What scares you?

Alzheimers. Sorry. And only gone wrong once, maybe not twice. I was feeling a bit strongly and keyed rather carelessly.

Being ill of any sort terrifies me but Alzheimer's disease is my biggest fear.

I hope you are ok, absent.

absent you sound in a bit of a state, are you ok?? Or just ruminating?
Alzheimer's I imagine is one of the biggest fears for all of us. Quite understandably.
My mother recently died a very difficult death, (not Alzheimer's) so that's on my mind. I just posted a relevant thread in the Health section actually.
I guess the death of a child or my spouse are my biggest fears, especially having lost one AC already. Certainly the worst thing I've faced by a landslide!.
I think we all have funny moments (often in the wee hours) when we start pondering and then overthink things, but if you are struggling with worrying thoughts, try to get them out. Either here, or to someone you trust

I live alone and am socially isolated. My biggest fear is something happening to me, no-one knowing, and my pets starving to death.

Oh Rosieleah that's hard to think about. Is there nobody you could have a regular txt/phone call with, so you would both be aware if the other went incommunicado?? Just trying to think of something practical to ease your mind

Also meant to say I sympathise with you fretting over your eye condition absent

Of course it all scares me. Its what I think of a lot of the time. My husband said he often wonders will he waken up in the morning.

What scares me is being old in a home, wearing incontinence pads, hair and body a mess and my family seeing me like that. Maybe having to feed me. ?

Becoming a burden to my family, have lived through losing my other half and a lovely daughter, or should I say am living with those things and think becoming a burden is most scary. Absent please don’t let these thoughts weigh on you, hard I know, be kind to yourself.

I find becoming a burden to my family a very scary thought . Having looked after elderly members of the family myself I know how tying and tiring it can be. I wouldn’t want that for either my children or my grandchildren .

Being alone dying a long death having Alzheimer's like my mum (in final stages) lots if things frighten me we are human and our minds will feel fear it's how we talk and cope with this that helps us understand do you think?

If I think about it for too long, just about everything! All the things mentioned above, certainly.

absent try not to worry about the macular thing.
My MiL had macular degeneration and was fortunate to be able to have Lucentis injections when they were just becoming available.
She had got to the stage of not being able to read & was warned that the injections wouldn’t improve anything, only stop things getting worse.
But they did improve her eyes & she was able to read again which she did until the end of her very long life.
My optician told me that things rich in antioxidants, like blueberries, do help prevent this condition.
My advice would be to have your eyes tested more frequently and ask specifically how the condition of the macula has changed since your last exam. You may find that it has hardly changed at all and that would be reassuring.

I think we all start to fear illness and frailty as we age. We see others getting ill or dying prematurely and wonder when we will succumb. I try to push the fears aside and concentrate on living. It's all scary but you are not alone absent.
RosieLeah I can relate to your concern about your pets, mine do keep me going though and make me happy as well as giving me a lot of work.

Janeainsworth thanks for the info.

I think we have times when we worry about all sorts of things, especially as we get older, and we start to get various conditions. It always seems worse at night, too, doesn’t it, especially when you are by yourself. We sometimes think of worse case scenarios don’t we? In truth, we could, if we let ourselves, frighten our selves witless.
I hope that you are feeling alright, absent and that you have someone nearby you can talk to if there is something in particular worrying you. If it’s the macular degeneration that is giving you worrying thoughts, I can second what jane says - I have a friend who suffers with it and has injections which do help. She has regular optician visits, and so far, things are going well for her. She is still able to drive. I hope these messages of support are helping you. Keep posting. ?

I'm scared of everything. Due to my childhood, I was frightened every day as a child and that has continued as an adult.

That this is it.

Not afraid of dying, but cancer and dementia leave me trembling. I know St Peter will be at the gate to welcome me in!

I too fear any form of dementia, having seen how my mother suffered. To answer the OP, yes, there are lucid moments, and the realisation of what you have become is truly awful. On of the doctors I worked with said he felt dementia would be an ideal way to go, he thought you would just 'drift off' completely unawares. Unusually (for me) I got angry and put him right. How could a GP (doctor, not grandparent) be so unaware?

I think we have to ignore those 2.00 am moments, and just not look too far ahead. At the moment I am okay, there is no reason why I should not be okay a few weeks hence, so I can book holidays and look forward to them, that sort of thing!

KatyK I am so sorry, could you talk to someone, things like CBT really do help?

I'm vaguely uneasy about things, but not scared.
I think I've been through the worst thing ever, so anything else will just have to be got on with.
I shall book myself into the nearest residential home if necessary, and spend the last bit of my life wearing someone else's nighty.

Thanks B9 I've tried a few things but nothing has helped. Never mind.

Getting dementia or Alzheimer's disease is my biggest fear, nothing else worries me quite asmuch as that. I worked in a nursing home for EMI for a few years and, although the staff there were unfailingly kind and patient with the residents, it was heart breaking to watch the steady decline and gradual falling away of the original person. But even worse than that, was witnessing that some residents, once bought into the home, had very few visits from their families and friends and in some cases none at all. Please don't let that be me.

Although you have been through the worst thing ever, I admire your spirit MissA.