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Something I wish was more common is some type of therapy for treating death anxiety. I read somewhere that LSD can reduce the fear of death[0]. I can think of few things I’d like more in life than not being afraid to cease to exist[1] in my deathbed.

I suppose those going through terrible terminal illnesses suffer enough to accept death over the suffering, but I don’t see why one should need to experience such extremes to accept the inevitable.

[0] That’s a big maybe, don’t go around self medicating serious issues based on unsourced comments on unregulated drugs [1] I know religion or philosopy can sometimes fill this gap, but let’s remember those who are skeptical or didn’t have a lot of time to prepare

2 comments

I had one parent die from brain cancer in 2011, and another was just diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, so this is on my mind.

Honestly, I don't think this is a problem specifically for the person with the terminal illness. So much of the difficulty comes from everybody else. American culture does not prepare people to face death, either their own or of loved ones. So a lot of my energy goes in to helping other people manage their feelings at a time when I don't have energy to spare. I want other people to take LSD or do Zen retreats or serve at a hospice or whatever they need to do so they can manage their own death anxiety.

Speaking of which, I strongly recommend the "ring theory of grief" article. The gist is that if bad shit is happening to somebody, you help them rather than imposing on them. It sounds obvious, but I promise that it's unfortunately rare. Here's the article: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/07/opinion/la-oe-0407-s...

I'm skeptical that any of those things actually "prepare" people to face death in the first place. Feeling like you're "prepared" weeks, months, or years before the final hours of your self or a loved one does not necessarily translate to those final moments when you are actually going through it.

There's nothing wrong with skepticism. Unless you let it stop you from learning. So I'd say be skeptical, but also be willing to explore.

Personally, I think there's a fair bit of reason to believe that both Zen training and hospice experience are useful to facing one's own death. Cultivating awareness of impermanence is central to Buddhist thought. Zen includes such traditions as composing one's own death poem [1] and specific meditations on death [2].

I also found spending time in a hospice to be useful. Anything unknown is hard to think about and possibly scary. Being in the presence of death made it more real for me. And I'm not alone in this; a hospice program founder has an excellent talk [3] and book [4] on what people can learn from hospice.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_poem

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mara%E1%B9%87asati

[3] http://longnow.org/seminars/02017/apr/10/what-dying-teach-li...

[4] https://www.amazon.com/Five-Invitations-Discovering-Death-Li...

It's pretty well documented how terrified western culture is of death relative to others. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell is an excellent book which goes into insightful detail on this subject.

Terrified is the wrong word. Western culture simply understands the reality of the situation. Sure, you can delude an entire society with fairy tales and they will feel better about dying...that's not a virtue though.

I don't believe that at all. Western culture is strongly influenced by Christian notions like an eternal soul which has life after death. And American culture has a strong element of the pursuit of eternal youth. Contrast that with the acceptance of the transitory nature of existence that's central to Buddhism. Or even things like the Mexican Day of the Dead, where death is celebrated as a part of life.

>Western culture simply understands the reality of the situation.

You mean not waking up again?

I don't see what is so worrying about that?

If one truly believe there's nothing after this life I'd think one should be very calm?

Edit: to be clear, I'm a Christian, - I just happen to be puzzled by why non-religious people are afraid of death (except for worrying about their loved ones and the pain of dying that is.)

>If one truly believe there's nothing after this life I'd think one should be very calm?

At the very least, most people feel a sense of responsibility towards their loved ones, and knowing they will no longer be around to take care of them is a significant source of stress. That is how it was for my father. And if it ever comes to pass where I am terminal but still lucid, it will be the primary source of my frustration as well.

Is the goal of parents raising children not to prepare them to be adults that can take care of themselves? That's the problem with "helicopter parents", they hold on so selfishly to their role as a parent that they stunt their children's growth and atrophy their capacity for autonomy.

There comes a point in all our lives where we become so old that we become burdensome. If the old never died, there wouldn't be room or resources for new life and ideas to be born and grow. In that sense, it is honorable to meet death, because you are making room for new life.

> I just happen to be puzzled by why non-religious people are afraid of death

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-preservation

> Self-preservation is a behavior that ensures the survival of an organism. It is almost universal among living organisms. Pain and fear are integral parts of this mechanism.

Well, one obvious reason is that it's the loss of everything. Friends, family, loved ones. Future experience, memory, agency. Everything.

If you thought you'd never wake up again, how comfortably would you go to sleep?

>If you thought you'd never wake up again, how comfortably would you go to sleep?

If we have no choice but to go to sleep, why would we want to spend those last moments feeling terribly uncomfortable?

If we face the facts that death is a part of life, and that we all must die, what's the practical value in fretting over that fact? (Aside from being wise not to do stupid things that lead to a stupid death)

I'm of two minds about this. Like most everyone, of course, I have this fear. I ponder the ways it is not adaptive. I find it lessens over time as I consider this.

>Western culture simply understands the reality of the situation.

What is the "reality of the situation" in regards to death that they are so privy to?

That physical damage to the brain results in loss or impairment of consciousness, and that there is absolutely no evidence that total biological death would entail anything but the cessation of this consciousness.

[EDIT: I want to be clear - I am NOT saying that it could never be the case that some form of "being" exists outside of what appears to us as a finite biological existence, I am merely pointing out that we have no evidence of this kind of existence, aside from vague spiritual feelings and experiences which are difficult to evaluate, so the skeptical position is the most honest one for the time being.]

>no evidence that total biological death would entail anything but

You seem very certain of your hypothesis. Is there anything that science has had a harder time defining, quantifying, or understanding than the nature of consciousness as it relates to reality? With that in mind it would seem more in keeping with the spirit of science to remain agnostic ("I don't know"), rather than atheistic ("I know")

>Those who raise questions about the God hypothesis and the soul hypothesis are by no means all atheists. An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such compelling evidence. Because God can be relegated to remote times and places and to ultimate causes, we would have to know a great deal more about the universe than we do to be sure that no such God exists. To be certain of the existence of God and to be certain of the nonexistence of God seem to me to be the confident extremes in a subject so riddled with doubt and uncertainty as to inspire very little confidence indeed.

-Carl Sagan

The "Ring of grief" concept you mentioned is great. Thanks for sharing

Michael Pollan just wrote a book about psychedelics, including the studies that show efficacy around reducing the anxiety of terminal illness. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/22/how-to-change-...