scared me in an unimaginable way, and made me severely depressed, after days and days, maybe weeks (I don't know how much that lasted, I lost the notion of time), of thinking about this from waking up to falling asleep, basically constantly only thinking about this for days and days. A thought comforted me and made me feel at peace and be able to live my life as before, happily, and that thought was that, I'm alive now, I'm conscious now, I don't know what consciousness is, i don't know why my consciousness is in this particular body, this particular brain, or basically not knowing anything, but I know that I exist, that I think, and before I was alive, conscious, I didn't existed, or maybe I was, but eventually i died and re-emerged, but after I will die in this life, I will not exist again, so there will be the same conditions before I was born, and since the universe also came out of nothing seemingly, and time as well, even after the universe might die, there could be many universes, and many that might just come to exist, so basically if the same conditions will be met before I was born, and I don't think there's something that keeps track of what consciousness emerged and died (you see what I'm getting at), what would prevent my consciousness from re-emerging eventually ? However recently probably because of this pandemic and isolation, I guess I forgot that chain of thought and started to be depressed again, I had a fear of death, it wasn't not even 2% as crippling or bad as before, but still the thought is there again, I was trying to imagine that, anything I do in this life won't matter and maybe I won't re-emerge, and that not existing again that thought is terrifying. Now I feel in sort of limbo, not super depressed but not my normal mood where I can just be happy and not think about it, I'd say 95% of the day I think about day to day and am able to be happy, and 5% or less are thoughts of my mortality. The problem is that all of it makes sense to me, that the conditions will be the same before my consciousness emerged so there's nothing that holds my consciousness back to re-emerge, basically live again in another form, and not to mention that everything that exists will always exist, in other forms, there's also the idea that energy cannot be created or destroyed, matter can, there's matter and antimatter, when they collide, they stop being matter, but it doesn't disappear, it becomes energy, so in a sense, the universe is just this energy that will always exist in one way or the other and there might be other universes, basically this energy is some sort of "god", even that name means nothing to me, I can only convince myself to believe something if I see it, experience it. So for now it's a terrifying thought, it makes sense that I will live again in some form or way, from but since I never experienced it, it's still an unknown to me and it is scary, and I can only assume it will become more scary as I grow older. I hope that my mind will become less sharp and I will forget these thoughts. One thing is certain, there is nothing I can do about it, if I fear it, it will not change anything, so the choice is between, live in fear, unhappy, or live happily and not think about it, but lately I did start to think about it again. This is the reason I didn't want to have kids but now maybe I wanna, I was thinking they will be doomed to death, but maybe it's a conscious that existed before and I will re-emerge them, or maybe there's just one consciousness (you/me), and "we' live parallel to each other, everyone's lives, which is basically just one consciousness interacting with itself, but without knowing, in parallel. So I would give life to myself, I'd re-emerge another life for myself. I don't have strong conclusions tbh, I have an intuition that we will live over and over but I never experienced it, or maybe i have and I don't know. Everything about existence is hard for me to understand, I should say, it's impossible for me to understand, there are some concepts that are just out of reach to my mind and I know I will and we will never be able to understand them.

Terrified of death.. Just thinking about it makes me sad, because I can't imagine nothing. There is always tought, feeling, desire for something while alive..

very very important to face and figure out this while you still can. believe me, I have been sick for 17 years.

This is such an important message! I definitely don't want to die in a hospital of old age but at home surrounded by family anf familiar comforts

I have learned that I have lung cancer but I don't want to go through the treatments since I am old sixty five years old and, I have no friends or family members and I am homless now so I am going to let God take me home 🏠 and then be there with my mom and dad ☮️🙏🌎

i like how he's chuckling as well as the audience its nice to see people bond like this over the idea of death

I am struggling with obsessive toughts about death and started to watch tv show about hospitals where death is always one of the principal caracters. Like the last sentences of this video, it brings acceptance of the fact that the death exists but it also gives me the feeling that every life matters and our death doesn`t men that all is in vain

2 words that scare me the most, Nothing, and Forever. Combine them both and it's my biggest fear.

I’m just 16 and I can’t sleep at night because the thought of death terrifies me. I hate fearing it and I hate knowing that it’s gonna happen.

I love life more after watching this

I cannot imagine working in intensive care. Thank you for what you do.

I was absolutely with him on everything until he spoke about Euthanasia. How can he be opposed to it when he immediately says "I do think most people want to have some control over how their dying process procedes" right after disapproving of it? This is precisely what Euthanasia is for. Giving dying patients the option to end their own lives in a controlled, safe manner.

I see what you mean, and it's comforting words. I would like to always think like that. but since the single outcome of it all is death, you start to questioning the value of it all. This is as I said earlier a very sensitive subject, and I guess everyone have to find their own peace with it, and accept it. I have a hard time accepting it though.

I've got Queen stuck in my head: "...Who wants to live forever?..." I don't. I want to live as long as I can while I have a reasonably good quality of life. I have talked about this with my fiance' and dad and it's a hard talk, but something that everything should do.

I'm scared of not existing anymore... but i have been non existent longer than I will have existed... which is crazy to think about, really. Man, I really just don't want to die. And thats crazy to think about, too, cause I used to be suicidal. Now, id do anything to live forever...

what an important video and discussion! i cannot believe the comments here. im caring for my father on hospice for two years. he is about to die. believe me, i would not allow him to die in the hell of intensive care..ever!!

Personally I really don't want to die. For me personally, there seems to be nothing worse than being nothing.

im deathly scared of death.

this helped

Just make your mark in the best way you can and it does get a little easier when it comes to thinking about your own death. Be part of something and be somebody, even if you do fear death a lot, you can at least get some peace from what you have done while you were here, and how many people you have touched, doing one thing for someone can change their life forever. Also contemplate your existence, work out the odds of you existing in the first place and how lucky you are to exist at all. :)

This talk is quite amazing. I did a random search and this talk popped up. Here I am just having come back from visiting my 97 yr old Mum who has had yet another fall and undergone treatment. It breaks my heart to see her condition deteriorate. It's as though we are watching her die in slow motion and are helpless in so many respects. I pray that our merciful God will take her peacefully. I was really hoping that this talk could go on much longer as the subject is so relevant to us and stopped just short of giving us some coping skills. I have often pondered that the precise day that a child is born can be predicted fairly accurately but the how and when death comes knocking is such a mysterious and traumatic event. It's almost a flaw by design?

I have accepted death, and then rejected it. Death is not for me, will find a way around it.

This is so helpful my husband is dying of weak heart and failing kidneys and he was given a choice to make the decision and was respected I live in BC and I am grateful we are doing what you suggested was helpful to me

I don't think we should be worrying about death in itself as its a natural thing to go through. I think we should be more worried about the process leading up to death, and this all varies depending on which way you die. If its a slow and painful death, sure it's gonna be terrifying. But if its a quick or peaceful slow death, definitely not. If we look at death as being this void of emptiness, our mind is going to make it look worse than it actually is, as its incomprehensible to the human brain. It's quite frankly the polar opposite of what life represents, so of course it's going to be very tough to think about. Also, if it's a natural death, I believe there are chemicals in the brain that can render the way you feel about it. Really nothing to worry about.

So true. I want to know what happens after I'm gone! Like what humanity's fate will be in the future. It's so sad that I'll never know.

Death doesn't scare me. It's what's after death that does

I don't understand life or the value of life. It's something I've been trying to understand but maybe...

I can't stand people who think that just because they don't want certain choices, e.g. euthanasia, they shouldn't be available to those who do want them.

I'm constantly terrified by it, not of death itself but of the choices I've made and the ones I'll never be able to make. We are frail beings in a very hostile universe.

Peter Saul simply wants us to help make ethical and moral dilemmas for providers, families, and patients easier to work through. Very often their are situations where the dilemma can not truly be taxing on family or the providers moral and ethical values, depending on the situation of the patient. Having a thought out plan of what kind of treatment and whether or not you want certain treatments could actually be a very simple way to ensure everyone doesn't come to a dilemma at all. In a situation the core idea is to not undermine the patients autonomy and make sure they get what they want out the last parts of their life. If a situation arouse such as a sudden illness that put a patient in a comma and they don't have the ability to decide, then all the stress and power relies on the family, many problems could obviously stem from determining who makes the final decisions. What you would do in that situation may be different than what the patient may actually want, based on our individual beliefs. So considering have a set established plan could really benefit everyone by putting the patients values first.

The most interesting thing to me, about death, we STILL don't know where our energy goes....

If u spend all time worrying about death you will never get to enjoy being alive

You're dying? Better call Saul

A person who suffers before it's necessary, suffers more than necessary. Live your life to the fullest till you are here. When it's time, it's time.

I work in an ER. I told my coworkers I only want 15 minutes of CPR if I have a witnessed arrest and immediate resuscitation. Otherwise, let me go. My wife knows my wishes as well. My mother had a large stroke in 2007, and I knew her wishes. Same with grandpa. They all died peacefully with family around them. They had great deaths. I would like mine to be one as well. I don’t know when I’ll die, but I know how I don’t want to die.

“There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this will have been for naught. Maybe that time is coming soon and maybe it is millions of years away, but even if we survive the collapse of our sun, we will not survive forever. There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be time after. And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that’s what everyone else does." John Green, TFIOS

I may have cirrhosis and Have no plans about treating it but these talks have been really helping me with my eventual death

I'm so late to this but this is what I needed so many people I can relate to. I too fear death I mean it just sucks how we get to live only a couple years and then for all of the rest of eternity it's just nothing. I really like living and it's sad one day I won't be able to hangout with friends or family, to play video games, waiting for a season 2 of my favourite anime. These are all the reasons I don't ever want to die and the fear of death just won't leave me alone it practically plagues my everyday life. I hope I am able to find peace in death eventually.

We just had a large discussion about death in our ethics course. I think a it's really interesting topic when you dive in to it, like Peter Saul has done here. We talked about the case of Jahi McMath. It's a heart wrenching story about a young girl who had some serious complications during an elective surgery. She was declared brain dead by her doctors on December 12, 2013. Her family disagreed however, and insisted that she be kept on life support. This all happened in California, and when the courts finally decided that she should be taken off of life support because she was brain dead, her family had her moved to New Jersey, where the differing laws would allow them to keep her on life support indefinitely. She finally passed away from liver failure in 2018. So, who's job is it to decide when a person has officiallly died? What if someone disagrees? As Peter Saul already pointed out, we have the technology to keep the bodies of people who's brains have died "alive." But at what cost? When does keeping a person alive in that that state start to deviate from "do no harm?" This video is something I believe everyone should see. There are much, much better ways to die than in the hospital. Somewhat ironically, I think as we've gotten better and better and fighting off death, we've grown to fear it more and more. I'm young, so this is still a far away concept for me personally, but I wonder if there isn't room in our society for more embracing of death's place in our lives? It is a part of life, just like any other hardship we might face. We've improved so many stigmas around mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, race, and so much more in our modern society. Maybe it's time we take on some of the stigmas around death as well.

As I have not worried to be born, I do not worry to die.

I'm very scared. I don't want to die. I don't want to be nothing. I'm so scared right now and crying. I don't want to die!!!!

I'm just terrified of what comes after I never wake up again. What if it's nothing? As someone who believes in science it's terrifying to lean towards the stance of there being nothing at the end of death. By nothing I don't mean darkness, or a void, but nothing. The same nothing that was there before you were born. What's the point of living a long healthy life, or being good to others, or having any moral standard if the end of your life will lead to the same terrifying place. You won't even remember that good life you have, because you don't have a brain to remember. You won't be you, you'll be nothing. Even if things like reincarnation exist you still will die because you don't have those memories that make you who you are, and eventually the universe will end too because it can't go on forever. I can't stand the thought of not existing and to never exist again. The best thing I can hope for is an afterlife, but I have no way to be certain that it exist. At the same time, if I was conceived but not born would I exist? Would I skip that life and move to another? Would I just continue to be nothing? It's terrifying. I don't want to leave the universe never to return, never to exist. Immortality won't save anyone because this planet will cease to exist at some point. Similar to death, amnesia is just as scary, because it's another form of death. You cease to exist as someone else takes your life just to live in the same terror of death. I want to be able to cope with my mortality, but I just can't. I want to die being happy that I'm dying, that there's more light at the end of my tunnel, that I will either be reborn if the universe restarts, or if I can select the life I want to live next, or if I can go back and relive my life with my current memories. I want to keep existing in a universe that will eventually cease to exist. If I die and make the world a better place, what's the point if I don't know that the world is a better place while I'm dead? I can do my best to make my family happy but if I'm dead I won't know they're happy because I'm no more. I'm gone, unable to know what the world will look like because of me. Sometimes I wish I didn't exist so I couldn't think of this stuff, or I was born an animal without the knowledge of mortality. Just because humans can understand mortality doesn't mean we go to a different place from where the other organisms go when they die. I'm just scared, because nothing I do will make me feel any better about dying, whether I win a Nobel Peace Prize or if I live a criminal life, because we're all equal in death. We're all nothing.

i am going to turn 18 soon and this has been haunting me, for a long while now. death scares me the most. like what? you keep existing and one day you suddenly wont? no thanks- my heart just becomes heavy and i start shivering and i get the feeling that all my organs are fragile when i think about this. let's not even get started about the nightmares.

In western cultures we promote fear of death by keeping it a taboo subject. People are visibly uncomfortable when I bring the subject up but it does not discourage me from talking about it. I am committed to talking about death preparations with people around me in the hope that we can eventually breath down this taboo. I don't care if people think I'm morbid or weird I will continue as I know that everyone that I talk to will gain at least a small benefit from the conversation, and it may even help them have a conversation with their loved ones.

"You matter because you are, and you matter to the last moment of your life" And, do you still matter once you're dead?

I really want to give a Ted talk about death, why we view it the way we do, why we care so much about death and why we fear it, how it came to be that way. I think it’d be a really fun experience

According to the law of conservation of energy, energy neither be created nor be destroyed but just transformed from one form to another. I lost my father today but i know that not a bit of him is lost. He is just less orderly. His consciousness cease to exist. This scientific perspective on death made me accept that death isn't something to be feared but just an inevitable part of life.

Accepting the inevitability of your own death is so liberating and empowering. I'm going to die someday, whether I worry about it or not; and I used to worry about death a lot. Accepting your death means appreciating your life and trying to fully experience as much as you can. Accepting death means that I don't waste time on resentment or regret, I resolve things or I move on to what's next. But also I think euthanasia is an extremely important choice that people should have access to, no matter how few ultimately use it. Many people get the prescription and don't end up using it, but what they do get is the feeling of peace and control from knowing that it's there if they need it.

I can understand your point of view also but think about humanity as it stands now and how far we have come from say... 1000 years ago, progression happens when people that are willing to share their views and ideas. We all live in our own personal worlds, trapped within our nervous systems but when we reach out and help each other that stuff stays with people, think of all people as a collective, what you put in that benefits others does come back to you. U live on through people that remain...

People keep living in others memories and its important to remember what they did and how they influenced others.

I may have lung cancer but 🤔 I'm grateful to have had a wonderful life and, good friends ❤️

I'm 14 years old and I've only been having panic attacks about death since I was 5 I'm trying my hardest to accept it but right now I'm in the middle of my longest one I watched this to help me

I am quite comfortable about talking about my own death. Nothing is permanent. I’m 74yrs old, I don’t feel that old, but I’m a realist, it’s going to happen & soon rather later. I have an end of life plan. I have spoken to those I’ve nominated to act on my behalf. G 🦋☯️

I’ve been thinking and like crying over death for the past couple of weeks actually and I know for a fact I’m not afraid of how I die or when more so what happens after death? Of course you can say nothing but what is nothing? What exactly is nothing? Like how it was before we where born? But what was that? It was really just like we where unconscious but I don’t...ughhh I can’t wrap my head around it it doesn’t make sense

It shouldn't be though. We're all going to die. We all know that, we've always known that. so why is something that is 100 % going to happen to everyone such a taboo?

I’m going to die in my seventies, I think. My father and two of his brothers did so. I know to be realistic about treatments when my health falters.

Recently there has been a reason to believe a tumor in my head came back. Ive been having insane nerve pain, and if th MRI shows up with a tumor, I could die. Im 16. Im a straight A student and i want to do my part for this world. I want to adopt a kids and make their life a bit better, feed people on the streets, save people pursecuted by injustice. But if I die, all of it goes to waste. If my tumor kills me, what life do i leave behind

What pisses me off is the Experiences that are gained from the whole lifetime, just... Ploop, gone like a flushed turd in a toilet. You want proof of how bad this is to humanity? Imagine all written literature is gone. Nothing left but people, no movies, no audio, we have to start from scratch. How much of this information that has been garnered over BILLIONS of lifetimes will never be brought to life, because they died? THAT is what pisses me off about death.

one way which might be helpful in getting rid of a fear of death could maybe be to log off your computer for a while. or your phone. when you have unlimited resources to answer your questions about death and mortality, it really makes you think a lot about your life and how meaningless it is. but if you just enjoy being yourself, and be comfortable in your own body, in your own time, you might find some acceptance within yourself without the need to constantly google questions like "im scared of dying" etc.

I think the antidote to death is to make oneself eternal, and that can be done by making stuff that will outlive you like writing some interesting piece or winning a medal, etc. Your kids and grandkids will remember you for some hundred years or less, but your productions and achievements will eternalize you forever especially if they benefit humanity.

It's not the dying I fear as much as the pain and discomfort associated with it.

"The death rate for males in Australia has halved" - umm the death rate is 100% for everyone

It's exciting but only because it's a part of life, it's another thing that makes life living in the first place. It means you don't know when, you don't know where or how you'll die but you know that you will, which means you've got to do your best to enjoy every second until then.

I think it is more important to worry about how much your are putting into life and what you are getting out of it than living in fear about the inevitable. Just get out there and make some mark in your community and care for the people that you can help and truly appreciate the people that care for you. Take time to think about things and enjoy life as much as you can. Yeah you'll die, it is a little scary too but what is scarier is wasting what you have and doing nothing while you have chance.

I'm more afraid of the pain and misery before death...idc about actually not waking up

My wife died via bee colony attack so this video makes me feel better

You well never feel more peace

This talk is depressing but insightful

"[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving." 67:2

Don't be afraid

That's one of the best casual talk about Death... really😁

Does anyone put himself in the moment of dying and how it will feel? Like testing. Giving me much anxiety and dont know why i do it.

I’ve been freaking out over it, especially after certain physical symptoms healthwise now I’m in full panic mode not to mention the fact that I have white coats syndrome off the chart

Man it would piss me of if I would be the last generation who must die.

In the US For Profit Healthcare Industry the profit is in keeping the patient alive as long as possible. They don't want people to choose to die, let alone go home and die peacefully. No matter how much we suffer, Greed requires that the For Profit Healthcare Industry do everything possible to discourage anything that diminishes their income. Americans, if you want to have the choice of not suffering and wasting away (any choice about how you die) we must pay the US For Profit Healthcare Industry more than they make treating us like a vegetable garden. That, or take the profit out of Healthcare.

In Peter Saul's talk "Let's Talk About Dying," he discusses the taboo nature of discussing death and dying in modern society, particularly within the medical community. Saul argues that doctors often avoid discussing end-of-life care with their patients, leading to unnecessary medical interventions and prolonged suffering. The ethical principle at play here is autonomy, or the right of an individual to make informed decisions about their own healthcare. By avoiding conversations about end-of-life care, doctors are denying their patients the opportunity to exercise their autonomy and make informed decisions about their own care. Additionally, this lack of communication can lead to patients receiving treatments that they may not want or need, which goes against the principle of beneficence, or the obligation of healthcare providers to act in the best interests of their patients. Saul's talk is a powerful reminder of the importance of open and honest communication in healthcare, particularly when it comes to end-of-life care. By starting the conversation about dying and encouraging patients to think about their own wishes and priorities, doctors can better serve their patients and ensure that they receive the care that they truly want and need.

This is so important to hear. And he's also humourous (where appropriate).

very well said, sir.

He's looking at the present. No matter what technological advances happen in the future, right now there are many people (and their families) who are not prepared for death.

I'm not scared of me dying but the people I dearly love.

its all about how we train the mind. there's immense power in the mind

Point of view: When I click on a TED-talk I want to hear it straight away, not go through 15 seconds of annoying miscellaneous stuff.

Excellent

So, what _are_ the options?

that is why I read philosophy. it teaches me not only how to live but also to die.

I will NEVER DIE! WOOT!

Does he ever even say what he wants the option to be for these people at the end of life?

I think that whenever someone ask what I am going to do for my career.

Thank you so much!! Wished I knew how to ask the right questions before my dad left this world!!! Like you said it’s a cultural thing that we don’t know how to ask

Sudden death is still relatively common in the form of heart attacks.

great talk - well done peter Saul. You are quite right - Dying at home (rather than as a sort of pincushion however kindly looked after), with or near people that mean something to you has to be the way to go - pun intended!

Amen, brother! So what exactly was the message now?

If I'll ever end up in the situation of my death being only days away I would buy my favourite alcoholish beverage and drink, and drink till I pass away happy.

This conversation he has comes from being around lots of lots of people that have not taken care of their lives all their lives. Its like hanging out at the smoking cancer ward. Most of the people he has seen have not been part of the health cultural that exists now, they didn't have gluten free, paleo, crossfitting, obstacle course racing, personal training world we living now. He is looking at the past not the future

I just turned 23 just 3 days ago and I honestly didn’t think I’d live this long. I want death because I want control of what’s going to happen

omg i love that statement too"the truth will first make you angry before it sets you free. but my point is why worry about dieing if your going to die any way.