Every person is different. I do suspect that if you asked 10000 men and 10000 women this question, you’d get some similarities (death of a spouse/child/friend/pet/self; inability to conceive; loss of income; loss in general) across the groups (as well a lot of differences.)
I’m actually similar in that regard. For me, personally, the thing that haunts me is loss of intellect.
The absolute worst thing that I can imagine happening to me is dementia/altzheimers. I have as many safeguards in place as I possibly can to preserve my memory (that’s entirely the point of Evernote) and my diet basically consists of foods that are proven to enhance brain function (and little else – I literally couldn’t care less about the rest of my body.)
The thing is, it’s also an entirely unrealistic fear that I have.
In the entire known history of my family, only one relative succumbed to dementia, and that was because she never read, never left her home and never even watched television. She simply didn’t use her brain at all so it stopped working.
My family is full of sharp-minded, long-lived people.
It doesn’t even matter at what level the intelligence. To me, the brain is the most important thing a person has, and the only thing that we can truly use from birth until death.
Beauty fades, Strength weakens, and anything external (people, pets, material goods) is ephemeral – but our minds can continue to be sharp and alive right up until the end.
I’m frightened constantly that I’ll do something to screw that up.
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-worst-thing-that-could-happen-to-a-woman
Originally Posted On: 2016-03-19