Adolescence and old age occur half a century apart, and seem to have nothing in common. In fact, says Psychoanalyst James Anthony of Washington University in St. Louis, the two stages are sometimes psychologically similar; present-day youngsters, far more often than their predecessors, show symptoms of aging long before they are out of their teens.
Among the symptoms very often shared by the aging adolescent and the aging adult is depression, Anthony says. "For both, the future looks black and unappealing," and "preoccupation with death and nothingness is frequent." Both youngsters and oldsters "can pass days in endlessly doing nothing, feeling that...
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