Apeirophobia – People Who Fear They Will Live Forever And Are Afraid Of Infinity

Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com – Many people are afraid of death. We don’t know what happens when we die. Will we cease to exist, be re-born or perhaps continue our existence in another ‘form’ and realm? Is death the ultimate end? These are questions we cannot answer and not knowing makes many people nervous about death.

Just as some are afraid of death there are individuals who fear living forever. Credit: Public Domain

There are also people who fear they will live forever, and they suffer from a medical condition that is known as Apeirophobia. The word apeiro comes from the Greek language and means boundless or infinite. People who have Apeirophobia are afraid of infinity, a concept that goes far back in time.

According to Ancient Pages, the riddle of time has fascinated not only modern scientists, but our ancestors as well. “Many ancient civilizations believed in the concept of infinity and they had different ideas how to explain the nature of infinity. The earliest recorded idea of infinity comes from Anaximander, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus. He used the word apeiron which means infinite or limitless.

Drawing of Ouroboros, an ancient infinity symbol by Theodoros Pelecanos, in a 1478 copy of a lost alchemical tract by Synesius. Learn more

Examination of ancient texts reveals that many people had one ancient symbol in common to express the thought of infinity – the Ouroboros.”

What Is Apeirophobia?

In modern times, Apeirophobia is a little known, yet fairly common condition. People of different ages can experience Apeirophobia and what causes this anxiety is not really known. As in most phobia cases, the condition is often traced back to a specific triggering event, usually a traumatic experience at an early age, but it can also be a combination of genetics, and brain chemistry and life-experiences that lead to this suffering.

To many it’s can be difficult to grasp that some are afraid of eternal life, but those who suffer from Apeirophobia fell they are stuck in time, with no means of escape. Does this imply that those who suffer from Apeirophobia do not believe in death? The answer is yes and no. it depends. Some think they will continue to live forever after they have dies, while others do not think they will ever die and they must continue their existence indefinitely.

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“I suspect that, in apeirophobia, one comes to the ‘realization’ that after death you will live forever (if you believe this), and in simulating that experience in your mind, one realizes that there is no way to project ahead to ‘forever’ — and that experience is, inherently, anxiety-provoking. As such, the anxiety that these folks are feeling may not be much different than the fear of growing up, getting old, or death,” Martin Weiner from the George Mason University explains.

One Apeirophobia sufferer explained how frustrating this condition can be. “I fear that eventually throughout eternity I will eventually reach a point where I have experienced everything, learned everything, done everything, met everyone, and eventually I am gonna be stuck being bored of being in existence, but I’m gonna have no way out no matter how much I want it to be so.

And even though that would take a very very long time to reach, my reasoning is eventually it will happen, and all that time in the midst of eternity coming up to that point will seem like a blink of an eye, because time is no more then a perception and measurement, an idea that we give to days and so on and so forth,” he said.

People who suffer from Apeirophobia think their life road will never end. Credit: Public Domain

Remember, just because there isn’t much scientific or medical information about Apeirophobia doesn’t mean the condition is not real. In fact, people of all ages can experience Apeirophobia, and the condition can trigger a variety of symptoms, from anxiety and panic attacks to depression.

Science cannot offer much information about Apeirophobia, at least not yet, but people who suffer from the fear of eternity often exchange information and learn from each other. Some medical help is available, but it doesn’t always help the person who suffers from this little known and unusual phobia.

Anxiety about death is much more common, but as explained earlier on Message To Eagle, quantum physics may have proved there is life after death and there is a quantum code for all living beings.

Written by Cynthia McKanzie – MessageToEagle.com Staff Writer

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