Gerascophobia is an abnormal or incessant fear of growing older or

ageing Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

(

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. The word ''senescence'' can refer to either cellular senescence or to senescence of the whole organism. Organismal senescence inv ...

Background

Gerascophobia is a clinical phobia generally classified under specific phobias or

fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

s of a single specific panic trigger. Gerascophobia may be based on

anxieties Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

of being left alone without resources and incapable of caring for oneself due to age-caused disability.

Symptoms

Some sufferers seek

plastic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...

to make them look more youthful, while the main concern of others is a fear of internal,

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

long-term damage caused by the aging process.

Etymology

The term ''gerascophobia'' comes from the Greek γηράσκω, ''gerasko'', "I grow old" and φόβος, ''phobos'', "fear".''Perspectives on Aging'', by Priscilla W. Johnston, 1982, , pp. 239-241 Some authors refer to it as

gerontophobia Gerontophobia is the fear of age-related self-degeneration (similar to Gerascophobia), or a hatred or fear of the elderly due to memento mori. The term comes from the Greek γέρων – ''gerōn'', "old man" and φόβος – ''phobos'', "fea ...

, although this may also refer to the fear of the elderly due to

memento mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'

* Fountain of Youth * List of phobias *

Mid-life crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's grow ...

Nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

Thanatophobia Death anxiety is anxiety caused by thoughts of one's own death, and is also referred to as thanatophobia (fear of death). Death anxiety differs from necrophobia, which is the fear of others who are dead or dying. Psychotherapist Robert Langs ...

References

Phobias Ageing Old age {{abnormal-psych-stub