Gauthier Delomez 6:42 p.m., December 28, 2022
Some adults, especially during the holidays, may feel the need to stay young throughout their lives.
This is the Peter Pan syndrome, and it is recognizable by several types of daily behavior.
In the program "Bienfait pour vous", the psychologist Eudes Sémeria takes stock.
It's a strange feeling that some adults can feel.
After the thirties, it can happen that we no longer want to grow, to age, and consequently to get closer to death.
This is called Peter Pan syndrome, named after the famous hero of the Disney universe.
In the program
Bienfait pour vous
, Julia Vignali and Mélanie Gomez talk with Eudes Sémeria, psychologist and author of
The four fears that prevent us from living
to discuss ways to detect this syndrome in adults.
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The absence of limits placed on oneself
First, we can spot this syndrome with behavioral practices.
"It can be the fear of going to sleep at night. We lie down on the sofa, we watch TV, we get carried away, we don't want to decide to go to bed", explains Eudes Sémeria at the microphone of Europe 1. He continues: "Overall, it's the absence of limits. In food, it will be 'I do not know how to stop'".
The psychologist adds that it is also "the fear of telephoning", and "everything that is linked to self-esteem".
In reality, an adult with Peter Pan syndrome "thinks at the height of a child. The world is seen from below," he says, taking the example of pigeon phobia.
"It seems totally irrational, but when you are 3 years old, a pigeon is huge, so you see it at the bottom."
>> Find all the shows of Mélanie Gomez and Julia Vignali from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Europe 1 in replay and podcast here
"Mastering" the part of childhood in oneself
The adults concerned do not necessarily have all these disorders.
At the microphone of Europe 1, Anais, a 28-year-old young woman affected by this syndrome, explains that she feels a strange feeling and says she avoids talking about serious subjects, such as the economy or politics.
She also claims that at work she has no ambition to take on more responsibilities.
To alleviate the syndrome, the objective is not to eradicate the part of childhood in itself, specifies Eudes Sémeria, "but to control it, to master it. Everything is a question of dosage".