fear of eternity

[lyn87]

I am not sure where this idea came from, and why it consumes me so much and others fail to obsess over it like I do but I am terrified of eternity after death.  I am not afraid of dying, but of eternity afterwards.  Do we remain aware of things?  This notion, even the idea of being in a happy place like heaven forever, terrifies me.  Anything, no matter how good, that continues without end, is my worst fear, and thinking about it literally forms knots in my stomach and intense fear.  I know that the answer to this can not be proven, and most would find relief in the idea of eternity, but it is my worst fear.  Does anyone else share this fear?  What can I do?  

[Cntbreal]

I thought i was the only one. Wow im not along. This has been i dont know  if it is a fear or a concern. Which is kinda like one in the same atleast i think so. Well this is hard because i didnt think it had anything to do with anxiety because it has been happining to me for so long. The thoughts of what is it like and how will i be and if you really live up there. Thanks for posting this..

[LukenLois]

I can relate to everyone who has posted a reply.  It is a terrible, dreadful, THOUGHT to think of Eternity, and the unknown, panic, etc.  However I do think we have a way out of this mess we all seen to be STUCK in.  I will begin by noticing that the fear is only a THOUGHT, a perception of reality that is 100% just a perception of reality, and that is all, just a perception.  It can only be terrifying  when we think about it, it cannot be terrifying when not  thinking about it.  Now I know that is easier said than done, because the obsession is what drives this intense fear, panic, etc.  The solution to the problem is to notice these fears as something the MIND has created to distract all of us from something that is painful in our life.  It is a THOUGHT or scenario we have created to take us away from LIFE, because LIFE can be very scary, and LIFE is what we all truly want to be a part of.  

The true solution is to BELIEVE and KNOW that our Spirit is a much higher form of energy, and that the mind, and THINKING is a slower form, and not useful as we evolve as a higher being.  

I know some of you may THINK this al BS, but try seeing this problem of yours, as something your mind has created to cover up deep rooted issues in your life like abandonment, a form of dissacociating from abandonment, terror from early trauma in our life that is unresolved.  This problem will not last, and cannot last, and I believe will not even be a conscious THOUGHT, as our Spirit keeps evolving.

The solution is KNOWING we are SPIRITUAL beings having a HUMAN experience, and being HUMAN sometimes really *****.  It will pass, and we all will be so amazed when feel the true essence of our BEING.

The solution is a SPIRITUAL one, that is just my belief.

[edgyboy]

I like your post. Makes sense to me. My comment about putting our anxieties onto something concrete in the world goes in line with unresolved fears etc.

But you are correct. These perceptions are just thoughts that bring on physical symptoms along with the mental anguish. Thanks for posting

[LukenLois]

Awesome, let's learn to accept these fears, see what they are, and notice them as what they are, just fears.  

I am starting to feel better about it, my deep deep self believes in something AWESOME, and that is peaceful, it is just scary to NOT KNOW.

Thanks for replying.

[lizrules]

I've been having this trouble since I was 8 or 9. I'm now 40.  

I can't even see the word without getting wobbly, so I only skimmed most of the comments here ... nevertheless, I'm happily surprised to find I'm not completely alone in feeling this way.

I completely identify with the screaming and banging of the head.  Within the last couple of years, I've even been waking up from deep sleep doing that.  So it's going on in my subconscious mind too, I would guess. Thanks for posting everyone.

[LukenLois]

I am discovering some interesting things about fear of eternity and past childhood trauma such as neglect, abandonment, emotional/physical abuse, separation anxiety, attachment disorders, etc.  

The fact that when we were traumatized as children or even adults we felt like we were frozen in time, the fear felt like eternity, and we had no way to express that or integrate those fears for our growth.  subconsciously we are still afraid of that feeling, and are now trying to reenact the earlier trauma so that we can now express it, face it, and resolve it.  basically every time we get terrified of eternity, it is a subconscious flashback of the past.

we need to Deconstruct eternity thinking: in childhood, fear and abandonment felt endless - a safer future was unimaginable. Remember the flashback will pass as it has many times before.

this has helped me tremendously, and been able to see a way to ease the fear or even get rid of it.  i am now on a mission to resolve, express, integrate those early terrified feelings of eternal fear, and being frozen in time.

i hope this helps for everyone

remember our only true fears coming into this world were "fear of falling when we began to walk" and "fear of not having safe attachments and food to keep us alive"  everything else was learned, and can be unlearned