absolutely terrified of the idea of an afterlife

[irie]

for context, i was born into an extremely religious family (and from a very early point indoctrinated into sharing their beliefs, it took me almost a decade to fully get out of believing all of it). i once told my mom about my desire to ctb and was very clearly met with the response of "and do you know what'll happen if you do that? you'll go to hell."

i've been giving it more thought lately and the idea of that absolutely terrifies me. reality is harsh and life was made to be insufferable, and according to this system of beliefs one of the only ways out results in being punished for it in the afterlife for the rest of eternity. insane, right? i've had some unshakable paranoia instilled within me over it that i can't get past. perhaps it's not rational, i'm more inclined to believe none of it exist and there's nothing there after you die, but being raised into believing all of it and seeing the so-called consequences of dying discussed in vivid detail, accounts of people that have supposedly experienced it, so on, the idea lives in the back of my mind and i can't stand it. i'm an extremely paranoid person as is (sometimes delusionally, i've somehow convinced myself i've spoken to god himself in my mind and i still can't tell if it's real or not) so all the religious concepts just fuck with me and i'm not sure how to get over the fear.

 

[Einarfjzx]

i Honestly dont think there is an afterlife, we Will be nothing, we Forget everything just like when we wasnt born,we will forget breath, we will forget love

 

[irie]

i Honestly dont think there is an afterlife, we Will be nothing, we Forget everything just like when we wasnt born,we will forget breath, we will forget love

this is what i hope for

 

[TAW122]

As an atheist, my answer is that there will be nothing after death, similar to pre-life (or before we existed in or came into sentience). Another fact that cements my claim is that for the people that were never born (in other words, the people that never came into sentience, never conceived, nor even existed,ever), they did not suffer as there are people who never procreate either by choice or by circumstance. Furthermore, I can debunk this (and also because I'm an antinatalist myself) by claiming that it couldn't be God's plan nor God's creation if there exists free will.

For example, a heterosexual couple (male and female biologically speaking), let's say A and B got together. A and B (male and female respectively) had intercourse and per biological function (as the sperm fertilizes the egg), it became an embryo, then a fetus, etc. and during this biological reproductive process, new life is formed.

However, suppose another couple, also the same (and keeping it simple), let's say C and D, got married but decided not to have children, or offspring (biologically). They did not have intercourse (or did so with contraceptives or protection, anything to prevent pregnancy), the supposed baby is not born (not conceived). Let's also presume that they are acting in free will because I believe that human beings are in control of their own actions and decision, therefore, the "supposed" sentient being was not conceived, and has nothing to do with God's (or some higher power's) plan. The non-sentient, dormant being also lacks the ability to perceive non-existence and thus never existed to begin with.

It might be hard to explain in words (or perhaps my explanation isn't succinct), but basically the afterlife doesn't exist if the pre-life did not exist, in other words, just nothingness.

 

[ThatStateOfMind]

Me too, I grew up religious and although I don't believe it anymore, I still fear, "What if it's real and I go to hell" and eternal suffering is the fate I meet after suffering here. It's scary to me.

 

[missingpeace]

It will be hard but you can change what you want to believe. There are a diverse range of opinions on the afterlife, you can watch the accounts of people who have said something different to what you currently believe, maybe you can relate to their take and get comfortable about what's beyond. For me I personally believe that we take on soul lessons and come down to earth to experience this journey, I guess some of us choose things that are too hard..and it's ok to bow out if we want to. We will just end up going back to the light and choosing something else hopefully better.

 

[irie]

Me too, I grew up religious and although I don't believe it anymore, I still fear, "What if it's real and I go to hell" and eternal suffering is the fate I meet after suffering here. It's scary to me.

it's terrifying, honestly, the idea that after suffering through the entirety of one life you'll be doomed to suffer eternally in the next

 

[ThatStateOfMind]

it's terrifying, honestly, the idea that after suffering through the entirety of one life you'll be doomed to suffer eternally in the next

Exactly! Although I know it's highly unlikely, for me, it's still hard to shake the idea though.

 

[doublecupj]

You have nothing to worry about.

Every shred of evidence we have suggests that consciousness and awareness are byproducts of neurons firing in our brain. We know this because when someone undergoes general anesthesia, these neurons are suppressed. The consciousness is gone. You are totally unaware of anything going on, of time passing, or of your own existence. You may as well be dead during this time. I don't know if you've ever been under anesthesia, but that's what it feels like.

the idea of an "afterlife" was made up by primitive humans who didn't know what we know today. They had no idea what a virus was, they thought ghosts and spirits made you sick. We know better now.

so don't worry about this. When you're dead - poof! you're gone.

consciousness = byproducts of neurons firing in the brain.


death = no neurons firing in the brain.

 

[irie]

It will be hard but you can change what you want to believe. There are a diverse range of opinions on the afterlife, you can watch the accounts of people who have said something different to what you currently believe, maybe you can relate to their take and get comfortable about what's beyond. For me I personally believe that we take on soul lessons and come down to earth to experience this journey, I guess some of us choose things that are too hard..and it's ok to bow out if we want to. We will just end up going back to the light and choosing something else hopefully better.

thank you, it'll probably take a while to fully convince myself of something else and get out of the fear but i'll do some searching around and see what sticks. currently it seems easier to believe that nothing comes after this life because the idea of existing eternally is kind of terrifying, but who knows, that may change

 

[missingpeace]

thank you, it'll probably take a while to fully convince myself of something else and get out of the fear but i'll do some searching around and see what sticks. currently it seems easier to believe that nothing comes after this life because the idea of existing eternally is kind of terrifying, but who knows, that may change

Yes, it will take some time, I'm sorry you grew up in such a rigid household. Yes, going into nothingness is a comforting thought. The key is to be open minded. Good luck in overcoming your fears..

 

[Homo erectus]

I have watched some documentaries. Most religions and cults are just social and thought control devices. They usually have a multi tier structure in which a lot of lower members supporting a small group of privileged members. Lower members have to do things as told and make large donations to become higher members. They ask newcomers to share personal secrets so that they can blackmail them later when people want to quit or disobey.

The stories of afterlife they tell are most likely fake, just to scare people into obedience. There is nothing to worry about. What is true? People really have to find out themselves.

 

[Octavia]

Well… according to the same religious people, they would be going to Heaven despite their bigotry towards many things. If they are correct, then I feel like Hell would be a better place since all the self-righteous muppets would be up there.

And I am not sure if this helps, but maybe that watching animated shows that take place in Hell might make it seem like a less scary place? I personally enjoy Helluva Boss from Youtube a lot, but it contains a lot of naughty words and a fair bit of lewdness (nothing explicit though).

 

[Source Energy]

It will be hard but you can change what you want to believe. There are a diverse range of opinions on the afterlife, you can watch the accounts of people who have said something different to what you currently believe, maybe you can relate to their take and get comfortable about what's beyond. For me I personally believe that we take on soul lessons and come down to earth to experience this journey, I guess some of us choose things that are too hard..and it's ok to bow out if we want to. We will just end up going back to the light and choosing something else hopefully better.

I believe we choose not as lesson, but the same we choose a video game. From the soul perspective, this might be considered fun. A human lifetime might be the blink of an eye from Source perspective - just like a video game is for us, playing an hour, three hours. Sure, when we reach here and we forget who we really are, it's not fun anymore...

I don't believe there are any lessons we are supposed to learn, since I don't believe there is a God deity, so who decrees that we need lessons...I believe the Universe does not judge and is impartial...it is all conscious and the problem is consciousness...I'm not sure there is escape even afterlife

 

[irie]

You have nothing to worry about.

Every shred of evidence we have suggests that consciousness and awareness are byproducts of neurons firing in our brain. We know this because when someone undergoes general anesthesia, these neurons are suppressed. The consciousness is gone. You are totally unaware of anything going on, of time passing, or of your own existence. You may as well be dead during this time. I don't know if you've ever been under anesthesia, but that's what it feels like.

the idea of an "afterlife" was made up by primitive humans who didn't know what we know today. They had no idea what a virus was, they thought ghosts and spirits made you sick. We know better now.

so don't worry about this. When you're dead - poof! you're gone.

consciousness = byproducts of neurons firing in the brain.


death = no neurons firing in the brain.

thank you for explaining it so well! i'll definitely try to keep this in mind going forward

 

[ThatStateOfMind]

I have watched some documentaries. Most religions and cults are just social and thought control devices. They usually have a multi tier structure in which a lot of lower members supporting a small group of privileged members. Lower members have to do things as told and make large donations to become higher members. They ask newcomers to share personal secrets so that they can blackmail them later when people want to quit or disobey.

The stories of afterlife they tell are most likely fake, just to scare people into obedience. There is nothing to worry about. What is true? People really have to find out themselves.

Even early Christianity was sorta like this. They would have people make large donations to the church so the church higher ups could ensure their dead family members could make it to Heaven.

But I might be wrong, I read it a while back, and I don't know how truthful it was.

 

[FuneralCry]

There is just no point to fearing this as there is simply no evidence that an afterlife even exists. To me any kind of afterlife is just a fictional concept invented by people who were unable to come to terms with the fact that life is completely meaningless where we are just destined to cease existing. The only thing that I fear is this cruel, hellish world and I very strongly believe death to be the end of all suffering. Life is the source of all harm and death is the complete absence of it.

 

[HybridSpectre]

I love reading explanations that debunk my beliefs and fears. I too work hard to rid me of deeply ingrained Christian beliefs on an afterlife, heaven and hell. Like seriously? Burning forever in a lake of boiling sulphur (hell). My mind can barely grasp what eternal means, like billions of years? I mean, I've just lived a few decades, enduring suffering, now your telling me that after leaving this shithole I'm gonna suffer for trillions of years? Fuck no. This scares the shit out of me too. I believe in annihilationism or possibly eternal oblivion, fuck it's confusing. Hell, as described in Christianity, is pure inhumanity to incomprehensible levels.

 

[Gaga786]

I understand your views very well, because I too was born in a religious family and community. I was taught to believe that there is a hell where people are tortured for their sins, and then there is a heaven where rivers flow etc. To CTB is considered to be a sin, so im frightened by that idea and being tortured in hell. The day of judgement scares me and the things that are destined to happen. I still can't relinquish those thoughts and frightening imagery.Im sorry to see you suffering so much, and I hope these thoughts improve over time.Wishing you the best, please take care of yourself

 

[Homo erectus]

Even early Christianity was sorta like this. They would have people make large donations to the church so the church higher ups could ensure their dead family members could make it to Heaven.

But I might be wrong, I read it a while back, and I don't know how truthful it was.

That's my impression too. It seems before the time of Christianity, religions were very local, household and open-minded. From a few centuries onward, religions became institutional, hierarchical and exclusive. Many went underground. Maybe the structural approach helped them survival, securing their member base and loyalty. But over time, it is hard to say if their were still religious, or had turned their focus to balance sheet, power and revenge.

 

[ThatStateOfMind]

That's my impression too. It seems before the time of Christianity, religions were very local, household and open-minded. From a few centuries onward, religions became institutional, hierarchical and exclusive. Many went underground. Maybe the structural approach helped them survival, securing their member base and loyalty. But over time, it is hard to say if their were still religious, or had turned their focus to balance sheet, power and revenge.

Well, what can be said with certainty is in the early times of Christianity, power was definitely there, as well as wealth, as the early churches brought in a ton of wealth, and wars were fought, and people died for religion, and by extension, the power it held. I still think religions holds power today as Christianity is still used (although it shouldn't be), and has influence on laws passed in the USA.

 

[AllMyDreams]

I think it's very unlikely that there is an 'afterlife' (heaven, hell etc.) that is in any way similar to this life. If there is a God or an afterlife it won't be one that humans can perceive- humans just project their limited understanding of the world onto what they think an afterlife can look like. I believe three things are possible:

1) The world is a simulation, and I am the only conscious mind. This is possible because there's no way to go inside someone's head and verify that they are a separate consciousness. If that's true, the world will disappear when I die. So that makes life pointless and I want to ctb, but then I realize that if the world is a simulation, what I do doesn't matter as much, so I feel relaxed.
2) I'll be reincarnated. Because in physics you can't create and destroy energy and all that. This scares me, and is a big reason why I don't ctb, because what if I'm reincarnated into a way worse world than I am in now? And I'd have to go through all the pain of my childhood/young adulthood again. It motivates me to try and live the best life possible so that my soul is as prepared as possible for where I go next.
3) I'll go into some other dimension, not in human form, but my energy will fuse with the universe somehow, or go to some afterlife that humans can't perceive. I think that could happen to me if I've accomplished what I'm meant to on Earth, or if I get enlightened enough, but it's hard to know for sure what those things actually mean.

I don't think you will go to hell for committing suicide. I do think there's a possibility you get reincarnated, and that you're less likely to move into another dimension because you haven't lived a full life in this one. But it's all speculation. Nobody knows for sure. I haven't CTB'd because I've identified the risks as outweighing the benefits.

 

[Henryk]

my psychologist uses this thought with me when I'm in a moment of crisis. Honestly what I really think is that this idea that you doing ctb will take you to hell is an idea created in the middle ages to prevent commoners from preferring to die and go to heaven than pay their debts in life