Descendents Preferences

What Is Age Regression? And What Does It Mean To Me?

Warning long chapter!

Age regression occurs when someone reverts to a younger state of mind. This retreat may be only a few years younger than the person's physical age. It could also be much younger, into early childhood or even infancy.

People who practice age regression may begin showing juvenile behaviors like thumb-sucking or whining. Others may refuse to engage in adult conversations and handle issues they're facing.

Age regression is sometimes used in psychology and hypnotherapy. It can also be used as a self-help tool, or something someone does to reduce stress.

What is age regression?

Sigmund Freud believed age regression was an unconscious defense mechanism. It was a way the ego could protect itself from trauma, stress, or anger.

Still, other psychologists think of age regression as a way for people to achieve a therapeutic goal. It might be used to help a patient recall memories of trauma or painful events. The therapist can then help their patient heal properly from those experiences.

Psychiatrist Carl Jung believed age regression wasn’t a means to escape anything. He believed age regression could be a positive experience. It could be used to help people feel younger, less stressed, and more open.

With all these different theories for age regression, several types exist.

Types of age regression

Each of these age regression types share two common elements:

People who regress revert to a younger state of mind than their physical age. The length of years varies from type to type and person to person.
Age regression is in no way sexual.

As a symptom

Age regression may be the result of a medical or psychiatric issue. For example, some individuals experiencing significant distress or pain may revert to childlike behavior as a means to cope with anxiety or fear.

Certain mental health issues make age regression more likely. Age regression could be a symptom of one of these conditions:

schizophrenia

dissociative identity disorder

schizoaffective disorder

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

major depressive disorder

dementia

borderline personality disorder

Age regression may occur in personality disorders when people come face to face with distressing memories or triggers. In this case, the age regression may be spontaneous.

What’s more, some individuals may begin to revert to a younger age as they grow older. This can be a sign of dementia. It might also be a coping mechanism for worries about the impact of aging.

Clinical

Age regression can be used as a therapeutic technique. Some mental health professionals use hypnotherapy and age regression to help patients return to painful periods in their lives. Once there, they can help them overcome the trauma and find healing.

However, this practice is controversial. Some experts suggest it could be possible to “uncover” false memories. Plus, it’s unclear how reliable these “recovered” memories are.

Trauma recovery

People with a history of trauma may be more likely to regress. In fact, age regression may be common in people who have been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID), a disorder formerly known as multiple personality disorder.

People with this disorder frequently have a younger personality among their distinctive personalities. However, it’s believed that the “little” may not be a separate personality. Instead, it may be a regressed version of the original personality.

In other words, the person with DID may be aware of everything, but they feel like they’re a different age. They may talk like a child or begin behaving like one. In other instances, the “little” is entirely separate.

In this case, age regression is a form of security against fear or insecurity. This type of age regression may be triggered by particular events or stressors.

Self-help

For others, age regression may be intentional. Some individuals may select reverting to a younger state as a means to block out stress and worry. They can also revert to a younger age so they can avoid tough issues or personal problems.

As a form of self-help, age regression may help you revert to a time in your life when you felt loved, cared for, and secure. In that sense, this can be a positive experience.

However, age regression may be a sign of a larger mental health issue. You should speak with a mental health care provider about this practice. They can help you learn how to use it safely. They can also evaluate your experiences to determine if a different type of treatment is needed.

What it means for me!

For me, age regression helped me get rid of the negative thoughts surrounding my mind constantly.

It helps me forget about the pain I've gone through even just for a little while.

Mine is self-help, It was never recommended to me but I found it on my own and decided that it might have been useful after unconsciously slipping a few times.

I used to regress between the ages 3 and 5 because of my dad leaving when I was 3 and being picked on for Being the only kid my age without at dad at the time.

But then someone messaged me on social media and tried to get me to call them "daddy" but I never agreed and they would refer to themselves as my "daddy" constantly.

Because of this, I informed my friend who told me to block them and so I did.

I hadn't even agreed to date this guy because that's not what I wanted. I wanted a platonic carer who would look after me when I was Regressed. Not exactly caring since it was online but making sure I was taking care of myself.

But the guy accused me of cheating on him which I had never done.

He had told his friend who started bullying me and because they were a lot older than me it could be Considered as verbally abusing me.

I was scared and told the person who as caring for me at the time. That was a lot more platonic.

The guys friend said that they'd stop harrasing me if I sent them pictures of myself which I didn't want to send.

They continued and asked if I was a lesbian. I'm pansexual btw.

But I didn't go on that social media account for almost a year because I was scared.

I couldn't regress for a while because my small self was traumatised. She was scared.

The carer stopped caring for me after a while because I was too scared to contact anyone...

So now I regress on my own. Of course I want to be looked after because I'm not very good at taking care of myself when I'm small.

But it's better than being emotionally abused again.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please support me, it would mean a lot.

This was really hard write down. Let alone upload but... Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this.

Please don't hate on age regressors. There is always a reason as to why they regress. Not just because they're childish. Or don't want to grow up.

I hope I don't see any hate anywhere on this platform about regressors. It's hurtful and could potentially traumatize the regressor.