There’s a psychological term for this fear of aging, Gerascophobia. The word comes from the Greek words “gerasko” (I grow old) and “phobos” (fear). Honestly, I fear mispronouncing this word, which is why I like FOGO better, the Fear of Growing Old (not to be mistaken for FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out).
Fortunately, I believe there’s a cure for FOGO. In Portuguese, “fogo” means “fire,” which reminds us to fight fire with fire. Carl Jung suggested midlife was when the “glowing coals of consciousness buried deep within the personality begin to break into flame.” In short, we cure FOGO by connecting with our inner fire, passions, and desire to break out of the straitjacket of limited mindsets.
Our fear shouldn’t be growing old. Our greatest fear should be that we don’t experience life to the fullest every day because we don’t know which day will be our last.