[close04]

> life of any quality is infinitely better than no life

From someone who's been on the other side of the story (albeit nowhere close in severity) I can tell you that this is a philosophical debate that you might have with yourself for years and not really reach a solid and stable conclusion. Because it will change depending on your state. Like promising never to drink again during the worst drunkenness or hangover.

On one hand that low quality of life may be the worst thing you ever experienced and there's the distinct risk of going even lower. On the other hand we have no idea what lies on the other side - nothing or something that may be better or worse. And of course there's always the sliver of hope that all goes well and giving up on life too soon is a waste.

[scotty79]

> not really reach a solid and stable conclusion. Because it will change depending on your state.

I can clearly see with myself how my mood affects my train of thought. And how my mood comes from the state of my body. I think I can stay grounded pretty well even when my mind is in terrible physical condition and goes to the darkest places as a result of that. I can somewhat filter out the influence of mood on my thinking.

> On the other hand we have no idea what lies on the other side - nothing or something that may be better or worse.

We can be pretty sure that there's no other side. All of neuroscience, medicine, biology and what we know about neural networks point to it being that way. The only thing that points to there being some other side is uneducated* people's fantasies and wishful thinking.

* (at least in neuroscience and medicine)

[close04]

> I think I can stay grounded pretty well even when my mind is in terrible physical condition

Perhaps it's just like torture, given enough time and suffering things change. Every person has a breaking point. I can't imagine anyone taking torture as "keep doing it because it's still better than dying".

> We can be pretty sure that there's no other side.

Pretty sure. I'm not a spiritual person so this isn't about religion. I was just being thorough so until I get to see nothing on the other side I will at least give the option a passing mention.

And I don't think your mind hangs on to life just because once it's over there's only nothingness. The human mind probably can't even conceive what "nothing" means. You might hang on for more "practical" reasons, like "I spent years building this life, I can't waste it especially if there's a slim chance it gets better".