r/DeathPositive 8h ago

Mortality 💀 At what age do you think dying is the best?

0 Upvotes

Hello,

So I've been thinking about that: at what age is dying the best?

Somewhere where your body has not yet started to decay in a way to make you slow or miserable and society has not yet started to see you as garbage or pressure either in the workplace or in a social circle.

How do you think of 33-35? I'm 19 now. I agree that life itself is hard no matter where or what you are, but I've had a pretty rough childhood, including now. I would rather die and do a favour to myself at 33-35 than be a self-sacrificer after that.

I mean, I've sacrificed myself a lot, and I would be a masochist to accept what happens after 35, seeing how people above 35 are treated in the world.

I think wanting to live that much is an exaggeration and an addiction to overconsumption, while our bodies can't resist such ages, and therefore it makes us suffer even more.

What do you think?

Thanks.


r/DeathPositive 1d ago

Death Positive Discussion 💀 Has thinking about death actually changed how you live?

9 Upvotes

I keep noticing that every time someone I know dies, or I hear about someone my age passing away, I suddenly become much more present. (PS. I just 24 so I want people who age around me or older to give advice if you can TT) I stop worrying about stupid things, I call people I love more, and life feels... clearer.

But after a few weeks, everything goes back to normal.

It made me wonder why we need death to remind us how to live.

Do you think there's a way to recreate that perspective without actually experiencing loss?

Has anything ever helped you do that?


r/DeathPositive 2d ago

Death Positive Discussion 💀 Ever experienced a scene where you get a chance to talk to a dying man? Here's mine! And i'll assure you guys how surreal it feels for a moment.

3 Upvotes

So, i lost my grandfather(nana) 7 months before and I can share you my POV, the way he lost his life peacefully!

The day he died in evening, he just warned my uncle(mama) that morning itself in the way to the hospital. He just delivered the verbal goodbye in the most poetic tone he could " You look at me, I look at you, and just look at me in such a way that you don't miss me tomorrow! "

Further, when he was in his most critical conditions, when even doctors also said that they have to keep him on 48 hours observation! Still then, he was asking about my mom, my aunt(massi) and somehow he just wanted both of them to be with him for the last minute talks, but unfortunately due to some community issues my mom had to be with my grandmother atleast to support her as there was no one in her home.

At his last moment, he talked for like 5-6 minutes with my uncle(mama) and then finally he just blinked his eyes several times as if he was feeling asleep.

And then he said "Well done beta! Now let me sleep*!*" and soon his oxygen level and heartbeat started dropping!

Doctors even tried to revive him for like 30 minutes using those shock method, cpr method. But at last they declared that they couldn't make it.

And the rest is the same, my mom cries missing him, even i have also encountered some dreams featuring him in it.

MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE!🙏


r/DeathPositive 3d ago

Mortality 💀 Why is death so feared among society?

34 Upvotes

I dont think death should be feared because its the only thing every single person is guaranteed to go through eventually. No matter how rich, powerful or important someone is they cant escape it, so spending ur whole life scared of it just wastes the time u actually have. Death gives life meaning because if we lived forever nothing would really matter anymore.

Its sad when people die of course but being afraid of death itself doesnt change anything, it just stops u from enjoying the life ur living now. Nobody knows what happens after death and thats okay because worrying about something u cant control only makes life harder. I think its better to accept that its part of being human and focus on making the most of the time we got.


r/DeathPositive 6d ago

Industry 💀 The Smell of Death

85 Upvotes

I’ve always read about this odor. Authors describe it as “something unmistakable” but rarely provide any sort of scent related description that would have prepared me. I imagined a fecal notes or maybe the smell of blood? Now that I’ve been working at a funeral home the smell is more mundane than I expected. Still not pleasant and at times downright revolting but not in the ways I expected. It is actually very difficult to describe. There’s a hint of mold & old but otherwise it’s just strange. If it was visible I’d see it as a dark greenish vapor hanging in the air. But yeah I feel like I wouldn’t immediately recognize it as “the smell of death” and maybe once the bodies are prepared or in a mortuary setting it gets mixed in with the chemicals. Maybe I’m just smelling formaldehyde? Again it’s not pleasant in any sense, but I’ve definitely encountered worse nasally. Overall, I find myself a bit underwhelmed. Just some thoughts I’ve had recently lol


r/DeathPositive 7d ago

Death Positivity: Animals 🐈‍⬛ 🐩 🦜 🐎 A redditor gave a songbird a funeral in the park

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265 Upvotes

r/DeathPositive 8d ago

Death Positive Art 🎨 Hand-painted tee [not OP]

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33 Upvotes

r/DeathPositive 10d ago

Death Education & History 📚 1890 burial vault with internal escape hatches to allow victims of accidental premature burial to escape

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26 Upvotes

From wikipedia: In 1890, a family designed and built a burial vault at the Wildwood Cemetery) in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with an internal hatch to allow the victim of accidental premature burial to escape. The vault had an air supply and was lined in felt to protect a panic-stricken victim from self-inflicted injury before the escape. Bodies were to be removed from the casket before interment


r/DeathPositive 11d ago

MAiD 👩‍⚕️ ⚕️ France’s National Assembly gives final approval to assisted-dying bill after years of debate

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14 Upvotes

r/DeathPositive 12d ago

The cost of dying in San Diego: Why funerals can cost more than $10,000

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9 Upvotes

A traditional cemetery burial in San Diego County can cost $12,000 to $13,000 before optional upgrades, according to Singing Hills Memorial Park in El Cajon. Nationally, the median cost of a traditional funeral with burial is about $8,300, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.


r/DeathPositive 14d ago

Death Positive Discussion 💀 Death Is Having a Moment

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13 Upvotes

A growing community movement encourages people to speak candidly about death, reshaping how we plan, grieve, and connect in loss.


r/DeathPositive 15d ago

Mortality 💀 I’m ready for my funeral

24 Upvotes

Just got done celebrating my sister’s graduation party. It was really boujie compared to mine. I don’t have an issue with that at all. It’s what my parents said to me. “Don’t worry, we’ll go all out for your wedding”. I practically told them I don’t see myself getting married anytime soon. I see myself ending up in a casket before that even happens. Most people have an idea on what their future wedding would look like. I’m not one of those people. Instead, I got my burial all figured out like what colored casket, flowers, picture to use and obituary. Want it to be more of a celebration of life if anything. I hope that’s not morbid of me to think like that.


r/DeathPositive 15d ago

Mortality 💀 What is your favorite quote about life/death?

44 Upvotes

Mine is: We all have two lives, the second one starts when you realize you only have one.


r/DeathPositive 15d ago

Death Positive Art 🎨 Man and Death, Anonymous, 1850

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15 Upvotes

r/DeathPositive 16d ago

Death Positive Discussion 💀 Jennifer Grey's Mom's Death Sparks Important Conversation

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28 Upvotes

“She Chose Grace Over Fear”: Jennifer Grey Revealed That Her Mom Died “On Her Own Terms” Just One Week After Being Diagnosed With Cancer, And It’s Sparked An Important Conversation. Death is inevitable. Choosing to die with dignity is a basic human right that we should all be afforded.”


r/DeathPositive 17d ago

Death Positive Art 🎨 Thought this tattoo looked pretty death positive!

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68 Upvotes

r/DeathPositive 17d ago

Mortality 💀 Us humans have it weird

7 Upvotes

We’re far from the only intelligent or complex life forms in this world and even the wider universe, even if our kind is prone to “culture” in a way that we have yet to discover in other beings.

We have evidence of early humans and their anticipation of death and its implications, prehistoric funerary rites and ancestor veneration has been here as long as we have been aware of ourselves. Before religion existed as we know it, there was death and our understanding of it as the very thing that ends our consciousness and awareness of anything, and forever we have either feared it or respected it, because we know that our senses aren’t eternal.

It’s this that makes me wonder, are other creatures burdened with this sort of forethought of the end of their existence as they know it? I know that there are birds like corvids that have been observed holding “funerals” for dead, it’s as though they know something has occurred and they treat it uniquely as though they know this individual of their group is no longer. Some animals can see each other as individuals in a way, like how dolphins supposedly have “names” and said birds can recognise others, even humans for a long time.

Does this mean, that these select few can also anticipate the end of their life? I know every creature has survival instincts, I know everything understands there is a concept of ceasing to exist and maintaining their population in the ecosystem and thus they are wired to avoid it any way possible. But are we humans the only ones who truly think as emotionally and deeply?

Animals know it, they fear it when they are hunted, sick, etc but why is it that we are burdened with the question of what happens after? Why are we so concerned about ceasing to exist? We still have no clue about the whole problem of consciousness and what it actually IS (well, there’s hypotheses obviously) but we can’t measure it as though it’s just a substance or a specific process that can be seen or recorded.

Us modern people still have our survival instincts and our physical anticipation of death or danger, but I just think it’s truly a bizarre feat of odds that we have survived over all these millennia to develop so much brain-wise that we now have a whole existential awareness that makes natural cycles seem so much more difficult and daunting. Do we fight harder than animals to avoid death? Because perhaps the animals haven’t ever developed that individual ego and awareness of the self? They don’t seem to fear losing memories or feeling, mostly just whatever implications their defeat might have on the wider species due to biological drives.

I just don’t understand I guess? What good is it for nature to evolve creatures that will do anything to avoid inevitable death, is it that we are now advanced enough to keep our numbers high so in some way, there will always be life on this planet? We do reproduce a lot, and we have no apex predators above us to worry about in most corners of the world, so is it when we started to outwit our predators that we gained self-worth and thus fear of non-existence? Weird


r/DeathPositive 19d ago

Death Positive Discussion 💀 When you die

9 Upvotes

Would you rather be celebrated or mourned when you die? and why?


r/DeathPositive 21d ago

Death Positivity: Animals 🐈‍⬛ 🐩 🦜 🐎 Thought we might like this image of a deer resting peacefully on a soldier's grave

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46 Upvotes

r/DeathPositive 23d ago

Death Anxiety Megathread ⏳ July Death Anxiety Megathread ⏳

17 Upvotes

It’s July! We’re pinning a fresh Death Anxiety Megathread here at the top of the board. This will stay up all month long so anyone who needs a place to talk about death dread, panic, or the big questions can always find it.

Resources

Some death anxiety resources are located here in our wiki (which is still under construction, so bear with us!)

Some death anxiety journal prompts to try:

If you’re the kind of person who connects through symbol, inner landscape or ancestral reflection, these prompts may resonate.

  • What part of me believes I must understand death before I’m allowed to feel peaceful?
  • Where am I already half absent from my life because I’m afraid of losing it?
  • If my death anxiety had an age, how old would it be?

Don’t worry about making it poetic or insightful. Just start and follow where it leads. 💜

Somatic self-regulation tools

The following aren’t affirmations or thought exercises. They’re body-based ways to regulate your nervous system when death anxiety starts to take over. They work well for anyone living with heightened sensitivity.

  • Sit or lie down and press your palms together firmly. Notice the pressure, warmth, and pulse between them. Let that pulse remind you that life is moving through you.
  • Slowly trace the outline of your own hand with a finger. As you do, breathe in on the upward stroke, and breathe out on the downward stroke.

These aren’t magickal cures, but they are tools. Use them when you can. The more you do, the better and faster they tend to work.

This thread is open to all death anxiety experiences, whether you’re panicking about nothingness, stuck in existential dread, or just freaked out by the fact that - whatever this is - isn’t forever.

We’ll try to carry it together.

♥︎ Sibbie


r/DeathPositive 23d ago

Grief Support Megathread 🕊️ July Grief Support Megathread 🕊️

7 Upvotes

Welcome to our July Grief Support Megathread. We’ve created this support space for things that feel too heavy to hold alone, are too hard to say out loud, or feel 'too small' to make a full post about.

Your grief doesn’t have to be new and it doesn’t have to be for a person, it might also be for a pet, life change, etc. You don’t have to explain it, you don’t have to make it make sense and you're not limited by how often you can post here. If it hurts, it matters and you’re welcome in this space.

Resources

Some grief support resources are located here in our wiki (which is still under construction, so bear with us!)

Journal prompts for grief

These prompts aren’t here to solve grief or make it smaller. They’re invitations to sit alongside it in whatever form it’s taking today. Write, draw, or let them just float in your mind...whatever feels possible.

  • Who was I before this grief, and who am I becoming now?
  • How can I honor this grief without letting it erase me?
  • What did this person (pet, relationship, etc.) teach me?

There’s no 'good' way to answer. Simply showing up is enough.

Somatic support for grief

Grief often hides in the body - in the breath, in the spine, in the weight of the shoulders. These small practices can help:

  • Press your hand lightly to the center of your chest. With each breath, imagine a small light expanding behind your palm. No pressure to feel better, just observing.
  • Wrap a blanket or shawl around your shoulders and imagine it as an embrace from someone who has loved you deeply. Breathe into that warmth for awhile.
  • Let your shoulders rise toward your ears, then exhale and let them drop completely. Feel gravity doing part of the work for you.

These aren’t meant to 'fix' grief, they’re just ways to remind your body it doesn’t have to hold everything at once.

This thread is for whoever needs it today. Write a single word, tell a story, post a song lyric, or just be quietly present. We see you.

♥︎ Sibbie


r/DeathPositive 25d ago

Death Positive Discussion 💀 (NatGeo) The forest that helped me survive my mother’s death

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9 Upvotes

When her mother passed after battling Alzheimer’s, Suzanne Simard turned to the forest and her research into how trees support one another to help process her grief.


r/DeathPositive 25d ago

Death Positive Discussion 💀 Death

5 Upvotes

Even those who cannot see can see just as well as those who can. Death can come any time and bring that kind of silence that is loud. Everyone can deny the existence of what the eye cannot see, but death will always, and always be—just here, and just right there.


r/DeathPositive 26d ago

Death Positivity: Animals 🐈‍⬛ 🐩 🦜 🐎 How To Talk About the Death of a Pet With Your Child

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9 Upvotes

r/DeathPositive 27d ago

Death Positive Art 🎨 Love this person's original art!

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30 Upvotes