For my fellow Atheist and People who dont believe anything happens when you die, how do you personally deal with the fact that theres nothingness?

[totallyanonv]

i imagine it's like one of those nights where you sleep without dreaming.
the nothingness after death brings me comfort. no consciousness or feeling. it just seems nice to know that there is an end

 

[bigbeatmanifesto]

100% all of this. Yet we still get people denying it and believing in their after life fairy tales lol.

And the discrimination in these fairytales that only humans can have an afterlife. Not rats, possums, beetles or dogs. They don't get afterlives, just humans for.... Reasons.

Those who think that consciousness can exist without a living brain: What do you propose the "day to day" experience of "afterlife" to be?

After you become aware that your consciousness is detached from a body, what is it like? Is it fun? Do you have emotions? Based on what? How would it be possible to decide if you were happy or sad? Since you are in an eternal state, what would be the point of an emotion? Do you interact with other consciousnesses? Since nobody has a body, how do you tell if there is anyone else around? Or are you always alone? Do you pray? Do you interact with living beings on Earth? How does that work? Does the living being need to believe in you? What if they've "moved on" and forgotten about you? What happens after a couple hundred Earth years and anyone who ever knew you existed is gone? Is there a "clubhouse" at which a bunch of consciousnesses can get together and socialize? But how much fun could such a club be? No music, no dancing, no food, no entertainment, since everyone is just a consciousness (a thought, I guess). How long would that last? Since there is no time, how do you tell when to start or stop? Since every consciousness in the "afterlife" has an eternity to fill with some kind of activity, it would seem like things would get pretty boring pretty "quickly." (if that word could make any sense in an eternal context). Without some material "stuff" associated with consciousness, there would be no way to measure where one consciousness leaves off and another one begins. Sounds kinda messy.

One benefit of being retired is that I have control over how I fill my time. There is joy in beginning a project, working on it, and ultimately completing it. Then figuring out a new project. In an eternity, none of that makes any sense. What would be the point? As a retired person (especially a person who is considering an elective death), there are definite limits to what tasks are possible. There is joy in seeing if I can complete a longer term task before my body stops metabolizing. A race. A competition between myself and time. But in an eternal context, none of that makes any sense. Why take up any task at all, since I have all of eternity to get it done? Tasks (even spreadsheets) involve interacting with some kind of material, and in the afterlife there is no material. The concept "completed task" makes no sense in an eternal world. Since "task" is incompatible with an infinite timeline, how am I to be occupied in an afterlife?

Afterlife sounds awful. I'm glad it's not real.

You've eloquently demonstrated why the concept of afterlife is ridiculous there. There's some many things that wouldn't make sense and to top it all off, EVERYONE is screwed if there's an afterlife, not just suicidal people. Imagine having the perfect life, dying and then being sucked into a void for eternity with only your thoughts as company. If anything we'd all be better prepared for that lol

 

[HermitLonerGuy]

And the discrimination in these fairytales that only humans can have an afterlife. Not rats, possums, beetles or dogs. They don't get afterlives, just humans for.... Reasons.

Lmao true and lol at your reply to Antinous as well, that would suck haha.

 

[lokabe82]

The fear of nothing after death is the one thing that has deterred me from catching the bus. Overall I have always thought that existence in of itself is an amazing thing. It's the eternal suffering that comes with existing that turns me off from it. I've spent a lot of time lately trying to come to terms with the fact that nothingness after death is the most realistic thing that could happen. A lot of people that I have talked to find comfort in nothing. That is terrifying to me and I'm still trying to come to terms with it and accept it for what it is before I catch the bus. I wish I could get the same comfort that others have about this.

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

The fear of nothing after death is the one thing that has deterred me from catching the bus. Overall I have always thought that existence in of itself is an amazing thing. It's the eternal suffering that comes with existing that turns me off from it. I've spent a lot of time lately trying to come to terms with the fact that nothingness after death is the most realistic thing that could happen. A lot of people that I have talked to find comfort in nothing. That is terrifying to me and I'm still trying to come to terms with it and accept it for what it is before I catch the bus. I wish I could get the same comfort that others have about this.

Death / non-existence is going to happen anyway. It's like before I was born. It's going to happen anyway no matter what . I wasn't missing nor wanting existing then before i was born. It will be the same after death no problems no pain no suffering forever. Missing something wanting something is only a function of the brain only an illusion imo . This can only happen while the human or other animal's brain is alive functioning and conscious

 

[DurkheimsCat]

It's a huge comfort. The only reprieve I've felt from this horrible existence is when I've gone under anesthesia for surgery. I imagine it will be like that. The idea of an afterlife would be a terrible continuation of this miserable existence.

 

[Document6105]

There's nothing to fear.

People who fear nothing do not understand what nothing is.

Most people seem to think "nothing" refers to "you" floating in nothing.
But that is not what nothing is.

Nothing is the complete absence of anything.
There is no you, them, or anyone else.
There is simply nothing.

It may be beneficial for you to think of it this way:
Your existence now is insignificant next to nothing.

 

[Charlie-Bravo]

I can not know what will be after death so I will let myself be surprised. Looking at it from a logical perspective: The possibilities are infinite(literary everything that you can imagine can be the afterlife: Heaven, Cthulus realm, a new live, a hive mind, ...) So the probability that my specific prediction turns out to be true goes to 0.

But I kind of hope that my experience will be saved somewhere, if that makes sense.

 

[rustinpeacepolaris]

honestly tak comfort in it

 

[Redhat83]

I've been atheist all my life and was raised atheist that's all I know but for some reason I've been having doubts about my beliefs and for some reason am now really scared about the possibility of going to hell maybe just cos I've been doing a lot more thinking about death now then when I was a kid but that is sort of a reason for me not doing yet that and also my dad would be sad I just hope that my beliefs in a nothingness are correct

 

[lebrodude]

Whatever happens after death, every single living person is heading that way and there's not a thing anyone can do about it.

I take comfort in that.

 

[ARW3N]

It's not a question of belief. There's simply no hard evidence for the existence of an afterlife. I'm frustrated and annoyed that I have consciousness and life. It's something I'd rather not have with all the attendant problems of earning a living that ends in ageing, sickness and death. Darwin got it right. Religions got it wrong

 

[Darkover]

i firmly believe the best thing anyone could be is just nothing forever
this place is just the shittest place that ever fucking existed

 

[Sweet Tart]

I make a distinction between "nothingness" and the unknowable. But for me, the unknowable does not contain the possibility of a "higher power." So many myths of divinity are deeply entwined with patriarchal social control.

Humans have a limited understanding of the universe and we are only capable of asking questions that we can conceptualize. So what happens to my "energy" (or whatever) is probably completely distinct from what I understand as consciousness and is literally unimaginable.

 

[hells "angel"]

It kind of conforts me. It ends when It ends. If there were an afterlife, I'd feel trapped knowing I must continue on my exsistence no matter the circimstances. No matter my say. On the other hand, when I think of people and pets I've lost, It makes me kinda sad/feel bleak. That they're just, gone. Forever gone. I try not to think about that though. More like, they don't have to deal with the worlds brutal harshness anymore.

 

[NoWayOut015]

I do kinda believe in reincarnation but I nowadays just hope it doesn't exist because I just want it to end when it ends, I don't want to do life again. It also does make more sense rationally speaking, that there's nothingness in death which in my opinion is way more comforting. But I speak as someone who doesn't particularly enjoy living.

 

[josephk]

I hope there's nothing after death. The thought of an afterlife horrifies me. If there is a creator (which I don't think there is) then its handiwork on earth has left me distinctly unimpressed and the thought of having to endure more of its "gifts" in an afterlife would scare me. I'm waiting for the abyss. The sooner the better

 

[ConstantPain]

Hope isn't a strong enough word for how desperately I hope for absolute nothingness. I've always been an atheist and I don't think there is any afterlife but obviously can't know for sure. The thought of any afterlife is terrifying and I hope those of us that think it will be just like before we were born into this hell on earth are right. It's my only imagined sense of peace.

 

[chromeparallel]

just lean into it

 

[BurntMilk]

I like to think that's it will just be like going to sleep without dreams, forever in the comforting darkness and never having to wake and be thrust into this world ever again

 

[TiredTurtle]

It's comforting knowing that there is an end to all the pain, and that iv experienced nothingness before I was alive and wether I ctb or die another way I'm going to experience it again and there's nothing I can do about it, but I can control the day it happens.

It's scary but I think that's only because of SI

 

[Oathkeeper]

This has been really bugging me lately, i believe that once we die thats it. No afterlife or reincarnation. I am glad people have the comfort of a heaven or reincarnation but i cannot in good conscience lie to myself and delude myself into believing things out of hope or fear.

I am 100% sure in my mind after thinking about thing logically that once we die we cease to think or feel ever again.

How do you deal with this notion?

I don't, to be honest. It's not that the idea of death, or nothingness doesn't scare me, because it does. It's just that the pain of consciousness makes me wonder if living is worth not facing that fear.

I wish there was peaceful consciousness after life, I wish heaven was real. I just don't believe it's real.