Guys between age of 45 and 55 do you think about death or does it seem far away

After age 50 I started sensing a sudden drop in vitality every 5 years. 1st time I decided it was acceptable to walk for a minute after each 5k or so, then it was ok to run totally relaxed for awhile, then it was ok to take an extra day off. Things just kinda snowballed as time passed.

This thread hits too close to home for me to read it

:(

I'm 56, and I am (luckily) a very healthy 56. My only ailments are running related, so yeah so I can't run 20 miles every Saturday morning like I used to, but that is not a REAL problem.

I do think about dying. At 56 that means I am well past the halfway point, and heading towards home. I probably have a good 20 years left, then anything after that is a crap shoot.

I do not give one second of thought to afterlife, but I do worry about being 80+ and being miserable. Hopefully medical science can continue to help with improvements to the quality of life of the elderly. It's fine to live to 85 but not if you are bedridden or need 247 nursing care.

I recently lost a friend that was 62 to pancreatic cancer. One of my former teammates died of brain cancer. I have other close friends that are dealing with heart issues, you name it. When you see your peers dealing with this stuff, it hits hard. It makes it very very real.

Yep. It's crappy living that scares me. Rather be dead than living in a a home getting visitors once a week that I don't recognize.

46 here. I’m an optimist, so I think I’m only just past the halfway mark. Both of my parents are still alive, so I don’t think of death much. It’s just a fact of life, and thinking about it does no good.

The only slightly depressing things are that my favorite songs and movies are mostly 25-30 years old. Or watching TV dads from the 90s and realize I’m older now then they were on the show

Like others I worry more about quality of life. For now, I can still run pretty well. I have 2 kids in high school, so they keep us busy. I have a good amount of money, but not enough yet to retire with our spending habits. It’s okay though because I don’t hate my job like I did in my 20s.

I’m about to go to Japan for the first time. I just ran Boston. I drive the best car I’ve ever owned. Most of all, I have a great family and friends. I try to enjoy each day and don’t let little things bother me as much as they used to. Overall my 40s has been a really good decade so far.

As long as cacca is smooth and healthy and making its way out, you won’t be. Fact of life.

Stay poopy.

I'm mid-50s. My wife of 30 years has an incurable disease and may only have a few years left. I'll be left behind eventually...so I have to think about death every day. It's rough knowing that I'll be on the downslope of life alone without the person I've loved for 30+ years.

I just turned 50 earlier this month, and my brother who was 48, drank himself to death in February. My Dad is a severe alcoholic, would be homeless if he didn't live with his 90 year old mom. My youngest cat has lymphoma, I have cried more over my cat.

Last summer, I knew. I knew it was a golden age, and that I was living it, and that it was transient. I can't explain better than that. I spent more time outside into the late night than I ever have. I live well, nice property in the country. It is silent and peaceful at night.

The breeze, the birds chirping. Smell of cut grass and vitality. I stand on my porch and consider my place in it, how the quiet is immense and important, but only when you sit and appreciate it.

I happen to work in life insurance. I am very familiar with mortality tables. At 50, I know my time is more than half gone. Sure, I hold the faintest of hopes that science is going to move faster than my own mortality, but that's just wishful thinking. Life extension is in the grasp of humanity, but we don't quite have it yet.

I have to work in a few minutes. I'll have dinner tonight, and likely consider my place in the world during the evening. Then repeat. That's life and it's frightening. One day it just ends.

Having been near death and having a major 5-hour long surgery as a result, I am less afraid of death. More afraid of being old and helpless. Since we live so long now you're going to have possibly decades after retirement. to just go old and wither as you watch the youth of society, wishing you had the same youthfullness.

My philosophy is now healthspan is more important than lifespan. Healthspan is the number of years of your life that you're in good health. You can have a long lifespan but it's going to be miserable if your healthspan is show in comparison.

at 64 it is inevitable and accepted. I feel accomplished with few things left on bucket list. Worry more about family who have relied on me. I can only hope my wife meets someone new to take care of her and provide guidance for grandchildren.

Yes but I will die by my own hand

Destiny

Can be 20s or 30s too. It's generally when someone close to you around your parents age (parent, aunt/uncle, etc) dies.

40 years old here. Not quite at the age range you are asking, but I do think about death a little more these days.

Turning 40 was strange (for me at least). I don't feel too much older, and definitely not any more mature. I feel like I can still do what I used to do, and within reason, that's true. The weird part for me these days is seeing the generation before me get older. My parents, aunts, uncles, mentors, they are all starting to wear down and die. That's been surreal for me, which does make me feel my own mortality a little bit more. Then I have my own kids, and seeing them grow makes me feel older, knowing that one day they will be in my shoes and I'll be gone is strange. Its also strange realizing that I'm the one in charge now, parents/kids are relying on me, there's no safety net any longer, not that I've ever needed one.

At this point for me, its kind of creeping into my thoughts a bit. I still feel young/good, but I'm realizing more that aging/death is inevitable, whereas you think you are immortal when you're in your 20s/30s. The proliferation of gray hair isn't helping anything either.

When I turn 55 I plan on applying for Oldje, if nothing serious hits me...at least Im looking forward to that.

May I ask what kind of disease?

At 70 there is nothing special about 45 or 55. Yet I have a friend in his late forties who has incurable stomach cancer. A friend lost a son of 23 to cancer. In two weeks. Mortality can come at any time. As they say - it is only a heartbeat away.

Male 60 yrs.

Remember what it was like before you were born?

That's what death will be also.

So no I don't.

When you start to realize your parents look to you for advice, you know things have taken a turn.

The depressing thing about being older is that you realize all your "Bests" are in the past (sex had, meals eaten, accomplishments at work, mental acuity, athletic achievements...) No matter what you do, it will always be less, or worse.

I am so sorry to hear that. That is truly terrible... I do think that "family" is the biggest factor in being old. Can we find people to surround ourselves with during those declining years?

The era of having 10 kids and extended families is long past but I think that was one of the (only) upsides of the olden times; you always had lots of different people to bring you a bowl of soup and move you to a different corner of the cottage.

How can we get back some kind of community in our old age? Most of us didn't have tons of kids, so that isn't the default option anymore.