Many people these days have phobias. And one of the most common phobias that you may encounter is the fear of growing old or also called as gerascophobia. You might be confused once searching for this type of phobia as it might also be referred to as gerontophobia.
Although it is very common, you may think that it is very odd as to why someone should fear aging. Is there any basis for this fear? The truth of the matter is that there could be two reasons for this fear.
All the reasons are based from anxieties. One is the anxiety of being left alone. As most people notice these days, older people are already being left to nursing homes. Being away from their families, most of them feel very depressed because of their current situation. People who have developed the fear of growing old do not like to experience the same.
The next reason that people who have gerascophobia is lack of resources. Getting old will make people weak. Losing one’s ability to work will make someone lose some of their finances as well. Not being able to buy what they want and to support their basic necessities may also cause this phobia.
In addition, getting weak because of old age adds fear because the person cannot take care of themselves anymore. This means that they would have to be taken care of by other people. Humans, being people of pride, will resent the thought that they would be other person’s burden.
These are the bases of gerascophobia. The fear of growing old will definitely strike a lot of questions among other individuals who for the first time have heard this problem. However, people who are starting to feel this problem should be able to get some help from professionals in order to address this issue properly.
