Gerontophobia: causes, symptoms and treatment

Aging is a natural process that is inextricably linked with human life. While we are young and full of strength, 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 fading. Mentally, everyone is trying to postpone this moment, and when these actions become impossible, some people begin to panic.

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

Strong people experience 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 of the sane people understands that old age is the “final stop” in the life cycle. Healthy fears of old age are normal.

It so happens that an individual, very afraid of changes associated with old age, begins to behave inappropriately and react to all the phenomena associated with aging. For example, a person tries to erase contact with aging people from their life... 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 respond to these changes in different ways. If a man has a good, highly 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 that their youth is passing. This is expressed in the purchase of expensive creams that help rejuvenate 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 succumb to fear, the situation will worsen.

There can be quite a few of them.

• Fear of losing your high status... A person feels how his strength is gradually leaving him. He can no longer do the amount of work that he used to do at a younger age.
• The following follows from the previous one: fear of loneliness and uselessness. The person understands that if he stops doing work with due diligence, he will be deprived of this work.
• Further consequences will begin such as changing the previous way of life, for example. The individual is happy 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 allowance. A person is afraid of lack of money due to the fact that he will no longer be able to work hard.
• And the worst thing is awareness that death is approaching.

All these phobias are formed from childhood. The child watched as the grandmother or grandfather gradually became old and sick. Then he had to see the funeral process. The unformed children's psyche reacted to these phenomena and fixed the fear of old age in the subconscious.

A teenage girl, becoming an adult, will definitely begin to think about what awaits her in the future. If a woman can start a family and is surrounded by loved ones who love her, then fears will not consume her soul. For worries and worries about her loved ones, she will have no time to think about the approach of old age, and only sometimes a little sadness is possible.

However, this cannot be said about those single women who have not been able to create a family hearth. Over the years, such representatives of the weaker sex realize that in their 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 for young friends. This is how they try to fight depression caused by gerontophobia. It seems to the representatives of the stronger sex that if a young girl drew attention to them, then they are still full of strength and young enough. This self-deception has a slight relaxation effect, after which the obsession returns.

Even cheerful young people can experience panic attacks associated with gerontophobia. Each of them from time to time thinks 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 loved ones.

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

In medicine, well-known psychotherapeutic practices have been used for a long time, which lead to positive results. Simultaneously with them, drug therapy is used in the form of the use of tranquilizers. If the disease is at an early stage, then you are guaranteed success in treatment.

Instead of self-medication, it is best to seek medical attention to establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe relaxation or cognitive-behavioral therapy. It is very important at such a moment to relieve anxiety and in this practice such a practice as hypnosis helps. 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, let go of 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 physically ill. Therefore, it is imperative to fight phobias. Practices such as work with affirmations. In short, it is pronouncing phrases with a positive attitude very many times at the same time.

Some do not believe in this therapy, but self-hypnosis bears 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 start to instill in yourself the idea that you are healthy and young, then you will definitely begin to feel much better, both mentally and physically. Here is an example of the affirmation: "I am healthy and young."

And you can use other methods as well.

• The method of overflowing consciousness with fear. The person is immersed in a frightening story as much as possible. From this, his consciousness begins to resist. The result is a rebound effect. When an individual experiences his fear, he gets tired of being afraid, thus a gradual restoration of the psycho-emotional state will take place.
• Respiratory gymnastics can be used for fear and panic attacks.... Slow breaths in and out will restore breathing and heart rate, and after that, psychological peace will come.
• Auto-training, implying self-hypnosis and self-education, is close to practicing affirmations, so you can choose the method that suits you best.
• Desensitization method consists in the fact that first a person is introduced into a state of relaxation, and then a perception of a frightening situation is caused. For a gerontophobe, this can be a meeting with an elderly person or the appearance of regular wrinkles. Under the influence of positive emotions, the anxiety that has arisen gradually disappears.
• It is necessary to explain to a person with gerontological phobias, that during a panic attack, he needs to learn 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 on your own, then you need to switch your mind and imagine how you will start playing sports in old age.

Along with such methods, it is necessary that the family of a person-gerontophobe has a comfortable and friendly environment.