Next up on the psychiatrist's couch.... All of the recent threads on death and loss have got me thinking about my own situation. Being a single woman (already well into middle age) without any siblings, I've been looking at my future rather than my past. And from where I sit, it doesn't look too rosy.

My dad died at 52 of heart failure when I was 14. My mother (who died about a year ago) lived to be 92, but her last 5 years were taken over with Alzheimer's and she had no idea what was going on. She needed help with EVERYTHING, even the most personal and intimate functions. I was very fortunate to have an aide who took care of her while I went to work, because quitting my job to take care of her was never an option.

But it brought home to me how alone I am, if anything should go wrong. I mean, even if I don't make it to an advanced age, I wonder how I would cope if anything ever happened to me, where I couldn't work and couldn't take care of myself. Heck, a serious traffic accident or even a slip and fall on the ice, and I could be laid up for months or even years.

I've tried to take the right precautions- I have a will and a power-of-attorney and long-term care insurance. But that only takes care of the financial part of the problem. I have some wonderful friends, but nobody that would be able or expected to take care of me. The emotional stress of a future alone seems to be what's bothering me the most.

Is anybody out there dealing with the same sort of issue? Especially without a life partner? Any advice?