For Anselmo Grün, a Benedictine monk, old age stirs specific fears: of falling into madness, of living, of lacking necessities, of dependence, of illness, of sudden change, of new responsibilities, of dying. Confronted with these hardships, older people adopt various defensive mechanisms, as geriatrician Agnés Seraux explains:
The need to control everything: the person refuses all help, even as their disabilities increase and daily life becomes steadily harder.
Denial: an unconscious mechanism in the face of a reality too difficult to accept. People refuse to admit they are old, sick…
Regression: a kind of refuge. The elderly person adopts childlike behavior to maintain an emotional bond with those around them.
Withdrawal into oneself: a very old person may detach from family and loved ones. They isolate, retreat inward, as though standing outside the world.