Answer:
You could say that falling from middle-class prosperity and self-sufficiency into poverty is a kind of dying because it's a slow spiral downwards, and a lot of the time you don't even realize it's happening until it's too late. For example, you might lose your job and then start using your savings to get by, but then eventually you run out of money and have to start borrowing from friends and family. And once you're in that position, it's very hard to get out. So in that sense, it does feel like you're slowly dying.