Dopers in general aren’t afraid of ISIS or spree killers murdering them, but what are you afraid will be your end?
We are all going to die somehow. Which ways seem plausible enough to you that you’ve taken the time to worry about them?
Limiting it to the top five or so worries, you can order them anyway you want or stipulate they’re all equally worrisome. Be as elaborate as you like.
For me these are actually in order:
[ol]
[li]Fatal car crash in bad weather, likely snow[/li][li]Fire[/li][li]Fatal injury caused by an elderly or texting person (either while I’m walking or driving)[/li][li]My clumsiness will finally literally kill me[/li][li]Illness (in odds of likeliness: respiratory, cancer, or cardiac related)[/li][/ol]
I’m not too worried about violence or animal attacks or natural disasters or famine or war…or very old age. And I’m definitely not worried about a zombie apocalypse
According to my actuary (my brother) I should worry about (1) car accident (2) heart attack and (3) stroke, in that order, given my age, lifestyle and physical condition.
In a couple of years, the first two spots will be reversed.
While I don’t wanna die, I REALLY don’t wanna deal with some sort of physical disaster that impairs me to the point where I can’t take care of myself, particularly something brain related.
My grandfather had a series of strokes that left him bedridden and unable to communicate. Before that, he lost enough cognitive function that he literally couldn’t follow a train of thought long enough to finish speaking a sentence.
Ditto ------ already had one of each and for a while I had a doctor who thought I was being optimistic buying green bananas. This was ages ago so while it costs me sleep now and then, its not on a regular basis.
Let me modify that. I’m aware of both but I fear a crippling illness. The thought that that could happen does give me shivers.
I worry about cancer, as there is lots of it in my family, and all of my family died young. I’m much older than either of my parents ever became, and older than 2 of my 4 grandparents. I’ll outpace another of them next year, God willing. Still it seems unlikely, genetically, that I’ll die of old age.
I no longer fear car accidents. I’ve been in two fatal accidents and walked away both times - scarred, but alive. Evidently, the universe has something else planned for me. Gulp.
Like others, I fear being incapacitated mentally or physically, while still intact mentally.
I already had one heart attack, albeit 50 years, have atrial fib and a pacemaker, I think it highly likely that it will be heart disease. Maybe a heart attack, maybe heart failure. Second place: a stroke, third place cancer.
I don’t think about death much. I’m in excellent health, although one never knows, something could sneak up on me. Probably the most likely things that would be my end in the next decade or so would be a car crash or a horseback riding accident.
I’ve been flying small planes for 40+ years, and an active flight instructor for 30. I’ve lost count of the pilot funerals I’ve attended over the decades. I know how statistics works, but I still find myself wondering if I’m pushing the probabilities too much.
I guess I worry more about Cessnas than heart attacks.
I don’t fear death as such, it’s coming to us all so we might as well get used to the idea. I do worry about a long, lingering illness especially in a society where we seem so concerned with preserving life without necessarily any quality. I suppose I should have a living will or DNR in place but my partner and parent both know that I would not want to be kept alive by machines.
If I cannot talk, move or in some way interact with people, feel free to unplug me and charge your phone instead.
