Top 10 Negative Consequences of Immortality
Being immortal is something plenty of us probably wished at some point. But here's the question: if you were granted the opportunity to be immortal, would you take it? Living forever may be desirable for a lot of people, but if you think twice, immortality comes with a handful yet significant issues to deal with. There's a reason why some people consider it a curse, and why death gives us significant meaning to live. Therefore, it would be a bit wiser to consider these consequences before making such a choice of a lifetime. This list gives 10 main examples of those consequences that should be considered.
Mental health issues are certainly a problem that's a bit overlooked when considering immortality. There are still some risks that are important to consider - with schizophrenia and depression being of major concern, or even alzheimers/dementia assuming if you either became immortal at old age or your body still ages to physically old but can't advance further to this limit. Having certain genetic traits also play a role on the chances of getting various mental health issues. If you happen to suffer from dementia even after being immortal, you're in for an eternal mental hell.
One of the most important things to consider if immortality does not come with invulnerability. Diseases can still impact immortal people and can be fatal (assuming if an immortal person is still susceptible to diseases). On the other hand there are sicknesses that can hinder a person's quality of life for years or decades. Take that in hand with new types of diseases emerging in the future (bioterrorism is a major factor to consider as technology improves overtime). Long covid may be a good recent example, but it is also important to note of similar certain diseases (including future ones) that may impact you for centuries on end. Genetic diseases other auto-immune diseases are also major concerns as they cannot be cured.
This also assumes that you are the only immortal person living on this planet. This is not only considering losing your whole family and other loved ones, but the rest of humanity. Imagine a world where you would be the only one to survive through immortality while humanity becomes extinct by natural or artificial means? It's an eternally long trip through battling that feeling, considering that humans are meant for each other and you have no one to rely on.
If we are counting natural disasters, landslides/avalanches or sinkholes are some of the biggest concerns to be aware of. There's been cases of sinkholes swallowing people, but it's a very rare occurrence. Let's say you're living on a stranded place and a deep sinkhole opens up around where you are standing at. Assuming no one is there to rescue you and your body is immune to hunger/thirst it's no guarantee that you may be stuck for thousands of years. This may also apply if a person happens to be buried under an avalanche.
Specifically life imprisonments without parole. There's a lot of documented history where people would be falsely convicted to prison - including life imprisonment and even be sentenced to death. Let's say in the bizarre case that someone accuses you of a false crime and that in result puts you into jail without possibility of parole. There's a chance the jury may acquit you from false charges and receiving the "get out of jail free" card later on, but there's always that tiny chance that it may never happen. Nonetheless being confined in a prison for centuries is something you wouldn't even wish to your worst enemy, considering the enormous effects of boredom that you'll have to endure.
Perhaps one of the most obvious consequence that you may expect if you were to be immortal. In the short term, being immortal may be a desirable choice, and may be benefiting to you as it seems. Later on in the next few hundred years or even a thousand years later you may find almost everything boring and that you are no longer interested in newer subjects, let alone things you may consider most entertaining, which is a major contributor of procrastination. In our lives we usually get bored for days, weeks, even months, but being immortal would amplify that effect to decades or even centuries to the point that even the most effective coping method doesn't work for you.
Assuming that you are the only immortal one in the planet, it's also essential to remain low profile if you are a privacy-oriented person, but one way or another someone would notice your birthdate a few hundred years later, which would be widely recognizable to the point that you would be scrutinized by government authorities - as you may be seen as a useful asset for research purposes. Worse, you may be treated as a lab rat and may be subject to risky or even fatal experiments. On the other hand, you'll be famous around the world, which may seem good but detrimental to your privacy for those who prefer living a confidential lifestyle.
Assuming that you are the only immortal on this planet, another obvious consequence is tied with boredom and loneliness. However, seeing your loved ones die adds much more to the feeling of loneliness. On the flip side, it's possible to have your great-great-great-great-great, etc. grandchildren look up to you as an ancestor, which can add a very positive feeling. Note that this item is focusing on family members or relatives whom you consider the closest.
If anything, immortality would be the perfect excuse to not do certain important priorities nor to get out of your comfort zone. Given that we all procrastinate from time to time you would probably procrastinate for years, if not decades. No, make that centuries even. Maybe that is good in the short term, but you'll miss many opportunities in that span, especially if they tend to happen one time. Oh hey, how about we can go to Paris next week? Not in a million years, literally.
Although we don't know much about the brain, the brain is finite, therefore memory may be also finite, but it is capable of storing a myriad of events in a lifetime - considering the brain consists of billions of neurons which can conjure up a memory of our life via patterns which are virtually unlimited. Repetition plays a major factor of an active memory, which can last a very long time if consistently maintained. Eventually as you live for a few centuries you may completely forget almost everything that happened in your first century years. This may not be much of a problem if you keep a journey practically documenting all the events that happened in your life.