is there a way to regain a fear of death after you’ve lost it?

[Jon Arbuckle]

A while back I kind of reached an epiphany that made me lose my fear of death. I realized that if there is no afterlife and death is just nothing I literally will not be capable of feeling happy or unhappy about the eternal nothingness, and if there is an afterlife, great, I don't even have to wrestle with the nothingness part. However I want to be afraid of death again, I feel like this mindset might be okay if I were older or dying but now whenever I feel negative emotions or thoughts I just think "I'd rather feel black neutrality forever than have to deal with this for 50 or so more years." Does anyone else feel this way or have any advice for me?

 

[-Link-]

Hmm... I'm thinking that in order to "fear death", what you really need is a reason to live.

Why would anyone fear death if they don't care whether they're alive in the first place?

So I'd look at it not so much as a fear of death... but rather the desire to continue on with your purpose in life, or your enjoyment in life, or your reason for living... Or, it's a fear of the cessation of those things rather than a fear of eternal nothingness.

But first you'd have to find that purpose, or source of enjoyment, or reason for living... which, I know, is a very tall order...

As an aside... @Jon Arbuckle -- one of my favourite usernames, one of my favourite profile pictures, and by far one of my favourite titles... you know, in a manner of speaking, with the sadness of it... but... You bring a smile to my face every time I see you around on the forum.

 

[Sadgirl121]

Hmm... I'm thinking that in order to "fear death", what you really need is a reason to live.

Why would anyone fear death if they don't care whether they're alive in the first place?

So I'd look at it not so much as a fear of death... but rather the desire to continue on with your purpose in life, or your enjoyment in life, or your reason for living... Or, it's a fear of the cessation of those things rather than a fear of eternal nothingness.

But first you'd have to find that purpose, or source of enjoyment, or reason for living... which, I know, is a very tall order...

As an aside... @Jon Arbuckle -- one of my favourite usernames, one of my favourite profile pictures, and by far one of my favourite titles... you know, in a manner of speaking, with the sadness of it... but... You bring a smile to my face every time I see you around on the forum.

I fully agree that to fear death, you need to want a reason to live, fully fully agree.

 

[Chex]

A while back I kind of reached an epiphany that made me lose my fear of death. I realized that if there is no afterlife and death is just nothing I literally will not be capable of feeling happy or unhappy about the eternal nothingness, and if there is an afterlife, great, I don't even have to wrestle with the nothingness part. However I want to be afraid of death again, I feel like this mindset might be okay if I were older or dying but now whenever I feel negative emotions or thoughts I just think "I'd rather feel black neutrality forever than have to deal with this for 50 or so more years." Does anyone else feel this way or have any advice for me?

To me the certainty that I no longer have to go through and battle what goes on in my head is enough for me to have zero fear of death afterlife or not.