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== Symptoms ==
== Symptoms ==
Some sufferers<ref name=BBCdavid> Quote from [https://youtube.com/watch?v=p_4UPdFqgIQ?t=1527 BBC documentary “Can ageing be delayed, stopped or even reversed? BBC News”] by [[Unity Biotechnology]] founder [[Nathaniel David]]: "Everyone you know suffers from aging. Everyone."</ref> are more likely to seek [[plastic surgery]] to cut and stretch wrinkles to make them look more youthful<ref>https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=2991351&page=1</ref> while the main concern of many other sufferers is the internal, [[human biology|biological]] long-term damage caused by the aging process.
Some sufferers seek [[plastic surgery]] to make them look more youthful<ref>https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=2991351&page=1</ref>, while the main concern of others is a fear of is internal, [[human biology|biological]] long-term damage caused by the ageing process.


== Etymology ==
== Etymology ==

Revision as of 22:02, 21 November 2020

Gerascophobia is an abnormal or incessant fear of growing older or ageing (senescence).[1]

Background

Gerascophobia is a clinical phobia generally classified under specific phobias or fears of a single specific panic trigger. Gerascophobia may be based on anxieties of being left alone without resources and incapable of caring for oneself due to age-caused disability.[2]

Due to humans being mortality salient, sufferers will often feel as though aging is the first sign that their immune systems are starting to weaken, making them more vulnerable and prone to diseases. They view aging as a human flaw and as a form of self-obliteration, rather than as a natural progression in life.

Symptoms

Some sufferers seek plastic surgery to make them look more youthful[3], while the main concern of others is a fear of is internal, biological long-term damage caused by the ageing process.

Etymology

The term gerascophobia comes from the Greek γηράσκω, gerasko, "I grow old" and φόβος, phobos, "fear".[4] Some authors refer to it as gerontophobia, although this may also refer to the fear of the elderly due to memento mori.[4]

See also

Videos

References

  1. ^ Definition of gerascophobia on MedTerms.com
  2. ^ John G. Robertson, An Excess of Phobias and Manias, p. 90.
  3. ^ https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=2991351&page=1
  4. ^ a b Perspectives on Aging, by Priscilla W. Johnston, 1982, ISBN 0-88410-734-5, pp. 239-241