You can find it under the name of gerontophobia, geranthophobia or gerascophobia , but in all cases it speaks of the same problem: the fear of aging . Obsessed as we are to always stay young, the traces that the passage of time leaves on our body can create some phobias , such as this gerontophobia. In addition, it not only affects the person who suffers it, but often leads to contempt and contempt for the elderly. We tell you all about gerontofobia in our dictionary of phobias .
What is gerontophobia
Germanophobia is the fear of getting old or old age. That also includes fear, rejection and contempt for the elderly , for the elderly. It is the elderly who act as a kind of mirror that reminds people who suffer from gerontophobia of the natural process of life.
And the mirror. That mirror that, from the age of 30, reveals secrets that you do not want to reveal to yourself. Wrinkles , gray hair, those spots on the skin that you did not have for years, the lack of smoothness, hair loss, the fat that insists on accompanying you on your trip and increasingly resists abandoning you.
Later, the passage of time becomes increasingly difficult to disguise. Flexibility is lost, sometimes your memory even fails you , who has seen you and who sees you! The fact that you are now a wiser and more experienced person does not reduce fear of the inevitable: that walk towards the twilight of life .
Symptoms of gerontophobia
The fear of getting old comes naturally . I wish we were young forever! So is the fear of dying or the fear of death , but when that fear manifests itself in the form of anxiety symptoms, obsessive thoughts or the impossibility of being with an elderly person, that is when we can speak of a disorder phobic.
Avoiding contact with the elderly is just one of the ills of people with gerontophobia, because they not only have problems with the old age of others, but also with their unstoppable maturity. Germanophobia makes you refuse to admit the passage of time, that you continually resort to cosmetic surgeries, that you do not want to mature emotionally either and that, in short, you stay forever in a youthful stage that has little to do with your reality . It’s about the Peter Pan complex combined with a phobic disorder.
Causes of Gerontofobia
The natural fear of aging does not become a phobia except when it is accompanied by an anxiety disorder . Neither is a traumatic experience related to an elderly person who is remembered with an enormous emotional burden for the development of this gerontofobia or gerascophobia.
But the social context is the factor that most influences when it comes to suffering from this phobia of old age. Our society pays an obsessive worship of youth and it is becoming more and more necessary to delay aging. As if aging were a negative thing, as if by erasing wrinkles with a scalpel you would not have the same years.
Social impact of gerontophobia
Most phobias mainly affect the person who suffers them and indirectly those around them. But in the case of gerontophobia, it is a problem with a great social impact that affects the vision we have of the elderly and how we relate to them.
The same thing happens with aporophobia , that irrational fear of poverty that becomes a weapon of social exclusion and rejection. It is not necessary to worship old age (and neither to youth) but it is necessary to accept that process with respect and naturally .
Treatment of gerontophobia
Like any phobia, gerontophobia can be overcome if you seek psychological help . It is not advisable to treat phobias on your own or with charlatans who promise a full and happy life in two sessions.
And if you go to a professional , they will guarantee you through the most appropriate therapy not only to overcome gerontophobia, but to nourish yourself with the necessary resources so that in the future you will not have to face more phobic disorders.