Jump to content

Gerascophobia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Don Ecchi (talk | contribs) at 15:45, 11 September 2021 (The formulation that viewing aging as something else than a "natural progression in life" is a part of a medical condition is a) unsourced, b) is informed by a [naturalistic fallacy] in that it pathologizes a negative view of, or failure to follow, the editor's patronizing essentialism. This view is both value-laden and very outdated; numerous biomedical scientists today recognize aging as a "design flaw" of metabolic processes, where "flaw" is defined relative to human desiderata.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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.

Symptoms

Some sufferers seek plastic surgery to make them look more youthful,[3] while the main concern of others is a fear of internal, biological 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".[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

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


This abnormal psychology–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Gerascophobia&oldid=1043714781"