The medical community deals with people in the throws of depression every day. Many of these people are those who have graduated from college and enjoyed success in their careers for many years until retirement. Many of them have been married and raised children. Everything about their lives suggests that they should be happy as they begin their retirement years.

Senior citizens typically have dealt with many losses as they have gotten older. Many of them have had to bury their spouses, their parents, and their siblings. As they grow older, many of their friends have also passed on. Some have even experienced the devastating deaths of children.

Those who have grown children find that their relatives are often too busy with their own families and careers to visit them or notice how they are doing. Whether these older people realize it or not, their support network has basically disappeared.

All of the deaths of their loved ones cause not only a sense of deep sadness, but also makes the senior citizens realize that their deaths are near. As this awareness settles in, many elderly people begin to take inventory of their lives and their successes or failures.

Regrets for missed opportunities can cloud their thinking and steal away feelings of happiness.

During this time of life, it is typical for senior citizens to have increasing medical problems. Loss of mobility and physical independence creates an atmosphere for the growth of more depressive feelings. Because of poor health, many of these people also become more socially isolated which increases the depression.

Two other things that often feed depression especially in the elderly are poor nutrition and insomnia. These things begin a spiraling vicious cycle. At this point, hopefully there is someone involved with the senior who can help to turn the situation around. Without outside intervention, the elderly person will probably not improve.

If you are involved with someone in this situation, it would be wise to have a physician evaluate the physical and mental condition of that person to encourage improvement. There may be medications that would be helpful with the physical health problems as well as the depression.

Another thing that would be helpful is to encourage this person to become involved in some type of group activities on a regular basis. Most communities have senior citizen centers that offer a variety of things for the elderly to do together. Some of them even offer transportation for seniors to become more socially active. Lunches are quite often available for a minimal cost to the elderly at the senior centers.

Depending on the person’s health, it might be good for the senior to volunteer a few hours a week at some organization. This will improve the feeling of being of value in the community.

One thing that has been suggested quite often is for the older person to have a pet. It has been proven to improve blood pressure and heart rate in many people. Loving and feeling loved and needed by a pet is known to cheer people up, especially those who aren’t able to get out of the house often.

Encourage your loved one to get involved in a hobby. Perhaps this person used to enjoy a hobby but has recently lost interest in that hobby because of depression. There may be a group in the community that would be thrilled to see what the senior has made in the past. There might even be a group that would like this person to teach others how to do this particular craft.

Most important is to encourage the senior citizen to become involved with other people. If that person is not physically able to leave home, perhaps there are ways to help begin a connection with the outside world through telephone or even the internet. Many seniors have gotten involved with online senior groups with common interests.

Some of these are groups that discuss medical problems, family situations, crafts or hobbies, diet and exercise, and even groups that discuss grief. It might even be easier for the older person to open up to someone they are chatting with online rather than in person. Obviously, it is better to get them out of the house and active socially with others including joining in physical exercise of some type.

Also, elderly depression can occur due to the death of a spouse…which increases lonliness. Also, side-effects from certain medicines or due to certain long-term illnesses like diabetes and arthritis can have a profound effect on depression. The depression must be treated as soon as possible. Without fast treatment, it can lead to suicidal tendencies on part of the patient or death from premature heart attack, stroke and other serious diseases. One group known to be at risk from depression in the elderly include widowed women. Others at high risk are those not being able to cope with stress in their lives. Low self-confidence due to diseases like cancer and loss of limb causing disfigurement can easily lead to depression. Many elderly may have a family history of depression and get depressed due to apprehension of dying. Some elderly may have an addiction to alcohol or drugs contributing to their depression.

So, what can be done to help depression in the aged? Counseling and a therapy of antidepressants can help. (note: always see a licensed therapist and physican). The therapist will prescribe antidepressants if they feel they are required. During initial prescriptions of these drugs the patient has to be watched carefully as the side-effects and results of a reaction can be serious. These medicines show their effect over a period of time since they are given in small doses. In fact, it wouldn’t hurt to have a medical alertalarm for the depressed person just in case they feel the need to contact emergency personnel.

Psychotherapy is very effective in dealing with depression in the elderly as the patient can share their feelings and insecurities with the therapist. This helps them to identify the main problem and initiates a curative process to overcome depression. Of course, a loving family can help tremendously. Depression is a sensitive issue which, can be treated with love and patience along with therapy and medication.

Carol parked outside the two-door garage of her mother’s house  noticing that the usually perfectly pristine lawn was now full of sprouting weeds and wilting begonias. She went through the unexpectedly unlocked door as she called out to her mother.  As she walked into the kitchen she noticed her mother’s solitary figure hunched over a kitchen stool while the elderly woman stared out the skylight window.

“Mom didn’t you hear me calling you?” Carol asked as she stood in front of her mother. Ruth, a widowed, 70 year young mother of 3, grandmother of 7, retired high school teacher, avid gardener, international art film-buff and baker of the world’s best  pumpkin pie blankly stared at her daughter. “Did you speak to your father about that prom dress you wanted?” Ruth finally whispered. “Yeah I did mom….yeah I did”, Carol resignedly said as she gently guided her mother to the living room couch.

It had started with a little spacing out, forgetting birthdays, appointments, and even town bake sale events that she had never missed. Then a couple of months ago, Ruth began talking about her husband whom she had lost 5 years ago to colon cancer, as if he were alive and somewhere in the house busying himself with some household task. Alzheimer’s disease became a legitimate suspicion when just last week Sue’s 18 year-old daughter found Nana sleeping on a park bench 20 miles away from her home.

This is the story of millions of Americans caring for elderly parents, having to suddenly become experts in home health care, medications, elder laws, hospital and nursing home regulations, all the while fighting personal feelings of anger, abandonment, guilt, depression, and disappointment.

A USA TODAY/ABC News/Gallup Poll of baby boomers reports that 41% of those with a living parent are providing financial and/or personal care and 8% of boomers say their parents have moved in with them.

The USA TODAY poll finds a significant portion of the boomers who are helping their parents report the responsibility as only a “minor sacrifice” or “no sacrifice at all”. However, the remaining boomers polled report deleterious personal physical and emotional health consequences, such as high blood pressure, that is nearly double the risk of their American peers who are not caring for an elder parent. Alarmingly, 91% of boomers who report worsened physical health due to caring for an elderly parent, also report debilitating depressive symptomatology.

Caring for elderly parents can greatly threaten the physical and emotional health of caregivers and their families. The tasks caregivers face range from providing emotional support (such as frequent “checking in” telephone calls), to helping with the instrumental activities of daily living (such as transportation, shopping, housekeeping, meal preparation, and bill paying), to helping with personal care tasks (such as bathing and dressing). Care giving becomes all the more stressful when the elder parent is impaired by challenging emotional limitations such as dementia, as families must deal with impaired cognitive abilities, difficult behaviors, and the pain of personality changes in a loved one. If the elder’s behavior is embarrassing, the caregiver may become isolated and drop previously enjoyed activities.  The caregiver can become so engrossed in caring for the elder parent that other family members, such as children and spouses are neglected. When caring for an elder exceeds the family’s capacity, it is not surprising that family members react with fear, anger, shame, doubt, and sadness.  If the elder must ultimately be cared for in a nursing home, the caregiver must then deal with the nagging feelings of  guilt and  ambivalence over the decision not to mention the potentially devastating financial distress.

Before the boomer reaches the point of “I just can’t take it anymore”, just like the support they provide for their aging parents, caregivers,  need to seek support for themselves. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help (emotional or financial) from other family members, neighbors, church members and other support groups. Becoming a parent to your parent can be a difficult and painful process but also one that can be quite reparative in that it presents an opportunity to work through old wounds, close intergenerational misunderstandings, and bring a new found family closeness.

Want to learn more helpful tips or have a personal elder caregiving experience you’d like to share? Come join www.boomeryearbook.com and connect with other boomers. We understand.

For www.boomeryearbook.com

In an effort to provide the best possible care to your loved one, the caregiver often sacrifices their own emotional and physical needs, and by doing this even the strongest, most capable person can feel the strain. The feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety, isolation, exhaustion, and then the guilt that is often accompanied by these feeling is a heavy toll for anyone to take.

Depression and guilt often go hand-in-hand. When you get angry at the person you are caring for and begin to have negative feelings towards them, feelings of guilt occur, followed by feelings of depression for feeling that way. It is a cycle that continues until you seek help.

We all have negative feelings from time to time, but when these feelings become intense and leave a caregiver totally drained of energy, becoming angered at their loved one for no particular reason, and crying frequently, these may be warning signs of depression. You need to be concerned about depression if the sadness and crying are continuous and the negative feelings are unrelenting.

It is unfortunate that some still think of depression as a sign of weakness rather than what it is, a sign that something is out of balance. Ignoring the feelings you have will not make them go away, it is important that you seek out medical help.

Symptoms of Depression

Most people’s experience with depression is different. Some people may be sad for months while others may have a more intense and sudden change in the way they look at things. The degree of symptoms and type of symptoms will vary from person to person.

If you experience any of the following for longer than 2 weeks you may want to go and talk to your doctor.

Depression is the most common mental health concern for older adults, affecting between 15 to 20 percent of older adults living in the community. It is not a normal part of aging. Symptoms such as decreased energy, poor sleep and preoccupation with health problems should be viewed as possible symptoms of a treatable illness and are NOT a result of the aging process.

Treatment for depression works, yet too many people remain undiagnosed and untreated because they don?t recognize the signs and symptoms of depression.

Mental health specialists generally agree on the following definition of major depression:

Symptoms persist for two weeks or longer People either have depressed moods or seem unable to enjoy life. Major depression should be considered if four of the following seven criteria are present: A change in sleeping habits (more or less than usual) A change in eating habits or weigh Low energy or fatigue Trouble concentrating Feeling worthless or excessively guilty Marked restlessness or slowed-down movements Thoughts of death or suicide

Depression can be defined as an imbalance of brain chemicals triggered by stress and life events, including biological, psychological and social factors.

Depression is NOT a character or personality flaw.

Many of the signs of depression may also indicate other problems or medical conditions – It is important to consult with a doctor to determine if your symptoms indicate depression or another medical condition.

Depression is often difficult to recognize among the senior population and it tends to be under diagnosed. Living with depression not only prevents older adult from fully enjoying their lives but it puts a strain upon their health, which can lead to other medical concerns. It is also very difficult for their caregivers and places a strain on their health as well.

What we do know is that there is no one cause for depression- every individual is unique in what may cause their depression, and what may trigger a depressive episode. Some possible causes and risk factors include genetics and family history, brain chemistry, personality, major illness, medications & alcohol, and life events. Risk factors for serious depression, particularly in older adults, may include loss and bereavement, lack of social support, isolation, living in poverty, being a caregiver, and abuse.

Having depression could also increase the risk of suicide among older adults, particularly in older males. According to the CDC, seniors account for more than 16% of all suicide deaths. Older adults who are over the age of 60 are far more likely to have a higher risk rate of suicide than younger people. If you feel that a friend or a loved one is suicidal, encourage them to seek out help either from a doctor, friend, crisis centre or, mental health agency.

Some things to keep in mind:

Keep a positive attitude. Remember that slowing down does not mean you have to come to a complete stop. Chances are you will still be able to do almost all the things you used to; you may just need to take a little more time and learn to pace yourself. See your family doctor regularly. He/she can, then, deal with any changes or symptoms that require medical attention. Be careful about your medications. As you get older, they may begin to interact differently with other drugs and to affect you differently than before. Make sure your doctor knows about all your medications, even those prescribed by another doctor. Take responsibility for your own health. Do not hesitate to ask your doctor questions; some do not offer explanations unless asked.

Depression is a serious disorder that is treatable. In addition, dealing with an individual who is suffering from depression or at risk of suicide can be absolutely overwhelming for a caregiver. Although the caregiver is providing care and assistance to their loved ones they must also look after their own emotional, mental, and physical well-being.

While all of us may feel sad from time to time, sadness is not depression and it is important to remember that depression is not a normal part of aging.

About eldercaring.ca

Elder Caring Inc. http://www.eldercaring.ca is a group of experts with backgrounds in Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Gerontology. As working professionals in the field, all of our team members have many years of experience in working with the disabled, the elderly, and their families. The company has team members and representatives across Canada.

]]> http://personalhomecareservicestexas.com/blog/proven-methods-for-fighting-depression-as-a-senior-citizen/feed/ 0 http://personalhomecareservicestexas.com/blog/depression-in-seniors-basics-and-resources-in-los-angeles-ca/ http://personalhomecareservicestexas.com/blog/depression-in-seniors-basics-and-resources-in-los-angeles-ca/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:07:32 +0000 bobcrabtree1 http://personalhomecareservicestexas.com/blog/depression-in-seniors-basics-and-resources-in-los-angeles-ca/ Depression in Seniors: Basics and Resources in Los Angeles CA Michelle Rojas MS MBA Orange Grove Home Care