You may want to skip this section if you don't need or want to think about leaving. You can go directly to What to do after going through the LLQ, or Moving away from D&D: Returning to life as usual.
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9.1 Here are some things that a person who is thinking about leaving might consider. You can fill in your own responses if you wish:
· Whether your QOL is acceptable and how long you think it will remain that way:
· How well you think you will adapt (or how well you are adapting) to Very Old Age:
· The value of the contributions to family and society that would be lost if you left:
· The positive and negative emotional reactions of those around you to your absence and to the circumstances of your leaving, and how long these emotions would last:
· The possibility of leaving without fear or pain:
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The accessibility of a method: that is painless and effective (which means having someone to help you), and that leaves you looking as though you were asleep :
· The possibility of payoffs there are in addition to relief from suffering, such as: money, a sense of accomplishment, a feeling of that you are about to do the right thing:
· Your image of the afterlife:
· The social consequences of leaving voluntarily, including: the challenge posed to those who believe your action is wrong, the fact that you are setting an example that might influence others to take this way out, the furthering of a cause if your leaving is a political act:
Whether you have explored alternatives to leaving to the limits of your ability and strength, such as: consulting a pain specialist, or talking with a psychiatrist, psychologist or other professional or friend who can challenge the reasons for your decision, and help you to delay action in order to give adaptation to your circumstances a chance:
Anything else:
9.2 Can you imagine that your QOL or level of suffering would ever be such that you would consider leaving life voluntarily:
If the answer is “Yes”, you will want to do all you can to make sure you that the experience of your leaving and its effects on your survivors are as you want them to be. Some suggestions follow in the next section: X: Things to do before voluntarily or involuntarily leaving life.