Some People Have an Actual Phobia of Growing Up.
Age brings intelligence, experience, wisdom and beauty. So why are we so scared of it? Five women over 60 to tell us how they feel about growing old.In a previous blog, “Living Life as an Authentic Adult,” I briefly described the reasons why so many people operate as children emotionally and refuse to grow up. I discussed how, to varying degrees, individuals are restricted in their ability to function in an adult mode because of “unresolved childhood trauma and the defenses they form to relieve emotional pain and existential dread.”.The idea of embracing the adult world’s myriad responsibilities simply isn’t fun. Most people get over it, though. A bizarre, tragic exception is gerascophobia, or the fear of growing up — a very rare condition. A recent article in Case Reports in Psychiatry highlights one such case, and it’s rather intense.
This fear grips people for many reasons, but the 2 biggest are: 1.) they are afraid of the unknown, and 2.) they are afraid of being alone. America’s Fear of Aging Many people today are convinced that if they can just lift one more weight or just run one more mile, they will never get old.Fear Why People Fear Growing Up and Functioning as Adults There are five major aspects to the fear of growing up. Posted Jul 01, 2013.
Growing old gracefully has its challenges. With age comes the realization of how physically close we might be to the Kingdom of God. In a very real sense we stand on the brink of eternity. But we should also understand that the final heartbeat is not an end—but a grand beginning.
