Gerontophobia: causes, symptoms and treatment

Aging is a natural process that is inextricably linked to human life. While we are young and full of energy, few people think that all this can end. Old age comes suddenly. Until the last moment, people try not to notice the beginning of their gradual withering. Mentally, everyone is trying to postpone this moment, and when these actions become impossible, some people begin to panic.

Gerontophobia - it is a fear of old age. This word also means an expression of hostility towards older people. Doctors assess this state of mind as a mental illness. Fears accompany a person throughout his life.

Strong people feel discomfort, longing and nostalgia for the past. Someone can cope with various phobias on their own, suppressing depression, while someone needs the help of specialists. Each sane person understands that old age is the “final stop” in the life cycle. Healthy fears of old age are normal.

It happens that an individual, very afraid of changes associated with old age, begins to behave inappropriately and respond to all the phenomena that are associated with aging. For instance, man is trying to cross out from his life contacts with aging people. Moreover, he begins to hate himself due to the fact that his phobia develops into a panic. Such conditions begin in people who are a little over 30 years old.Usually at this age, the body starts a gradual restructuring. Wrinkles appear on the face, it changes, circles under the eyes appear, the figure and weight change.

Men and women react differently to such changes. If a man has a good, well-paid job, he tries to keep himself in shape, goes in for sports. Thus, he may not feel the onset of this period. Women in most cases begin to think about how their youth passes. This is expressed in the purchase of expensive creams that contribute to the rejuvenation of the skin of the face and neck. Some are active in sports and prove to themselves that they are still in good shape.

You need to know that gerontophobia is a serious mental illness and if you start to give in to fear, the situation will worsen.

There can be quite a lot of them.

• Fear of losing your high status. A person feels how his strength is gradually leaving. He can no longer do the amount of work that he used to do at a younger age.
• The following follows from the previous: fear of loneliness and uselessness. A person understands that if he stops performing work with due diligence, he will be deprived of this work.
• Further, consequences such as a change in a previous lifestyle, for example, will begin. The individual is satisfied with everything and does not want to change anything. And with the onset of old age, his pastime will change significantly.
• It follows from this fear of losing money. A man is afraid of lack of money due to the fact that he can no longer work hard.
• And the worst thing is the realization that death is coming.

All these phobias form from childhood. The child watched as grandparents became gradually old and sick. Then he had to see the funeral process. The unformed child psyche reacted to these phenomena and fixed the fear of old age in the subconscious.

A teenage girl, becoming an adult, will begin to think about what awaits her in the future. If a woman can create a family and be surrounded by close people who love her, then fears will not absorb her soul. For worries and worries about her family, she will not have time to think about the approach of old age, and only occasionally a little sadness is possible.

However, this cannot be said about those single women who could not create a family hearth. Over the years, such representatives of the weaker sex realize that in old age they will remain completely alone. Against the background of this understanding, they develop gerontophobia.

However, and men are not without such fears. Some of them after 40 years leave the family to young friends. So they try to deal with depression, which is caused by gerontophobia. For the stronger sex it seems that if a young girl paid attention to them, then they are still full of energy and quite young. This self-deception gives a slight relief effect, after which the obsessive state returns.

Even cheerful youth may experience panic attacks associated with gerontophobia. Each of them from time to time thinks about the fact that someday he may grow old and die. This spoils the mood, and if the child is deprived of parental love, does not feel the support of loved ones, then the depressive state may worsen.

A person at any age should feel protected both by the state and by close people.

If you feel fear, then you should not give in to it in any case. You just need to seek help from a specialist. Gerontophobia is treated quite successfully and that you must know.

In medicine, the well-known psychotherapeutic practices that lead to positive results have long been used. At the same time, drug therapy in the form of the use of tranquilizers is also used. If the disease is at the initial stage, then you are guaranteed success in the treatment.

Instead of self-medication, it is most advisable to seek medical help to establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe relaxation or cognitive-behavioral therapy. It is very important to relieve anxiety at such a moment, and such practice as hypnosis helps in this. With its help, a specialist will establish the true causes of this condition and eliminate them. As a result of such sessions, a person will begin to perceive old age as a natural process, release unnecessary experiences and return to a full life.

People who are prone to gerontophobia are very afraid of losing their health. Against this background, they begin to get nervous and, as a rule, become ill physically. Therefore, phobias must be fought. Practices such as work with affirmations. In short, this pronouncing phrases with a positive attitude many times at the same time.

Some do not believe in such therapy, but self-hypnosis brings very good results. When a person repeats the same phrase for a long time, it becomes the goal of his life. For example, if you begin to inspire yourself with the idea that you are healthy and young, you will certainly begin to feel much better both mentally and physically. Here is an example of affirmation: “I am healthy (a) and young (a)”.

And you can use other methods.

• A method of overflowing consciousness with fear. A person is immersed in a scary story as much as possible. From this, his consciousness begins to resist. The result is a rebound effect. When an individual survives his fear, he will become tired of being afraid, thus a gradual restoration of the psychoemotional state will occur.
• From fear and panic attacks you can apply breathing exercises. Slow inhalations and exhalations will restore breathing and heart rate, and psychological peace will follow.
• Autotraining implying self-hypnosis and self-upbringing, is closer to affirmations, so you can choose the method that suits you best.
• Desensitization method lies in the fact that at first the person is introduced into a state of relaxation, and then they cause ideas about a frightening situation. For a gerontophobe, this can be a meeting with an aged person or the appearance of regular wrinkles. Under the influence of positive emotions, the resulting anxiety gradually disappears.
• Need to explain to a person with gerontological phobias, that during a panic attack, he needs to learn how to switch his mind to positive moments. For example, if various thoughts come to mind that in old age you will not be able to move independently, then you need to switch your mind and imagine how you will begin to play sports in old age.

Along with such methods, it is necessary that the family of a gerontophobe man has a comfortable and friendly atmosphere.