The Pursuit of Immortality

 There are two certainties in life: death and taxes. It seems now the uber-rich and famous appear to believe thar they may be able to avoid them both.

Leading health professionals have recognised a new disorder, longevity fixation syndrome, which they say is an obsession with longevity so all consuming it begins to take over daily life. Now a Swiss clinic has said that it has seen a "significant uptick" in clients coming to them exhibiting symptoms.

On the lakefront in Zurich, the upper echelons of society make their way to Paracelsus Recovery, a mental health clinic with a highly personalised and skilled team treating patients for about £90,000 a week.

Immortality
Henry Fantin-Latour (1836-1904)
Photo Credit: Museum of Wales [Public Domain]

Jan Gerber, the founder and chief executive, said: "It's like any fixation, like an eating disorder or a classic behavioural addiction... People start giving up on things that are important for them - the career can suffer, personal relationships can suffer."...

It could be said that this obsession began with Bryan Johnson, the American venture capitalist who shot to fame when his chief task became to live as long as possible. He has taken great pains to do so, being infused with his son's blood... The 48-year-old claims that he will "achieve immortality" within the next 15 years...

Crucially the longevity industry is a money-maker. "There is big money involved from Silicon Valley to China, in the longevity space...

Believing one can defeat or put off the inevitability of death is either an expression of narcissism or extreme  anxiety. Gerber admitted: "There might be a kind of narcissistic element to it. But the way we see it clinically, it's more rooted in anxiety and anxiety is rampant all over the world...

The ultimate irony is that the pursuit of a long life may be pushing some into the arms of the biggest killer: loneliness. The World Health Organisation said that loneliness is linked to up to 100 deaths an hour globally. People with longevity fixation syndrome will skip social gatherings or trips out, trading time with family to be poked with needles or freeze in an ice bath. "Who wants to live longer if your longer years are miserable? What's the purpose of this whole longevity thing? I think a lot of people miss that," Gerber said.

(Poppy Koronka, The Times, 2026)

Who are these leading health professionals that have recognised this new syndrome? Doesn't there seem to be a large number of syndromes that appear every year? The rise in cases of autism, attention deficit disorder. - the whole business of neurodiversity? And paying £90,000 a week? If you need to, why not have a little talk with your most trusted friend?  What makes a life worth living? That is not a medical problem.