Reply to Does anyone else not want to live to be very old?

Forum Index » Eldercare

Reply to "Does anyone else not want to live to be very old?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. For the people who are saying they have loved ones who lived enjoyable lives into their 80s and 90s, are you really telling me they didn’t endure chronic physical ailments? That just doesn’t track with what I’ve seen.

The reality is that you don’t get to choose. Killing yourself is a lot harder than one might think. You don’t want to mess it up and leave yourself worse. I can sort of see that desire to keep going. When I was as at my worst I’d often fantasize about how I could do it if I just couldn’t take anymore; and it weirdly calmed me down. I felt like it was a way out of my body. But I didn’t really want to die. I just didn’t want to suffer anymore. My mom just continues to suffer every day and no doctor ever really helps. It’s very frightening.[/quote]

Well, there's my mother, who died suddenly (cardiac arrest) at age 87.  She had a few health problems, but nothing serious.  She had her own apartment, drove herself wherever she wanted to go, did her own shopping and cooking, and was physically active -- hiked to and from the shopping mall (a half-mile trip each way) at least once a week, and even in very cold Michigan weather.  I begged her to come live with me and my family numerous times, but she {understandably) wanted to keep her independence.  Everyone in her extended family loved her, and I still miss her, though 26 years have passed since her death.

I would love to live as long and as well as she.  So far, so good.  I will shortly turn 78 and am in good health (as is my husband), but who knows?  When I was younger, I used to waste my time thinking about what death would be like, and whether I should stick it out to the end, or off myself before I started to deteriorate.  But I don't do that anymore.[b]  I now realize it for what it is -- a fool's game.  You just can't know these things, and brooding about them is a waste of time.[/b]  Live your best life as long as you can.

[/quote]

perfectly said. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics