Depression is a serious mental health concern, and it's incredibly common, especially among senior citizens. Many factors may combine to increase the risk of depression in your aging loved one. If you would like to learn more about depression, keep reading to learn how it affects your aging loved one and how to find help.
What Causes Depression in Seniors?
There are many causes of depression, regardless of your age, but seniors face special obstacles that may increase the risk of depression. For example, one leading cause of depression in general is traumatic life events. Naturally, older people are more likely to have experienced more traumatic life events, especially loss of loved ones like partners, parents, friends, and children.
Another leading cause of depression is loneliness, which many older Americans struggle with. Some seniors have a hard time getting out of the house to interact with people, they may have lost most of their friends/family members, or their depression may prevent them from doing activities they once loved.
Finally, many seniors struggle with limited mobility or certain health complications. Some of these underlying health complications can cause depression, but at the same time, limited mobility and health complications boost the risk of depression, especially if it makes it hard to do everyday tasks.
What Are the Symptoms of Depression in Seniors?
As everyone gets older, they change a little, but major negative changes can be symptoms of depression. For example, as your loved one ages, they may occasionally forget to take meds or feel like skipping a shower here or there. However, if their personal care significantly decreases, it can be a sign of depression.
Other more obvious signs of depression include changes in weight, memory problems, increased use of drugs/alcohol, lack of energy, and slowed movement/speech. However, many of the symptoms of depression are less noticeable, and you may only discover them upon talking with your loved one. These symptoms include sadness, feelings of hopelessness, fixation on death, loss of self-worth, and thoughts of suicide.
If left untreated, the symptoms of depression can devastate your loved one's mental and physical health, causing more conditions like dementia and the premature passing of your loved one.
What Are Treatments for Depression in Seniors?
Treating depression at any age can be complicated, may require multiple treatments, and can take time. The first step of treatment is to determine what is causing the depression because in some cases, changing medications, adding medications, or treating an underlying health condition may be enough to improve your loved one's mental health.
If the underlying condition is related to loneliness, there's an easy fix: make sure your loved one gets plenty of human interaction. Naturally, you can do this yourself, but not everyone lives near their loved one or has enough time, so an at-home caregiver or sitter can help.
If lifestyle changes don't help, or if the cause is due to imbalances of certain chemicals in the brain, medication may be necessary to help your loved one fight their depression. Finally, regardless of the cause, talk therapy can also help depressed seniors, especially if they are struggling to determine why they are depressed or how they can boost their mental health.
Depression can drastically damage your loved one's mental and physical health, especially when left ignored. In severe cases, depression can even cause advanced cognitive decline and reduced quality of life. One of the best ways to help your loved one fight depression is to ensure they aren't lonely, and at-home care is a great way to do just that. If you would like to learn more about in-home health care and sitters,
contact us
at Redi-Nurse today.
