How do you deal with the impending doom of getting old?
I know, what a crazy thread title. But my uncle just passed away in his 80s, and it’s kind of getting to me. For context, I’m 38. Relatively young still. But after my uncle passed, my sister (40) and I were discussing our youth and, well, our eventual deaths. Very morbid. My uncle was the last of his immediate family to die. My grandpa died in the 90s, my grandma died in 2014, my mom died in 2018, my aunt died in 2024, and my uncle now in 2026. Which completes their immediate family. It’s comforting in a way to know they’re all together again. But also super dismal because these were people I grew up knowing as my family. And now I’M the adult. The old one. The one my young nieces and nephews look at and think, “Oh he’s still young even though he’s old.” I dont know where I’m going with this, but… how do you all deal with the inevitability of your own impending death? Sigh. Sorry to be a wet blanket on a Friday night, lmao.
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Damn sorry to hear about your uncle. How are you holding up (outside of this post)? Everything alright?
For me, I guess I settled myself on the impending part - it's going to happen whether you want it to or not, so you may as well enjoy your time here - find your passion, your personal life purpose and just go and do it. It still doesn't remove the horror of it all, of course, but it pushes me to stop being so afraid and to go do what I personally want to do and care about.
I am getting old and I decided not to notice it unless I have to.
This is the way, Ignorance is bliss
I look at death as freedom from pain and suffering. Its sad yes, but inevitable.
I really don't see death as a problem to solve — it's a just fact that's out there, like the sky being blue. Some days it's heavier than others. But I find that the more I let it sit there without fighting it, the more it does something unexpected: it makes the ordinary stuff — coffee, dumb jokes, a good song on a drive — feel a little more amazing. Like, this is appening, right now, and won't always. That's not nothing.
I guess for me it's more about not paying attention to death and focusing on the joy of being alive instead!
Well said! And funny, I was going to use the "blue sky" analogy...but I couldn't get the words to form properly. My comment was rather unintentionally harsh compared to yours...perhaps I should delete mine and just say, 'what he said'.
I don't worry too much about age or death personally. Things I feel some sense of "doom" over are stuff like never finding love, never owning a home or not being able to make a living in an enjoyable or even tolerable way. Also I think health is something that people like to equate with age but not everyone ages the same you know. I think if you're healthy you can live life and do lots of stuff till old age. Meanwhile being young and having complications already makes you feel old and withered(don't ask how I know 🤫)
I don't deal with it...just another stage in life. If you reach it, be happy. Many don't.
Mindfulness of the present moment is key. And finding things that you enjoy.
Once you have those two things, you are on your way to consistent contentment and frequent happiness.
I’ve been though a lot in life (41 yo), but I am excited every morning when I get to spend more time and energy on things that matter to me.
Oh, and exercise. I can’t express this enough:
Any day that you don’t move your body to get your heart beating a little faster, you will likely feel that something is missing.
We are meant to move, and our bodies need it and crave it.
Even just an evening or morning walk or bike ride could be enough for some people.
I'm not really worried about dying. The getting old part is tough. I'm 42. I'm not looking forward to it at all. My family is cursed with long life. Mid 80's is common. 90+ isn't rare. My grandma made it to 94 I think, and it depressed the hell out of her. It depresses me thinking about it....just watching bodies decay around sharp minds...it's bumming me out typing this...
Wait, you asked me how I deal with it? I don't...lots of denial 😅