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?  

[ejhp]

Thank you for this post. I am the mother of an 8 year old boy who has recently started having these 'fear of eternity' panic attacks. Instantly when he brought it to my attention I remembered having this same fear as a child. I would lie in bed at night trying to distract myself with other thoughts just so I could get some sleep. I never told anyone about this fear and eventually I learned to just live with it. It is a thought that still occasionally haunts me but it has never driven me to panic attacks. At some point after years of dance, yoga, and TONS of outdoor activities, I became content with 'not knowing'. I found peace in knowing that I couldn't ever truly 'know' anything at all, I appreciate life's mysteries. This, however, is not something I can just teach my 8 year old to feel. He could only potentially learn to view things this way through life experience and over time. In the meantime, this whole thing is breaking my heart. :(

He says, "If we're all wrong and there is no such thing as heaven, we'll just die and go no where- that's scary. But if we're right then we'll be in heaven forever. What am I going to do FOREVER??!! Both things make me so sad and scared.".

Along with his fear of eternity he has a deep fear of losing me. I figure it is totally normal for any young child to fear losing their mother at some point in their childhood, but it is driving him to panic attacks as well.

About two years ago, he was in the middle of an awful custody battle and I'm sure he lost faith in many of the things/people he thought he could count on. I wondered if there was some connection between the fear of eternity and this traumatic experience. I want to do whatever I can to help him through this WITHOUT any form of medication, as I am completely against the stuff. Where are you making these discoveries and is there any literature on methods for curing or learning to combat these fears?

This post helps tremendously. Thanks again..

[Nitsuj242]

Hello there, you are not alone. I can relate drastically. Although I'm very scared of dying I to am afraid of eternity. Have you ever tried to "reprogram" yourself mentally and spiritually? I'm no dr. or professional but I honestly was doing WAY better before I re-accepted religion into my life as before I was an atheist and found more peace in believing that there was nothing after death just like there was nothing before I was born. I have to admit I still find it tempting to hold onto that belief as I tend to think heaven might end up being nerdy with nothing cool and not having the things that make me happy here on earth which WOULD make me more depressed and to think about hell just scares me beyond explanation...but  If you do believe as I do have doubts to that there might actually be a heaven and hell; i'd rather be in heaven then suffer from repetitive death and even more anxiety and terror in hell..then maybe say what you have to say to be saved which is Jesus is Lord to get into heaven but maybe hold onto the belief and realize that reincarnation and rebirth back onto earth is also possible. I dunno just trying to help. I have to say believe what makes you feel most at peace and i'm not trying to condone being an atheist as I don't want you to be damned to even worse torment if it is all real but maybe just rethinking things and accepting that if god is real that it has been said by multiple people that he asks people who have made it to heaven if they want to come back and try it again. :):) :)Hope I helped.

[Benjy444]

I used to feel real scared of eternity. Then I asked God to help me and he did. Now I believe that God loves me and the fear is much less. Some things only come from experience and no manner of words can convey them. Sometimes the only way to understand something is to recieve it from on high - even if this is contrary to what we might expect. Hope this helps.

[Kimri626]

I completely relate with you! Ever since I was a little girl and heard that Heaven is for eternity, my heart sinks everytime i think of it.  I want to know that there is an end at some point.  It almost sickens me from the panic that i have in my heart about this.  I've decided to talk to God and ask for him to hold my heart and make me feel differently about it.  I have never talked to anyone about this fear until today with co-workers.  I feel like the only way to delete this feeling from my brain and heart is to ask Him to heal me and get rid of the spirit holding this over my head.  SOOO glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way!!

[Delgadom6]

This is exactly how i feel. Knowing that there are people out there that feel the same is relieving. I have no one to talk to about this problem and i wish i did. I am the kind of person who is very attacthed to loved ones, friends, pets, even possessions. I think this plays a big part in why I have this fear. Knowing that I will eventually lose everything and everyone in this life, brings me to a point of depression. It surprises me how few people have this fear. I feel like everyone who doesn't have this fear, is not thinking deeply enough. How can you live day by day knowing that your consioucness is temporary? At the same time, how can you live with the belief that life will never end? The beauty of life is that it has to be cherished because it's temporary, yet eternity contradicts that. At the same time, why live if it's all going to end? I feel like I'm trapped. It wasn't my choice to live and it isn't my choice to die. If you remind yourself everyday that everything in this stage of existence is temporary, maybe it will help.

[liavol47]

i googled fear of eternity to see if there was a phobia for it.  no but they can prescribe medicine for it.  a psychiatrist ruined 2 years of my life because i was this or that.  its life deal with it.  but i have been dealing with this fear since a very young age since i was raised babtist.  it will make it hard to breathe and a feeling that you cant eacape. im 37 now and the fear still grips me as bad as when i was six. can there really be something so good you NEVER want it to end..i hope so