afraid to die?

[BDBohnzie]

I came to grips with this reality (again) when I found out my family is putting my Dad's parents into assisted living. You grow up with a certain vision of what your grandparents (or parents for that matter) look like to you, and then in one fell swoop, it comes crashing down and you realize how mortal they, and you, really are. While I know it's for the best, I'm still having a tough time with it.

Then you have my Mom's Father (Mom's Mother passed 12 years ago) who broke his hip 3 weeks ago, and two weeks after surgery was walking without a cane or walker and going through Rehab like a walk in the park. He's the same age as my Dad's Father. It's weird how things work sometimes.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

I came to grips with this reality (again) when I found out my family is putting my Dad's parents into assisted living. You grow up with a certain vision of what your grandparents (or parents for that matter) look like to you, and then in one fell swoop, it comes crashing down and you realize how mortal they, and you, really are. While I know it's for the best, I'm still having a tough time with it.

Then you have my Mom's Father (Mom's Mother passed 12 years ago) who broke his hip 3 weeks ago, and two weeks after surgery was walking without a cane or walker and going through Rehab like a walk in the park. He's the same age as my Dad's Father. It's weird how things work sometimes.

The closest I've ever been to death was probably in the months leading up to my next door neighbor's passing a little over a year ago.
I'd lived next door to him for years and he was always this strong older guy (mid 60s) who loved doing yard work and gardening and all that sort of stuff. Then he was diagnosed with cancer and he started to go pretty quick.
He lost a ton of weight and and couldn't do much of anything for himself anymore. Since my mom is a nurse we used to go over to his house to help his wife change his sheets or get him out of the hospital bed that they had to put in their living room.
Once his wife frantically pounded on our door because he fell out of bed when she was trying to change his clothes. When I got there he just seemed to sad and helpless.
When he finally did pass away, in a hospice, I felt so relieved for him and his widow because at least all that pain and suffering was over. It was obviously very sad, but almost good at the same time.

Until then I obviously knew I was going to die one day, but I never really had to face death first hand (both my grandfathers passed away before I was born and my grandmothers are still with us).
After seeing my neighbor go I don't think I'm really afraid of dying so much as I am afraid that I will feel like I didn't live my life to the fullest when it is my time. At the same time, I guess I am sort of afraid that I could get into a freak accident and go at any minute, but I know that I can't let that fear keep me from living my life. I guess I'd rather die while climbing a mountain at age 30 (God forbid) than spend my whole life sitting on my ass and die alone and bored at 90.

[Schneed10]

I'm not religious, so I don't believe in an afterlife really. But there's so little we know about Neuroscience, that who the hell knows what goes on in your brain when you die.

If chemical imbalances can cause depression, bipolar disorder, and stuff like that, what happens chemically when our brains cease to get oxygen and carbon dioxide builds up? I mean, we know the brain tissue dies, but we don't know how the brain reacts to that chemical change. Does it release a signal making us think there's a white light? Does it release a signal feeling like endorphins? Hell, for all we know, a dying brain's chemical changes could release us into a vivid world that seems like heaven. For all we know, heaven could be inside our own minds.

That's what is so trippy, to me. We have no idea what our brain's going to do when we die. Will it do anything, and if so, how long will it last before the screen goes totally blank?

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I'm not religious, so I don't believe in an afterlife really. But there's so little we know about Neuroscience, that who the hell knows what goes on in your brain when you die.

If chemical imbalances can cause depression, bipolar disorder, and stuff like that, what happens chemically when our brains cease to get oxygen and carbon dioxide builds up? I mean, we know the brain tissue dies, but we don't know how the brain reacts to that chemical change. Does it release a signal making us think there's a white light? Does it release a signal feeling like endorphins? Hell, for all we know, a dying brain's chemical changes could release us into a vivid world that seems like heaven. For all we know, heaven could be inside our own minds.

That's what is so trippy, to me. We have no idea what our brain's going to do when we die. Will it do anything, and if so, how long will it last before the screen goes totally blank?

It's actually possible to take a synthesized version of the chemical your brain is thought to secrete prior to death. My friend took it and said he saw pearly white gates. He said it was 20 minutes that felt like about 8 hours.

Dimethyltryptamine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MTK]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

It's actually possible to take a synthesized version of the chemical your brain is thought to secrete prior to death. My friend took it and said he saw pearly white gates. He said it was 20 minutes that felt like about 8 hours.

Dimethyltryptamine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

damn that stuff sounds like no joke

[Schneed10]

By the way, great thread dude. Sure beats bitching at each other about thread titles.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Schneed, you just blew my fucking mind! I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

(neat, no more language filter)

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Schneed, you just blew my fucking mind! I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

(neat, no more language filter)

Yeah man, there's a lot of chemical changes that go along with decomposition. Would a rotting brain emit some minor chemical charges (similar in strength to the synapses that currently make us think thoughts) that could get interpreted in some way by a dying brain? If you get cremated, does that just dismantle your brain and completely shut it down? If you send a mild electric current through a dead brain, will images flash from within the brain?

I don't know, maybe a neurologist will come along and set me straight and say a brain ceases all activity once you're dead. Who knows. But there isn't a neurologist who has experienced death, and neurology is a science we don't know a whole lot about. Maybe there's brain activity there that our technology can't pick up?

I have no answers, only questions.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I have no answers, only questions.

Just like Socrates.

[hesscl34]

You guys are freaking me out!!!

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Yeah, I really didn't mean that people shouldn't be sad or mourn your passing, but that just shouldn't be the whole focus, IMO. I guess that's easier said than done if the death is really untimely.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Yeah, I really didn't mean that people shouldn't be sad or mourn your passing, but that just shouldn't be the whole focus, IMO. I guess that's easier said than done if the death is really untimely.

Word. No matter how you cut it, death sucks. I guess I just meant to say that people should feel free to deal with it in their own way. I remember being at my grandmother's funeral a few years ago, and at the reception I was telling a joke about something she once did, and I was cracking up and my dad and brothers were laughing too. But my mom got all frowny and later told me that you're not supposed to act like that at a funeral. I was like eff that, I'm very sad she's gone, but we all deal with it in our own way. I like to remember the good things to help me get through the tough feelings.

[MTK]

A buddy of mine and I were debating this the other day. What if you got sucked out of a plane at 30,000 feet? Is it possible free fall to your death and be aware of what's going on? Or would you pass out due to the thin air and shock of the situation??

[hesscl34]

You'd pass out.. no oxygen...

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by hesscl34

You'd pass out.. no oxygen...

It would actually depend on the person. Most would pass out, but there are a few capable of making it.