Depression In The Elderly

Many people experience a case of depression at some point throughout their lives. There are many different types of depression that one may develop that all have different symptoms, and nobody is safe from depression’s potential effects. In this article, we’ll examine a type of depression that is not commonly discussed when it comes to medical disorders - depression in the elderly. Just the same as major depression bouts can attack adults as well as children, senior citizens are also at risk. There are many things that need to be taken into consideration when it comes to depression manifesting itself in someone who is of an older age, and in this article, we’ll do our best to describe some of the differences that the elderly face when they have depression as opposed to someone of a younger age.

– One thing that is important to note when it comes to cases of depression within the elderly population is the fact that the disorder tends to last for longer periods of time in the elderly than it does other people. A case of depression can also increase an elderly person’s risk of death.

– One statistic that may shock you is the fact that when depression is present within an elderly person, their risk of committing suicide is higher than that of a normal person. Understanding that, you should remember that the elderly need to be treated with care and compassion, and if you discover that someone elderly that you know is depressed, you should be very concerned and should try to see to it that they visit a doctor’s office to talk about the problem.

– The risk of committing suicide due to depression is the most common in white males that are between the ages of eighty and eighty four. The rate of suicide that this demographic group faces is almost twice that of those that are faced by the rest of the population.

– It’s important to remember that the problems that an elderly person faces within their life may compound their risks of developing a case of depression. With that in mind, it is important for you to maintain a line of communication with any elderly people that you think may be at risk for developing depression. After undergoing any serious medical procedure, check in with the elderly person in order to ensure that the added stress that they are facing due to the procedure is not becoming too much for them and manifesting itself in the form of a case of clinical depression.

– It’s also important to remember that the medications that an elderly person may be taking in order to deal with other medical problems may actually cause an onset of depression, or at least increase it’s severity. Also, some medications may counteract the anti-depressant medication that the patient may be taking, so it’s important to ensure with a doctor that your elderly loved one is not taking medications that counteract each other’s efficiency.