What scares you the most about getting old?

[Rawker]

Maturity. people will expect me to do the rite thing, to think out problems. in the words of The Who, I hope I die before I get old.

 

[mightyfoo69]

going blind and diabetes... my grandpa has to get shots in his pupils for his diabetes or what ever else he has...

 

[Golden Gryphon]

Nothing. Getting old happens to everything. No reason to be scared of it.

I refer you to my post just slightly above yours. Please read it and try again.

I'm not going to because that sounded really snarky. But, oh, don't mind me, just stating my opinion here.

Then I apologise, I appreciate your opinion it just isn't what I was asking and I didn't feel like writing the exact same thing again.

 

[philosophicalbastard]

It doesn't really scare as much as annoys me that I'll become even more bored than I am now, which by the way seems almost physically impossible.

 

[SoonerMatt]

Not being able to be as active as I am. That scares the shit out of me more than anything.

 

[RAWKSTAR]

Losing my family when I die. Nothing's more important than them to me.

 

[naab]

Eh old age is a cause of death that is inescapable. Old age is just the pain od death imo. Since death is painless, the diseases, cripples, and baggage that comes with old age is the pain and symptoms of death.

 

[razer17]

Weak bones, less active, more isolated, less activities to partake in.
not to mention dementia, going deaf, blind, cancer. That is all terrifying. i don't want to be old. i want eternal youth. shame its impossible

 

[GothmogII]

Nothing. Getting old happens to everything. No reason to be scared of it.

I refer you to my post just slightly above yours. Please read it and try again.

I'm not going to because that sounded really snarky. But, oh, don't mind me, just stating my opinion here.

I think he only meant that there's plenty to fear with age. One always hopes to at least keep some modicum of health in their lives, yet can end up succumbing to dementia, senility, incapacitation, any any number of debilitating ailments. If you don't fear any of those, you're either brave or stupid.

Of course it happens to everyone, that's just another aspect of why ageing is so terrifying, it's -inevitable-. And short of warding it off with keeping with good health or just pure luck, there's nothing that you can do besides offing yourself to stop it.

As for me, I think I could live with being confined to a bed or a wheelchair. What scares me most is losing my faculties, my mind and personality and not even realising it. I know, you'd say, but what does it matter to you? If you aren't aware of it as it effects you, but the point is it scares me -now-, and it's something that if I ever felt the starting of, that I seriously consider ending my own life over.

 

[Firia]

As an artist, vision and accurate control are a big deal to me. If I go blind, or my hands start to shake uncontrolably (it's happening to my dad, and he's just a stones throw from 60), my career will be over! Doing what I love will be dead in the water.

In addition to that, non-exhistance scares me. Let me explain; I'm not religious, so I don't believe in the catholic version of life after death. No heavenly paradise, with some all powerful god over seeing my every need. I believe the human race are a very fortuneate set of chemicals that have become self aware. One in a million. That sense of self awareness is further unique in that each person has a unique sense of self. You see our of your eyes, hear your own thoughts, and never does that sense jump to a new life.

I equate death as the same as just before a person is born. A whopping pile of nothing. It's a hard concept to face, and certainly scary. I can see how maybe people needed religious order to give them faith and hope to not face their end.

I'm hopeful I'm wrong, and that there is life after death. But scared of nonexhistance nevertheless.

 

[A random person]

Alzheimer's, that is all.

 

[tomtom94]

I could quote Captain Jack Harkness as written by Justin Richards at this point but, uh...I don't have the book with me so I don't know the exact quote. (It's in Doctor Who: The Deviant Strain for the one person out there who has it. You should know the bit I'm talking about)

From a personal viewpoint:
What scares me is not being able to move easily...not being able to run, or swim, or row... just generally not being as good as I am now. That and my grandmother who is very deaf, may go blind and now has real problems with arthritis. I really don't want to end up that way.

If I was a woman I'd be afraid of something known by some as a "gunt". Lemon Drizzle Cake for the reference .

I know Marcus Brigstocke and Phill Jupitus brought it up on Argumental but I'm guessing that's not what you were thinking of.
From what they said... I think it supposedly describes a certain part of a mature woman's genitalia?

 

[Ironic]

As an atheist, the scariest thing about getting old is being much closer to the likelihood of dying. When I die, chances are I'm going to cease to exist. And me not existing is not the thing I have a problem with, it's the fact that everyone and everything I know and love, every cherished memory I've got will cease to exist along with me. My entire internal perceived universe (even it's memory) will vanish. And when one day my parents die, will that mean I cease to be a son? Because the memory of me being a son will have vanished? I think about this shit entirely too much.

I feel, that if you fear death now, then you still haven't lived life to the point that you're comfortable with what you've achieved. Do more stuff you want to do, and don't fear death, because if you're going to die, you're going to die. I believe in a slightly chaos theory-influenced fate idea, not so much something is controlling what we do, or what we will do, but that events set into motion have set what we will do anyway, like a stack of dominoes. Everyone will die, that's a certainty, but you should cherish that, for life would have no value otherwise.

As far as we can prove, when you die, that's it. So make the most of your time, and don't fear something which cannot be prevented indefinitely.

 

[Golden Gryphon]

I don't see myself as exceptionally brave or stupid. When it comes down to anything inevitable, how you react to it is entirely up to you. I just choose not to fear it because it wouldn't do anything except cause anxiety.

EDIT: The Mysterious Stranger crawls in my balls.

You are beginning to annoy me. I apologised and you still don't appear to have read the post I was referring to.

Just to be clear I'm not asking if you are afraid of getting old, I'm asking what you are least looking forward to in terms of the mental and physical degradation that comes with old age. For example I don't worry about going deaf or getting cancer or even about losing my memory but the thought of no longer being able to read is almost unbearable for me and macular degeneration is not uncommon in old people.

While I appreciate your input this is what I was asking.

 

[AgentNein]

As an atheist, the scariest thing about getting old is being much closer to the likelihood of dying. When I die, chances are I'm going to cease to exist. And me not existing is not the thing I have a problem with, it's the fact that everyone and everything I know and love, every cherished memory I've got will cease to exist along with me. My entire internal perceived universe (even it's memory) will vanish. And when one day my parents die, will that mean I cease to be a son? Because the memory of me being a son will have vanished? I think about this shit entirely too much.

I feel, that if you fear death now, then you still haven't lived life to the point that you're comfortable with what you've achieved. Do more stuff you want to do, and don't fear death, because if you're going to die, you're going to die. I believe in a slightly chaos theory-influenced fate idea, not so much something is controlling what we do, or what we will do, but that events set into motion have set what we will do anyway, like a stack of dominoes. Everyone will die, that's a certainty, but you should cherish that, for life would have no value otherwise.

As far as we can prove, when you die, that's it. So make the most of your time, and don't fear something which cannot be prevented indefinitely.

Believe me, I've done plenty. And I'll continue to do my best with living my life to it's fullest. Because why not? With that said, if even the memory of my experiences is annihilated along with me, it's just hard sometimes finding a point.

 

[axia777]

Alzheimer's. I would rather be weak of body and strong of mind then weak of mind and strong of body. I drink a lot of green tea and eat other things with with lots of anti-oxidants on top of taking fish oil to keep my brain healthy. Alzheimer's is the worst.

 

[Andaxay]

The one thing that scares me beyond anything else is losing my independence. I never, ever, EVER want to get to the stage where someone else is taking care of me, getting my shopping so I'm stuck in the house, taking me to the toilet, changing my clothes. It's more frightening to me than death.