You’ve probably dedicated a lot of time and effort to learning about cryonics. So, it’s understandable that you’re excited about it! Signing up is a big step and you should be proud of taking it. However, trying to find the right way to tell your friends and family about your decision can be intimidating. Some people might see cryopreservation as a taboo subject. Maybe your loved ones are very traditional or hold strong values in their religious beliefs. Maybe they’re more conservative about technological advancements and the idea of the future. Or maybe they have certain cultural attitudes towards death. There could be many reasons that you may feel nervous about sharing your choice to be cryopreserved, but that doesn’t mean you should keep it to yourself. We’ve put together a few tips to give you some guidance on how to tell people about your decision to choose cryopreservation. Who knows, maybe they’ll be so moved that they sign up too!
Ways to Tell People About Your Decision for Cryopreservation
The way you choose to tell your loved ones about your decision to be cryopreserved matters. It sets the scene for their understanding of such a deeply personal decision and can even influence them to shift their mindsets. Communicating your decision means they’ll be informed of your wishes if you were to pass away. This means that your friends and family could be of great help in the case of sudden death. In fact, their actions could actually influence the quality of your cryopreservation. For a smooth process from start to finish, consider the following tips.
Discuss Your Personal Interest in Cryonics
The best way to begin your conversation about cryopreservation is to talk about your story. Explain what sparked your interest in cryonics in the first place. Be logical, but personal and try to paint a picture of what led you to your decision to be cryopreserved. There are so many interesting aspects of this industry and don’t be afraid to share them all with your loved ones. The more information they get, the easier it will be for them to share your point of view. However, approach the topic with sensitivity. You don’t want to put any pressure on them to join you at this moment in time. Instead, just focus on your story and your reasoning behind your decision as a way to gently introduce them to biostasis.
Explain Common Misconceptions About Cryopreservation
Next, it will help to explain a few of the most common misconceptions about the cryonics industry and the process of cryoprotection. The use of cryonics in movies and sci-fi novels can skew the public’s perception of what biostasis really is. Making these clarifications is an important part of breaking down the inaccurate stigma that some people carry. Some of the misconceptions include:
- Cryonics involves freezing people — biostasis patients undergo a process of vitrification before long-term storage. This reduces the risk of ice crystal formation within the body, thus lowering the risk of cellular damage. Cryopreservation doesn’t involve freezing anyone.
- Cryopreservation is unnatural — unnatural compared to what? Getting a heart transplant? Being buried in a cemetery or cremated? Choosing to undergo biostasis may be innovative, but it’s certainly not unnatural.
- Cryonics is murder — the cryoprotection procedure cannot be started until legal death has been pronounced by a licensed, healthcare professional. Under no circumstances can it happen before this, regardless of individual choice.
- Cryopreservation will never work — there’s no fundamental biological reason why revival in the future isn’t possible. Although no one has been successfully revived today, technological advancements have been progressing the line between what’s possible and impossible for centuries.
- Cryonics is only for the rich — while cryopreservation does require an investment of €200.000, there are plenty of funding options that make it more financially accessible. For example, with term life insurance, monthly costs are not actually that high. This allows you to grow your savings for the future, when term life insurance ends.
During your conversations, it’s important to recognize that revival technology hasn’t yet been developed. However, this doesn’t mean it’s a scam. The cryonics industry is filled with dedicated individuals who are committed to advancing research and development necessary to progress. In fact, many of them are signed up for cryopreservation themselves. Mankind has been doubting the possibility of new inventions for years, but many of them have preserved and are now a regular part of our life. We believe cryopreservation is on the same path.
Face Mortality vs. Your Love of Living
Once you start talking about cryonics, you’ll likely start dancing around the topic of mortality. The two tend to go hand-in-hand. Although talking about death can be unnerving, it’s an important part of life. Until aging can be cured, death continues to be inevitable. But everyone has a different attitude towards death. Being open and honest about your views on mortality can help your family develop an emotional connection with the cryonics industry. It will also allow them to better understand your decision. You should also make sure you clearly describe the purpose of cryonics to give them a better idea of what the industry focuses on.
It’s especially important to talk about the motivation behind your decision. While they may assume it’s because you have a fear of death, most people sign up for cryopreservation because of their love of living. Maybe it’s because you want to experience everything the future has to offer. Maybe you simply want more time to see the world or benefit from future technologies. Explaining your decision from this point of view makes it easier to understand.
Ongoing Love of Friends and Family
Don’t forget to bring up how your love for your friends and family encouraged your decision! Cryopreservation provides people with a chance to continue their relationships in the future. Unfortunately, this is only possible if they sign up for cryopreservation too. Try to focus on the emotional aspect during this part of your conversation to help produce empathetic responses. By telling your loved ones how much they mean to you, you may find the conversation heads a different way. This is especially important if your ultimate goal is to have more of your community sign up for cryopreservation with you.
Explain Your Views About the Alternatives
At the end of the day, the alternative to cryopreservation is body decomposition, which provides you with a 0.00% chance of having a future. Explain how you feel about this. Some people may be highly motivated by their love of life and anticipation of the future. These are probably big factors for you too. However, you may also think, why not? The alternative provides you with absolutely no possibility of future revival. You can still have memorial services postmortem with cryopreservation, it just won’t be an open casket. Cryopreservation gives you some degree of chance, so why not take a leap of faith?
Conclusion
How you tell your friends and family is ultimately up to you, but by taking a strategic approach, you may be able to convince them to sign up too. However, keep in mind that cryopreservation is not for everyone. If your friends and family don’t want to sign up, you need to accept their decision—just like they’re accepting yours! People should be free to choose how long they want to live. If you still want someone with you at revival, consider signing up your pet or making friends with other members in the cryonics community. If you’re looking for more information to help you with your conversation or get answers to some questions posed by your loved ones, schedule a call with us!
So, have you told your friends and family about your decision to be cryopreserved yet? If so, let us know how it went! We’d love to add your suggestions to this article for future members. You can also connect with us on Discord to speak with other members of our community about their experiences with sharing.
