Let’s face the truth, the majority of us do not want to grow old and die. The fact that we cannot control the aging process or dying is a root cause of fear for many individuals. Don’t let anyone fool you when they say “I’m not afraid of death”. What they really mean is that they aren’t afraid of being dead, but their own dying would cause a great deal of discomfort. I know I lost too many hours and days making myself paranoid over the existential dread of my own demise. On my 26th birthday I broke down (still deep in my anxiety struggle) knowing that soon my 20s my “youth” would soon be gone. Growing older brings thoughts along that many of us would rather not deal with. Degrading sexual virility, the eventual loss of friends and family and overall negative impact to our own wellbeing are all thoughts that come with growing older, but they don’t need to control us or represent any sort of truth.

“Death is nothing to us. When we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are not. All sensation and consciousness ends with death and therefore in death there is neither pleasure nor pain. The fear of death arises from the belief that in death, there is awareness.” – Epicurus

I’ve always liked and latched onto the wisdom from the above quote from Epicurus. When I was working through my own deep seeded fears with death and dying I would stay awake at night worrying about how I would feel when my death comes to my door and demanding I leave the nice little house of life I built for myself. In the grand scheme of things I was not afraid of death, I was afraid of my future emotions surrounding death. When I finally healed from my anxiety I made the decision to focus on my life and enjoying it while I can, instead of giving so much time and attention to a state of being I know absolutely nothing about.

I’ve never been much into religion, but I have had some experiences in my life (some sober some not so sober) that have made me realize that life is an incredibly complex thing, so maybe death is too. Our mind is so powerful that our perception about reality can shift dramatically when we introduce certain chemicals into our system. I’m not recommending anyone try any type of drugs, but from my experience I have learned that whatever comes during or after death there is a great potential for understanding and awareness of what life really meant.

I don’t think it is possible to completely rid ourselves of the fear of growing old and dying, however we can change our perception on senescence and death exactly the same way we change the perception on our own anxiety. Don’t give the sheep in wolf’s clothing more power than it deserves. If you are worrying about death, you aren’t really living. Life is an incredibly unique gift and should be celebrated and experienced to the fullest extent. We are all going to die and that makes us lucky. Many people will never die because they will never get the chance to be born.

No matter your religious belief or lack of belief, you are here for a purpose. Even if your purpose is to overcome and understand your own fears, that is a noble cause worth fighting for.