Gerontophobia

• Reluctance to look ugly;
• Fear of becoming a “burden”;
• Fear of being left alone, useless;
• Fear of change, change in social status.

All this can be formed in childhood. For example, you saw an old man helpless or you heard a story about how lonely some old man is. The perception of old age is influenced by public conversations, personal experience, watching TV shows and films.

Many people think about what awaits them in old age. Everyone has a different attitude towards this period of life, but sometimes a person cannot even admit to himself that he has a fear of old age. People try to delay old age by artificially rejuvenating the body, sometimes even with the help of plastic surgeries. Fear is expressed in obsessive and disturbing thoughts. Listen to how a person talks about old age; to positive or negative aspects of this phenomenon, he is more inclined.

Symptoms of gerontophobia can be expressed in the form of panic attacks, which is characterized by such signs as:

• excessive sweating
• lowering blood pressure
• labored breathing
• general concern
• inability to think or speak clearly

With gerontophobia, people can retire from the rest of society in an attempt to avoid the elderly.

There are several different types of treatment for those who are interested in overcoming the fear of old age. These methods can be used independently, however, it is recommended to consult specialists to prescribe the correct treatment. Do not forget that for each person, different methods act differently.

• Breathing technique. If the fear is moderate, then in a stressful situation, use calming breathing exercises.
• Systematic desensitization involves three steps. First, you need to relax and rest. The second step is to realize and understand what you are afraid of. Unfortunately, not everyone can figure it out on their own. Then begins a gradual familiarization with the source of fear. For example, you can offer to look at a photograph of an elderly person, then look and talk with him.
• Flood. A person is directly immersed in his fear until the fear subsides or disappears. For this person, they can take him to a place where many elderly people live, to show that there is nothing to be afraid of. But often such drastic changes can lead to a complication of mental illness.

Basically, self-help methods effectively reduce the fear of death, but do not eliminate the causes of the disorder. A specialist with a psychological education will help you understand the true causes, and, therefore, choose the appropriate treatment methods. With cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, people learn to change their thoughts, fear of old age is becoming less. Also, group therapy with people who have the same phobia can be helpful.

• Age discrimination
• Phobia
• Gerontocracy

• Sakhno E. G. Gerontocracy and gerontophobia
• Gerontophobia - we overcome the fear of old age