“Gerascophobia comes from the Greek word ‘tha geraso’, meaning, ‘I am going to get old’,” Dr Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of“The fear of growing old is nothing new and is natural to some extent, but there's a growing“Someone with gerascophobia will have persistent thoughts and worries about growing older, the effects of ageing on your physical appearance and will generally try to avoid conversations about it.
“Ageing perception goes well beyond our skin’s appearance but extends to what milestones we have and have not yet achieved and how ‘up for it’ we feel we are in our lives.” “Many of us have been socialised this way – getting good grades to get into the right school, to go on to a good university etc. “What do you want to achieve? What do you see in your work progression? Where do you want to travel? Who do you want to spend time with?