Thread: The Coma Potion

I wouldn't like to do this - strange to say but after a while when lucid, I just want to sleep normally. It gets annoying when you're lucid and you string repeated lucid dreams one after another after continuous false awakenings, and after a while I feel I just want to sleep and not be in control of my dreams anymore - I worry this frustration might carry over into this state should it happen...

Originally Posted by Laura

it certainly not something I would want to do. in fact I have felt this state, and I for one dont like it I cant move, it feels like something is preventing me to move, a comatose state is not fun.

Sounds like sleep paralysis.

Lol Mes! Good observation.

If I knew someone who was going to go on any kind of *extended* trip without their family/loved ones, I would counsel against it. Sometimes new experiences must be sacrificed for the sake of those we care about.
But a week... a month... I think our loved ones could manage that sort of absence without much trouble

But you're right Mes. I never even considered my family/friends while considering this. Which opens up a whole new creative angle. The coma potions could be seen as a drug, maybe even facing a ban... makes me think of a movie (grrr, what was it called? Solvent Green or something, I think. Don't know why really.)

**Edit**
God bless Google
It's Soylent Green http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/plotsummary

Originally Posted by Zhaylin

If I knew someone who was going to go on any kind of *extended* trip without their family/loved ones, I would counsel against it. Sometimes new experiences must be sacrificed for the sake of those we care about.

So what about travelling? Going to a university that is not close to the family?
What about accepting a job in another country? What about moving?

If you can only make decisions that have a dremendous effect on your own
life in dependency of all the people you love or that love you, you wouldn't
be really living your own life now, wouldn't you?

While I agree that taking a drug (or potion for that matter) to just simply
'escape' wouldn't be the right thing to do, especially (or mainly) because
of what you would do to others, but the same doesn't go for, quote, 'any kind
of extended trip', IMO.

And if I remember correctly, were you not considering leaving your loved
ones to escape, take an extended trip, as well? I mean no offense - and
I'm glad, if you have changed your mind, but I can't help but notice the
parallels.

Oh I've thought about MANY forms of extended trips But, when it comes right down to it, I weigh the pros and cons and couldn't.
It's the same with this scenario.

My last post was written as a parent and wife, not as a teen/young adult who must leave the nest and start their own life. Perhaps my choice of words was wrong when I included "any kind". I was thinking about the examples presented: a trip to space or in a sub- NOT going to work or college. But again, from a parents/spouses perspective, I still wouldn't encourage lengthy absences from ones family.

But yeah... I've been accused of being too passive and dependant but I call it maturity, compromising, empathy and loyalty

Originally Posted by Zhaylin

Lol Mes! Good observation.

If I knew someone who was going to go on any kind of *extended* trip without their family/loved ones, I would counsel against it. Sometimes new experiences must be sacrificed for the sake of those we care about ... But you're right Mes. I never even considered my family/friends while considering this ...

I don't think that's what Mes was getting at, least not considering she's been living in South Korea for a year now. Just people were quick to answer without consideration for loved ones, not that they shouldn't go away for an extended period of time.

My personal opinion is that your loved ones should be considered when making ANY decision. Taking a coma drug, moving to college, exploring Mars, whatever. It sounds like some of you wouldn't consider other people, and that's fine, that's just a difference in priorities that we have.

For you to better understand my POV, consider the following situation:

Mom: Please don't do [somethingsomething].
Kid: It's MY life. I can do whatever I want.

In this situation I would side with Mom, because YES, it's your life, but part of your life is considering other people when making decisions.



Anyway, I knew people would get a little upset at my comment. Don't mean to offend.

Edit: Adam, yep that's right! Thanks.

I concur.



So does he.

If a person can suffer for his loved ones, can't it be the other way around?

Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

Funny how not a single person has mentioned the heartache of loved ones around them if they were to go into a coma for a permanent or even extended period of time.

Go connect with some humans, DVers.

Exactly, I'm amazed nobody is even considering it.

That's why I said you'd have to have questionable mental health.

Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

Mom: Please don't do [somethingsomething].
Kid: It's MY life. I can do whatever I want..

I think that I'm probably going to side with the kid here 9/10 times. It is the kids life and I don't see why it is seen as acceptable for selfish parents to consider their own wishes over that of their kids. Shouldn't it be the other way around? It's like the parents get to say, "I love you more than anything and I want you to be happy, so long as I get to continue to control your behaviour forever."

Ultimately, it depends on the parent. Some of them will be reasonable and realize that their kids will go off and live their own lives. Others will want to control forever. I see no reason why a kid that is cursed with the latter type of parent should have to have a less fulfilling life than one with the former.

BTW, I surely didn't take offense. I was just pointing out that saying that we lack connection to other humans because of an answer to a highly hypothetical question is a little silly, don't you think? Even if the question wasn't hypothetical, don't you think that the correct order would be to decide if you even wanted to do it to begin with before considering it's impact on your family?

^^ The issue isn't about parents with too much control. It's about people thinking of others as well as themselves. But that's not a distinction that everyone can make, and that's a big part of where the differences in opinion on the matter come from.

I also think that the reality or not of the situation doesn't matter. Besides, we reveal a lot of our morals and such from purely hypothetical situations. Isn't that their purpose?

^^The issue is sort of families that are too clingy. Some families would be all for it or some other trip, life change etc., that the person in question would find rewarding but that would separate them from the family. Others wouldn't. Why should somebody with the former be more free than someone with the latter? That to me seems to be the fundamental problem with thinking about families too much when making a decision like that. You owe it to your parents to live your life to the fullest. At least, thats what I'm going to tell my kids.

Originally Posted by PhilosopherStoned

^^The issue is sort of families that are too clingy. Some families would be all for it or some other trip, life change etc., that the person in question would find rewarding but that would separate them from the family. Others wouldn't. Why should somebody with the former be more free than someone with the latter? That to me seems to be the fundamental problem with thinking about families too much when making a decision like that. You owe it to your parents to live your life to the fullest. At least, thats what I'm going to tell my kids.

I think what Mes Tarrant was originally getting at was just how nobody explicitly stated their concern for others in their decision about the coma potion.

That's right Vampyre.

I don't really want to go much further into that side debate. I get what your side of the argument, but.. I feel like we couldn't really understand one another fully unless we were both adults independent from our parents.

Well I am an adult. I'm 28. And I'm mostly independent of my parents other than the fact that I work on the family business right now. I do understand both sides as well. I just happen to disagree. It is the most interesting debate that's come out of the question though since most people agree that they wouldn't want to do it forever.

Oh you are! Well that's good... I've come to expect most DVers to be younger.

Okay then, I'll continue from your other post.

We disagree on a basic level that I don't think will change... IMO living your life to the fullest includes the people around you. Living your life doesn't have to be defined as just going off somewhere on your own (college, a trip, a coma). I think a part of our lives is being responsible for others.

I would never argue that listening to your mom when she begs you to not move away to college (for example) is a good idea. Obviously that would hinder your life as well as others' indirectly.

I started this train of thought in the first place because no one mentioned another living soul when considering conditions for taking a coma drug. Okay fine so some people said, "Well I'd only want to be in a coma for a month tops." That's great, but still a thought towards other people would be logical, IMO.

Even if there was a coma potion to do so, the fact still remains that none of it is real and there are probably limitations to consider.

Plus, though in a dream you can wish into reality anything you want in an instant, its much more satisfying to go through the process in real life and come out with that feeling of accomplishment. In a dream, its almost like your cheating by wishing things into existence, sure you could create the impression of progression, but at the end of the day it is always going to be an illusion.

Real waking life is much more satisfying and being able to share the human experience with others is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'd rather have a part of the day when i dream and let it motivate my real life activities, almost like a teaser of what is to come in real life providing i put in the effort.

Though i love my dreams, they still remain dreams and i'd rather leave them to my dedicated sleeping hours

hm...For me, the best part about dreaming is telling others about it after waking up...kind of hard to do that when asleep for months at a time...hell, even after a few days the dreams would accumulate too much to be able to recall and tell them all. So no, I wouldn't take the potion.

Originally Posted by Adrenaline Junkie

Even if there was a coma potion to do so, the fact still remains that none of it is real and there are probably limitations to consider.

Plus, though in a dream you can wish into reality anything you want in an instant, its much more satisfying to go through the process in real life and come out with that feeling of accomplishment. In a dream, its almost like your cheating by wishing things into existence, sure you could create the impression of progression, but at the end of the day it is always going to be an illusion.

Real waking life is much more satisfying and being able to share the human experience with others is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'd rather have a part of the day when i dream and let it motivate my real life activities, almost like a teaser of what is to come in real life providing i put in the effort.

That's why I included the question of what conditions you would consider. Think about it, you could do anything from this scenario. Like, let's say you want to see what it'd be like to live as a rock star for a while. You'd be able to experience it in a way that you can't in reality. Normally, you'd just dream about it, but this would be living it for a while.

I was kind of expecting people to make mention of it being cool to have extended dreams. I'm surprised it hasn't come up at all.