Peter Pan Syndrome

If you grew up in the 70s or 80s, you are aware of the story behind Peter Pan. In fact, even the children of today pretty much all know how the story goes. He was a boy who never wished to grow up and he resided in the fictional Neverland, where he could remain young forever. Hence, the Peter Pan syndrome is a sort of mental disorder which has been named after this boy.

As you may have guessed it, Peter Pan Syndrome is when an adult doesn’t wish to take on responsibilities and become mature. It is a sort of pop psychology syndrome which is not listed in the manual and hence the syndromes of Peter Pan Syndrome can vary from one person to another. The “victim” of Peter Pan Syndrome is usually a man who doesn’t wish to enter into adult life. They don’t wish to take on responsibilities and they wish that everyone surrounding them will essentially support them throughout life (primarily regarding bills and money). In one word? Millennials.

What are the causes of Peter Pan syndrome?

Though it is tough to tell the exact causes of Peter Pan syndrome, there are certainly some theories. They can include:

  • A spoiled childhood: There are several parents who never taught discipline to their child, who never taught them any good life skills and hence when these children grew up to become adults, they struggled hard to take on responsibilities.
  • Longing for nostalgia: It is not a new concept of being nostalgic regarding your childhood. You can’t not look through old social media posts without checking out the pictures of your childhood. Everyone does it. However, when you’re always spending time taking a look-back at your childhood, you won’t get any opportunity to see what’s in store for the future.
  • Not being taught adult skills: In this modern world, there are several schools which don’t teach you adult skills. This is another reason behind Peter Pan Syndrome.

Treating Peter Pan Syndrome

Whenever a person is forced to be childlike, this might hamper their growth. But there are certainly ways in which you can change their direction.

  • Stop supporting the person. Experts always recommend that you don’t enable the behavior and set responsibilities. Stop supporting them unless they support you back.
  • Introduce different adult concepts to the person eventually. When they have to apply for a job, the first one should be easy and then he should proceed to a more difficult one.
  • Eliminate all sorts of distractions like the social media.

So, if you know someone who has been suffering from Peter Pan syndrome in the past and is looking for solutions, you should help them with the above listed advice and recommendations.