Depression is a disease that affects they young and the elderly. It manifests itself in similar ways in both of these ages groups but different in some very important ways for those who are elderly. These differences can contribute to the fact that 35 million elderly are suffering from depression with as many as 70% of them suffering unnoticed chose to end their lives even though they saw a medical doctor within 30 days of having done so. How many other people came into contact with them during those 30 days and their depression escaped their attention too? Understanding how depression differs in the elderly can make recognizing it much easier.
One major drawback to knowing someone is depressed is when that person does not communicate that they are sad. Elderly individuals who have difficulty communicating are even more unlikely to give direct clues to those around them. Depression symptoms can take many forms including physical, psychological and emotional.
The elderly person suffering from depression may physically look different from the usual appearance. The clothes they wear may be dirty, slept in, or worn several times. They may not shower or bathe as often as they should. They may not see the need to wash their hair or do other personal hygiene such as that which is necessary to control body odor. Their disinterest in food may show up in a noticeable body weight loss as clothes become loose. They may experience medical or dental problems from not keeping appointments or because they do not take medications or follow proper dental care procedures.
Psychologically they may be confused, become more irritable than usual, have delusions or hallucinations or show signs of severe sadness. Individuals in the over 65-age group rarely admit to being sad, at least not to others. They may however give clues that they are extremely sad when they complain of persistent aches and pains or other ailments so that they seek frequent attention or help form others. Sometimes their behavior can seem on the demanding side of what would seem normal.
Emotional signs of depression express as feelings of anger, crying for extended periods of time and other expressions of Normal grief is understandable in those of advanced age as so many of their peers are dying or have retired and moving away. Adult children may have also moved away leaving them feeling isolated and alone in a life that seems totally changed and foreign. These lifestyle changes usually create emotional signs of depression.
Recognizing and interpreting these signs and symptoms of depression in the elderly individual may take a trained eye and ear. Listening to what someone who is elderly is saying or not saying can be very important when it comes to understanding depression. Depression will not usually go away on its own and will worsen with time. Clinical depression can last for months. When the elderly suffer from untreated depression the immune system can be affected making them much more susceptible to contacting other diseases.
Although we have discussed physical, psychological and emotional signs of depression there are also biological factors that some scientists suspect may also play a role in elderly depression. They think that there is a biological pattern to those who suffer from clinical depression. Depression often times will be seen in parents, siblings or past family members. Those individuals who have a past history of depression will often have a reoccurrence of depression in later life.
