Existentialist Crisis!!?

Question

I can't sleep some nights because I'm worried about death. When I think about I my heart starts pounding and I panic. For some reason it barely bothers me during the day. I'm worried that there won't be anything next and that my whole world will just end; it's horrifying! I want so bad to be religious and to have faith in an afterlife and a god, but I just can't be convinced!

Thank you for so many great answers. My fears might even be a blessing in disguise. That is to say, my body won't let me be dishonest. I'll have to truly find some sort of peace.

Answer 1

Hi

I had the same problems -

The reality of our existence is that much is unknown to us

The very fact that we exist is a paradox - The idea that "god" created us doesn't answer the paradox

God or somthing had to be eternal or we had to be eternal - that is what we keep wanting to believe because we can not concieve - "nothing" Nor can we concieve of nothing becomeing somthing - This is the paradox of existence

Either us or god has always existed or at one point nothing existed (god included) and then somthing came out of nothing

Both conepts are impossible --

You must start with somthing to get somthing -

Nothing can come from nothing


And yet here you are -

Where did you come from ? Where will you go ? And why are you here ?

Those three questions are the sole purpose of religions phisics and philosohy

Religion starts at the begining of time GOD and misses the fact that god's existence is just as much a mystery and a paradox as our own

Evolution , science - starts in the here and now and tries to work backwards to the nothing

Philosphy - looks for a truth - and then exptapulates as much as it can from it

None of them have an answer despite claims of belief and opinion - The paradox remains

The impossible has occured - you are here -

The northern pagans said life is like a bird that flies though the door and out the window - We know nothing of where it came from and nothing of where it went - We only know what happened while it was in the house for that brief moment -

With all of that my friend - I believe this

We create our own reality in the afterlife if there is one -

The morals and the gods and the concepts you form and accept as truth will dictate your expierence after you die

It is for that reason I caution you to create a pleasant reality for yourself - Do not imagine or invent a cruel god or a mean spirited religion -

But again - that is an opinion -

Answer 2

Unfortunately this type of stress isn't uncommon in this world. I use to suffer from the same fears when I was younger. One night I realized one very important thing. There is absolutely no reason to worry about things that are completely out of your control. Yes some day the world will end, when is that, no one knows. But for now, all your worries serves no purpose other than making you not well. No one individual can fix all the problems out there, but if each of us focuses on the problems we can fix then the world will be a much better place. Just worry about living your life as well as you can and doing what you can.

Bright Blessings )O(

Answer 3

There is life after death! We are made up of 2 parts: a body and a spirit. When the body dies the spirit seperates from the body and goes into the Spirit world, and the body goes to the grave (or wherever). The spirit stays and lives in the spirit world until the Resurrection, which has been made possible because of the resurrection and power of Jesus Christ! Every person who has lived and has had a body will obtain a resurrection at some point where their body and spirit will be reunited again...that time never to be divided again.

I would suggest that you pray and ask God about it! Have Him confirm the truth of it to you of what happens when a person dies! I would also suggest for you to learn more about God's plan for us! (The Plan of Salvation!). You can learn more about that by visiting www.lds.org (About the Church > Basic Beliefs).

Answer 4

I can understand why you might be confused. Doesn't existentialism teach that God is dead. If that were true then you don't have anything to fear.

On the other hand, I have seen so many people put questions of this type up just to play games with the minds of Christians.
So I don't know if you are sincere or not. But I will say this to you - if you really want to know how to get rid of ALL Fear in your life, I can tell you how.

The answers are all in the Bible. I have studied it for over 33 years, and know God personally and talk with Him every day.
This is not a joke. Before God changed my life I was suicidal
and a drug pusher among other things.

To be honest with you after re-reading your post - there is nobody who can convince you intellectually because God is only known through faith. I can direct you to Him but the end result will be between you and Him.

If you are really interested in knowing God and being free from fear for the rest of your life, I will be more than happy to write you. My email is [e-mail] - I am a 64 year old father of 7 children with a wonderful Christian wife and I am retired. I have plenty of time to help and I always answer my emails. Please put Yahoo Answers in your subject line so I don't delete your email. I have a habit of deleting anything I don't recognize to avoid spam and virus infections.

Answer 5

Religion can't help you. Religion is man's way of trying to please God with rituals, rules and traditions.

Jesus can help you. Jesus is God's only begotten Son. Jesus came down from heaven to live, die and be resurrected so that we can too.

Jesus wants a relationship with you. If you will accept Him as your Lord and Savior and repent which means to turn away from your sins then, you will not have to worry about death.

After you have invited Jesus into your life, read about Him in God's written word, the Bible. Read the book of John in the New Testament for starters.

In the Old Testament in the book of Psalm 22, which was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born and Isaiah 53 which was written 600 years before His birth, you will find his story, which of course, had not taken place yet.

After you have established a personal relationship with Him, you will never fear death again.

Here are some Bible Study Resources for anything you may want to look up:
http://www.Biblegateway.com
http://www.Ntgateway.com
http://www.Bible.org
http://www.bible-history.com
http://www.answersingenesis.org/

Answer 6

I remember that feelking. Reading existentialism in high school really messed with my head for while. Recreational drugs seemed to help but they only masked the fear.

The core is fear - fear that I won't measure up in some existential way. Because ex'sm. says that I am supposed to do tsomething in my life to justify my existence, right? Kind of "earn" my place in space? (Remember Tom Hank's last words in Saving Private Ryan? "You EARN it.")

Well this thinking can drive you crazy - what can a man do to justify his place in history? To be remembered? Or are we just blobs of protoplasm, struggling to connect with each other, then we die alone and are 'assimilated'?

The Christian rebuttal is striking. We are valuable - because we were made in God's image. No, we don't look like Him, but we don't all look like each other either! There is something about us (and each of us) that is special, unique and God-breathed.

We are so valuable to him that He is willing to die to set us straight and have a close relationship with each of us. He even has a plan for us after death - so death is an experience, not an ending.

The only way the existential darkness would leave me was by becoming convinced that God really, really did know that I existed and care about me. That unworthy me was 'worthy enough' to be loved.

That might be a stretch, depending on what your life's been like to this point. But faith is a gift from God - you don't conjure it up. You ask for it and wait and keep seeking. He offers it to you and you accept it.

What you have going for you is that God wants to be close to you as much or even more than you do - so you are like 2 lovers seeking each other in the park.....and one of you is an all-seeing, all-knowing God. This movie HAS to have a happy ending.

Answer 7

Well, it makes sense you worry about it at night, when you are alone probably and have time to let your mind wander.

Death is something we try not to think about, but it awaits all of us. Ask yourself why you are so scared of there being nothing after death. You can still leave a legacy behind here.

I personally believe our souls are free to join with others in peace after death, but you have to figure out what you believe on your own.

Perhaps you are worried you won't leave a legacy. Changing that might make you feel better. What will you leave behind?

Answer 8

Believing in God because you are afraid of dying doesn't sound very honest, does it?

Take a moment and treasure what little time we have of this world. We only get a lifetime, and that's what everybody gets.

Edit: I'm worried about the guy who gave me a thumbs down. He can't be an atheist. And he can't be a christian. Is he someone pretending to be christian so he can fool God and enter heaven, just in case he is real?

Answer 9

Our sleep time is the time we use to process the day and think about random things. You have gotten into the habit of chewing on one particular bone, and it has its fascination for you. The more you don't want to think of it, the more you are drawn to it.

I used to turn my head and "change channels" whenever I would start thinking about something that upsetting. It really worked. One of my school chums would say an "Our Father" and couldn't get passed the first couple of lines before passing out.

Get used to doing something that puts you to sleep. Like a book, or listening to lulling sounds.

My uncle's remedy was this: try to think of nothing for 15 minutes. (It isn't as easy as it sounds)

Answer 10

Sounds like you suffer from anxiety attacks.

I'd talk to a doctor then calm down and look at it from a calmer perspective.

Religion is a personal journey and one you must decide for yourself as there will be no one to prove God to you but you. God is a concept that is very personal and religion has to be looked at carefully. Try going to the library and reading some “For Dummy’s” books Like Islam For Dummies, Christianity For Dummies, etc..

That might help you.

Don’t forget to read about free thought and books by Steven Hawkins and Sagan as well.

That should have you pretty well versed and well rounded.