Psychiatrist says the people who fear death the most feel like they don't leave anything in this world and regret how life turned out

[noname223]

Here are some very interesting thoughts about death and dying.


In minute 44 it starts. They talk about professionals who accompanied people during the process of dying. The psychiatrist Erwin D. Yalom said the people who fear death the most are the people who feel like they leave nothing behind and that they did not live up to their full potential. (I rather relate to the second point.)

Cicely Saunders a nurse who also accompanied dying people said people not only fear the physical process of dying instead also regret that their life had no meaning. Or that they had no peace with their family or friends/loved ones in the moments of dying. Some people leave this world in bitterness, sadness and arguments. She thought there needs a place and time in order to comfort someone. A clinic is often not the right place. Even during the process of dying you can help someone else. Dying with humility. Many people regret how their life turned out and are sad about the development. With that their lost potential.

There are some other interesting thoughts in this interview. But I am not sure whether you can apply everything to suicide.

 

[Snake of Eden]

Wow this is an amazing revelation. I always felt one of the main things stopping me from ctb is that I am unable to accept that this is how I would go as I dont feel I have accomplished my mission in life. Very eye opening yet it is not clear how that relates directly to fear as it feels like a very unconscious thinking to focus on what we havent accomplished when we fear death but it does make perfect sense. I havent watched but definitely would. Thanks again for yet another interesting thread <3

 

[Ethereal Knight]

Here are some very interesting thoughts about death and dying.


In minute 44 it starts. They talk about professionals who accompanied people during the process of dying. The psychiatrist Erwin D. Yalom said the people who fear death the most are the people who feel like they leave nothing behind and that they did not live up to their full potential. (I rather relate to the second point.)

Cicely Saunders a nurse who also accompanied dying people said people not only fear the physical process of dying instead also regret that their life had no meaning. Or that they had no peace with their family or friends/loved ones in the moments of dying. Some people leave this world in bitterness, sadness and arguments. She thought there needs a place and time in order to comfort someone. A clinic is often not the right place. Even during the process of dying you can help someone else. Dying with humility. Many people regret how their life turned out and are sad about the development. With that their lost potential.

There are some other interesting thoughts in this interview. But I am not sure whether you can apply everything to suicide.

a lot of this stuff sounds reasonable to me, kinda makes sense, but I'm not sure...

honestly, what I'm going to be sad about is either that I didn't tell my ex how much I loved and deeply needed her and didn't choose to be vulnerable enough, or that I wasn't able to forget her, move on and take her out of my mind, some of these two...
damn, I miss being in that girl's arms - that was the only time I felt alive in my life.
anyways, we all have our regrets and pains...

it's okay to leave this world in bitterness, sadness, regret or whatever... life isn't perfect and we don't need to pretend it is.

did someone here read Frankl Viktor's book about meaning? what did you think about the book?

 

[noname223]

I want to clarify one thing

This was for me clearly not meant as an instruction on how to beat survival instict. I think it is rather a pleading to live a fulfilling life and searching for a mission which can give life a meaning in order not to regret decisions which were made during life in the last seconds on planet earth. At least this is how I interpreted it. The statement people regret "not to live up to their full potential when they face death" means for me not to commit suicide. Quite the oppsosite.

Cicely Saunders says: "Some people leave this world in bitterness, sadness and arguments." I think this is true for many people who commit suicide. And that these people regret not having reached their potential. I am sure she does not consider commiting suicide as living up to your full potential. The last moments in life should not be bitterness and sadness.

Yeah just wanted to make something clear.

 

[Dot]

a lot of this stuff sounds reasonable to me, kinda makes sense, but I'm not sure...

honestly, what I'm going to be sad about is either that I didn't tell my ex how much I loved and deeply needed her and didn't choose to be vulnerable enough, or that I wasn't able to forget her, move on and take her out of my mind, some of these two...
damn, I miss being in that girl's arms - that was the only time I felt alive in my life.
anyways, we all have our regrets and pains...

it's okay to leave this world in bitterness, sadness, regret or whatever... life isn't perfect and we don't need to pretend it is.

did someone here read Frankl Viktor's book about meaning? what did you think about the book?

Slf rd th Vktr Fnrkl bk & thght it ws v gd

I.m.o lts ppl wh wn2 ctb d/ nt fl tht thy hve livd.up 2 fll potentl bt mny hve bn tryng 2 ovr-cme wht prevtntng tht & faild

 

[Foresight]

I'm going to leave smiling because I pursued what I wanted. I'm still going to ctb because we all have our limits, but I'm doing me to the fullest for some time.

 

[Journeytoletgo]

This is so true I think this is what is holding me back however life never begun for me due to my physical condition

 

[umiii99]

This hits a bit too close home for comfort. Consciously my fear of death is mainly the unknown. But subconsciously I most likely fear having my life experience, all I've done and learned, be for nothing.

 

[SuicidallyCurious]

This hits a bit too close home for comfort. Consciously my fear of death is mainly the unknown. But subconsciously I most likely fear having my life experience, all I've done and learned, be for nothing.

It's all for nothing anyway if you accept the cosmological theory of the big freeze

 

[LastFlowers]

Some people leave this world in bitterness, sadness and arguments.

That'll be me.

I found a hill to die on, but I'm not happy about it, and I will never be at peace.
I'm exhausted. I'm tired of fighting.
I am inconsolably angry and upset at my situation and the loss of any potential (becoming more than that), the loss and withholding of absolutely everything that makes a life worth living.
I do not fear death itself, and I must end this suffering, but I am not okay with the fact that this is what my situation has forced me into, and the process of dying is a scary thing, whether you are ready to go or not, I do still wish I had a pill that would end me instantaneously and take care of all my other preparations.
I know it's over for me, but death is the actionable part of that knowledge, and it just makes it all the more real and suffocating..frightening in the sense that this is it, this is really all you got.

This is so true I think this is what is holding me back however life never begun for me due to my physical condition

Same here.

I want to clarify one thing

This was for me clearly not meant as an instruction on how to beat survival instict. I think it is rather a pleading to live a fulfilling life and searching for a mission which can give life a meaning in order not to regret decisions which were made during life in the last seconds on planet earth. At least this is how I interpreted it. The statement people regret "not to live up to their full potential when they face death" means for me not to commit suicide. Quite the oppsosite.

Cicely Saunders says: "Some people leave this world in bitterness, sadness and arguments." I think this is true for many people who commit suicide. And that these people regret not having reached their potential. I am sure she does not consider commiting suicide as living up to your full potential. The last moments in life should not be bitterness and sadness.

Yeah just wanted to make something clear.

Sure but just because that statement is true doesn't make it any more possible to reach said "full potential" if we stay alive, in my case things only get worse as time goes on.