As the world undergoes a demographic transition, its population will age rapidly, and adults aged 60 and above will face special physical and mental health challenges that can prove to be a massive problem for public health care institutions. Elderly mental health issues are one area that will need increased attention as the population ages.
This sudden increase in need will cause further complications as older people themselves are reluctant to identify their health issues and seek help due to the stigma surrounding these conditions.
To add to the woes, a large section of the society still believes that mental health symptoms in seniors are a part of the normal aging process. As such, many people do not think to consult a primary healthcare provider about symptoms, when the healthcare provider could have been invaluable in providing early detection and treatment.
What is Mental Health?
To put it simply, the term mental health refers to a person’s emotional and psychological well-being. Good mental health not only refers to the absence of any ailment, but also a person’s capacity to cope with day-to-day stress and maintain good relationships with others.
Warning Signs of Elderly Mental Health Issues
It is important to identify and treat mental disorders in older adults, especially if their health issues are chronic. Some symptoms include:
- Have unexplained aches and pains
- Feeling sad and hopeless
- Anger and irritability
- Excessive smoking, drinking, or drug intake
- A change in sleeping and eating habits
- Thoughts of harming others or self
- Withdrawal from social contacts
- Mishandling finances
- Memory problems or mild cognitive impairment
Causes of Mental Illness
A mental health condition can be due to multiple interlinked causes, like family history, genetics, the environment, or the choice of lifestyle of the older individual. Susceptibility increases for seniors who are exposed to high levels of stress, face emotional or physical trauma, or are a victim of crime.
Chemical and biological imbalances in the brain can contribute to risk of mental illness as well.
Common Mental Health Issues in the Elderly
Studies conducted by WHO have revealed that nearly 7% of the elderly population of the world, aged over 60, suffer from depression and dementia, while around 4% suffer from anxiety disorders. Other mental health issues which could be of concern and affect the quality of life are:
- Bipolar disorder
- Personality disorder
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Schizoaffective disorder
- Eating disorder
- Substance abuse disorder
Treatments and Therapies for Mental Health Issues
Since each person is unique, treatment for elderly mental health issues is varied as well. It can also take time to find the best treatment approach, as people react differently to different courses of treatment.
Healthcare professionals often work with patients and family members, trying multiple combinations of therapeutic approaches until the right fit is found. Some people with depression, for example, may try three or four different types of medication before finding a good fit. Others may see improvements from their first medication, while still others may not benefit at all from medication.
The time it takes to find a good treatment can be frustrating for anyone struggling with their mental health. It may sometimes feel like they’re making no progress at all. This is why support from friends and family is so important. Such support can give the senior the strength to keep trying and help them to feel that they’re not alone in their journey.
The following approaches can all be used to help treat mental illness. They’re often used in combination with one another, as each approach has different strengths for improving elderly mental health issues.
- Medications: Proper medication can play a role in treating several mental issues and conditions such as severe stress and insomnia. Be sure to consult your doctor to understand the medicines you are prescribed and take them as instructed.
- Health promotion: Anything that helps to improve physical health may be relevant for mental health as well. This includes activities like Nordic walking or yoga, which help to strengthen the body. There are plenty of programs out there that help to improve the health of seniors, including those run by local senior centers.
- Social engagement activities: Organizations often conduct fun-filled engagement activities like online cooking, community-driven yoga, and the like. Such activities help seniors to enjoy life and also keep them socially connected. The social connection can be particularly powerful in helping with mental health.
- Psychotherapy: Counseling or talk therapy can help in people to identify and change conflicting emotions and thoughts in a person. It may be done with any licensed mental health care professional. Those suffering from depression can also try cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or interpersonal therapy (IPT). Many doctors recommend psychotherapy along with medication.
- Online therapy: This is the simplest way to access talk therapy from anywhere at any time from any device. Since many areas have few or no psychiatrists, online consultation is a good option, especially for seniors, who cannot avail of face-to-face therapy sessions due to health or logistics issues. Many of the top rated online therapy platforms all hire specialists who are trained in helping seniors.
- Psychodynamic therapy: This helps the aged to develop a better understanding of their subconscious processes that affect their thoughts and emotions.
- Volunteering: Having a direction or sense of purpose often helps with mental health challenges, by giving people something outside of themselves to focus on. Volunteering is a useful tool here, as it also offers social connection.
Recovery from Mental Illness
Recovery for an aged individual from mental illness could mean gaining hope, identifying one’s ability and disability, engaging in active life, and having a positive sense of self.
While recovery may not be totally synonymous with a cure, people often do better over time, finding ways to strengthen their resilience and participate in the world again. Some may even find that their symptoms disappear almost entirely with time, while others simply experience a decrease in symptoms instead.
First Steps to Find Help
Both physical and mental health are important components of overall health. Just as depression can aggravate other physical health problems, the presence of a chronic ailment can increase the risk of mental illness.
Where to begin will depend on the nature of the problem and the symptoms. More often than not, the best place to start is your local mental health care organization. Your family doctor could be a good person to talk to and get a referral of a good psychiatrist or psychologist to contact.
Peer support groups can also be an important addition to the help you get from health care providers. These groups focus on bringing together people with similar mental health issues or substance abuse conditions.
Having said that, though the primary care provider may initially treat the mental health disorder through medication, which may not be enough. Research has shown that the most effective treatment plan is a combination of therapy and medication, especially for anxiety and depression disorders.
It may take time to find good mental health solutions, especially for seniors who resist the idea of therapy or medication. Caregivers and family members may need to gently encourage them to find help, while also providing whatever support they can.
The goal isn’t to find the optimal solution right out of the gate. Instead, it’s best to just begin. To work on the process one step at a time. Improvements to the senior’s mental health may be gradual, but gradual changes aren’t a bad thing and can still be powerful.
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