Fear of death

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I'm not afraid to die. I know that great things will happen in my afterlife.

I fear a slow, painful death. I especially fear dementia/Alzheimer's, and cancer. Back in June I had to put my dog down. She was 15 years old and had severe dementia. It was my first time experiencing that and having to euthanize an animal. She went so peacefully though. I had the vet come out to my home. She passed in the garden after having a burger and fries. It made me realize how much I would like to go like that... surrounded by loved ones, being held, and just falling asleep.

I'm sorry about your dog. Ours is getting up in years and it's strange to think about how close that event is. We did lose a cat earlier this year and she was with me for... 11 years I believe. I do miss Mishka.

It seems like people here are afraid in two ways: either like you where it's a slow loss of ability or involving uncontrollable pain, or like OP who is terrified of leaving something loved behind and uncared for. Maybe a small contingency of fearing the unknown for flavor.

My mom has always been scared of dying. I think it predisposed me to go in the opposite direction. It's interesting to see the different reactions to a very universal event.

Thank you. I'm sorry about your cat. I hope these last years with your dog are good ones. It's hard seeing them get old and pass. They become such a big part of our lives. The house has been so quiet without any fur babies around.

I agree, it is really interesting!

Not much fear of death anymore...there are much worse things if your still a living being.
People come to this earth but for a time . One can only hope you may have touched others lives in some positive context by act or example .
person opinion follows:
Please stay out of Nursing homes, at all costs .Rehab is one thing, but if its going to be an ending . I only hope to engage some degree of control over that situation. Even if its a final act. Otherwise best to have a loved one there 24/7
to look out over your well being. Or someone whom will operate in that capacity . So As to minimize neglect or abuse . Based on first hand experiences. And testimony from others . In a much older age bracket than my own. Including one late Doctor of Osteopathy . Personal relation.

I am really afraid of nursing homes.

Cannot blame you .but not meant to cause fear in anyone... times are changing ...and often big insurance companies are finding it is more cost effective.
To have patients age in place.....And as this robotic assistance things are happening . You might experience a time, when your able to age in place. . And am already aware that these bots are actually in production, by US companies too now. One in Oregon, that I have been made aware of . in Business for over 2 years.
If somehow , you do become debilitated enough to have to see a Doctor for assistance .Please read carefully anything you have to sign for the appt. ( it is a written contract that give up your rights to make your own healthcare decisions)
Without approval from a man( whom makes money off of your LACK of health.) your doctor. Feel free without explanation to draw large Xs on the part of the contract that remove that right. And initial next to those X s ...
Leaving you your own right to discontinue service from this mans judgement of what is right or wrong to for you.
And do not discuss this with his staff. after you correct the contract( intake forms) just sign and hand it in.
There are many many Doctors now , and many need to earn a living . It would be nice to have someone on your side
whom might give you confidence to do these real life medical situations . But often you must prepare in advance ,incase that person doesnt show up for you. Doctors count on you being sick and weak ,when you are ill. So you might not think this stuff through, In their experiences . Just do your research on these issues in advance, and do not be afraid to advocate for yourself, in these matters . IMHO
medical disclaimer:( No part of this post is meant to infer lack of ability of any medical person)

I read the other day that the irrational fear of death can effect both men in women in their 20s but it's women who usually have a relapse of it in their 50s.

Oh woe is having the XX chromo.

At your age I'd be fearing what will happen in life. A lot of things can change and you don't know how you'll be in 50 years. I do think the fear of death gets better with maturity and experience (of people you know dying). Having children also helps with the fear of mortality.

I'm an atheist and I don't fear death. There's nothing after so what's there to worry about?

Even Dandelions crushed under a stone will attempt to regrow and flower in the next spring , out from underneathe the side of a stone ...1 st hand observation in my own gardens,from many years.
It gives me hope for somekind of hereafter ....spent most of my life being agnostic or atheistic, even though raise in a Christian household.

It seems a bit silly to be afraid of seeing nothing.

For me it is about fear of being nothing in which seeing nothing is only a part of.

I would rather die at home in my sleep and know as little about it as possible. The whole idea of being in hospital surrounded by relatives as I take my last breath scares the crap out of me.

Its not so much death as it is, I will not have finished,what I need to get done ....

I'm not sure if this will help anyone or not... but I had a pretty bad seizure during lockdown to the point where my heart stopped for a few minutes. I still can't know for certain if I 'technically' died, as I wasn't in a hospital plugged into machines when it happened. But I was wearing one of those Fitbit-type heart rate trackers and I had no registered pulse for several minutes and the medical stuff I had to deal with afterwards points to it being temporary cardiomyopathy (which isn't a proper heart attack, fortunately).

It was trippy but incredibly calming and I've lost any fear of dying since it happened. I rarely talk about it outside of specific groups where other people have experienced the same thing, as it's not something you can easily describe and it's pretty emotional to remember. But I want to reassure people that the actual 'dying' part of dying isn't scary. At least, it wasn't for me and the other people I've spoken to all had positive experiences too. Perhaps if you believe in hell and have done some evil things, then it might be different due to guilt. But all I felt was an intense feeling of peace and as if I was falling into a giant ocean made of the universe and being wrapped in it. If anything, I really miss the sensation and part of me looks forward to when it happens for good (no, I'm not planning to jump off a cliff!)

The worst part was waking up again and feeling like I'd been run over, stabbed in the chest, having bleeding in my eyes/nose (my blood pressure was insanely high at the point that it happened) and then losing 90% of my working memory for the next two years (it's about 70% back now, but I don't think it will ever entirely recover and I've now got a lot of 'gaps' in my memory from earlier parts of my life). Recovering from it really sucked and is still a work in progress. But the bit where I was actually 'gone' wasn't frightening at all and not something I worry about at all now.

tl;dr: Don't be scared of dying.

Memory is a odd thing,i think..bunch of stored neural connections, that can weaken their connections if not used regularily. .. So it seemed when I was 16 discovered,if I did not stress about forgetting , things came back to me .
After a day or two . Then discovered from other peoples research that. you could supplement memory formation.
( at least for me). So wanting better quicker access to memories . Started the supplements . With some success
Had taken them for an extended period of time. Even refreshing some of those supplements to this very day.
That was my introduction and first steps into : What years later became known as Nootropics .