Roughly a quarter of people age 65 or older suffer from depression. More than half of doctor’s visits by the elderly involve complaints of emotional distress. Twenty percent of suicides in this country are committed by seniors, with the highest success rate belonging to older, white men.
According to a recent report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, depression is one of the major causes of decline in the health-related quality of life for senior citizens.
Why all the depression?
Rafi Kevorkian, M.D. calls them the five D’s: disability, decline, diminished quality of life, demand on caregivers, and dementia. To combat senior depression, then, requires coming up with creative methods to counter the five D’s.
Here are 12 strategies to do just that: help people break free from the prison of depression and anxiety in their senior years.
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For an assignment in my psychology class we were instructed to find a blog post that relates to the first chapter in our text book somehow and post a comment on it. Since this article is about seniors being depressed, this makes it an article on the study of their behaviors.It also gives us a good understanding of why seniors are very likely to develop depression and what makes them depressed.This includes things in the world around them, and their own body and brain. I also chose this article because i find the topic very interesting. My grandmother is in her eighties now, and has been very depressed these past few years. I think all of the strategies listed in this article are very important to help seniors stay happy.
One of them was on making friends. This is a critical strategy to their life. If seniors have lots of friends, then they will have more to do in life. They will have people to make plans with and keep them company so they are not always in the house doing the same thing. They will also have people to be there for them when they are sad. I feel as if the main reason my grandma is sad is because of how lonely she is. All she ever wants is for her family or friends to visit her. The last strategy was to find a purpose and in this case my grandmas purpose is the ones she loves. Without anyone to love life can feel pointless. Exercise is another one. A lot of people think that old people shouldn’t exercise because they could get hurt. This is completely wrong. My grandmas doctor orders her to exercise. by doing this it keeps their hearts healthier and keeps them going. To carry photos of their loved ones is also another good one. It shows that they do have people that care and love for them, and that they are not alone. It reminds them of their purpose and can even remind them of the happiness that those people bring them. The last strategy i would like to talk about that is listed is to treat insomnia. Insomnia can cause depression in any age group. The only way for your brain to function properly is if you get enough sleep. If seniors do not get enough sleep, it can throw of many other thing than just the way they feel. My grandma had sleeping problems as well. To resolve this she started taking organic sleeping medicine before bed, and got a new mattress.These contributes helped her sleep sleep through the whole night and caused her to be a happier person when she woke up in the morning. The strategies listed in this article are only some of them. There are many ways to help seniors stay away from depression. Like a lot of people, writing in a journal could help them release some of the negative feelings that they are experiencing. Eating healthy can be just as important as getting enough sleep. If they are eating badly, then they are going be feeling badly. They could keep a list of things that they are thankful for and add to it everyday. When they are sad they can always go to this list, and hopefully it will help them feel better about their life. I saw this on a television episode and i find it to help out greatly.Another one would be doing what they enjoy,such as their hobbies. They can even spend time helping out other people. My grandma volunteers at Birth-rite which help women and teenagers who are pregnant. She says helping others makes her happy, because she is making other people happy. Those are just some of the strategies that can help seniors. I think depression in the elderly should be a bigger concern to people. Just because they are old does not mean their feelings do not matter. As stupid as it may sound, maybe support groups should be made? Or some way for depressed seniors to connect with other depressed seniors.
I’m thrilled to see that you listed Tai Chi in there. And it’s not just for seniors. I reversed my own clinical depression using Tai Chi (and it’s cousin, Qigong).Here’s my story: http://flowingzen.com/1912/depression-kills-qigong-saves/