Do You Suffer from Gerascophobia?

There’s no denying the fact that we live in a youth-obsessed world with people spending an insane amount of time and money trying to stay young. But there actually is a phobia of getting old.

This very rare psychological phobia is known as gerascophobia, or the fear of growing up.

While it might sound like a joke, this condition is anything but.  I stumbled on a recent article in Case Reports in Psychiatry which told the story of a 14-year-old boy in Mexico who is so afraid of growing up that he severely restricts his food intake, walks in a stooped position to appear shorter, distorts his voice to have a higher pitch, and goes to extremes to suppress any signs or behaviors of puberty.

Apparently if people tell the boy he is taller or older he becomes extremely upset and cries.

Yes, this is what our appearance obsessed world has done to our kids. Isn't it time to change that mentality?