Depression Affect Adults

As the number of the older adults is increasing so are those living with depression; therefore, it is important that perceptions around older adult depression be studied. According to the study done by the US Department of Commerce, it is estimated that the older adult population will more than likely double by 2050 and of 80 million and many as 1 in 5 Americans would be considered as an older adult (US Department of Commerce, 1995). There are many losses that accompany the aging process. These include the loss of loved ones and their independence. They begin to feel as though they will depend on their families for the rest of their lives. These factors scare them and causes many of the individuals to suffer from depression. One of the most predominant health problems in the United States is mental health. In the last 20th century, mental illness treatment has been through diverse changes in the United States. These changes have made it necessary for the policy and law makers to enact a law to protect the identity and integrity for people with mental health illness. Most individuals diagnosed with mental health illness are most often being ostracized and stigmatized. Because of social stigma attached to the individual with mental illness, their privacy is being violated and it has created so many issues in mental health.

Depression is a serious mental health illness when left unattended, and it affects not just the mind but the whole body. It is characterized by hopelessness, loss of interest, sadness, lack of sleep or too much, loss of appetite and suicidal thoughts. When one has an episode, there is a possibility of having more episodes in the future. According to Statistic Canada (2012), depression is one of the common mental illnesses in Canada. Statistic Canada’s (2012) Canadian community Health survey (CCHS) on mental health report state that 6.7% of 15 years and up has depression, while 11.6% of 1 in every 8 has major depression. (“6.7% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and above reported symptoms that met the criteria for depression. On the other hand, 1 in 8 adults with 11.6% identified symptoms that met the criteria for major depression”). Craft and Perna (2004) gives a rough estimate pf depression in US adult to be 9.5% yearly and projection of 17% in the future.( stated that depression affects “roughly 9.5% of the US adult population each year, and17% more will suffer at some point in time”). As reported by Statistic Canada depression runs across young adults to adults, which implies that depression is not a respecter of age.

In her article “Depressingly Easy” Dr.Lamberts discusses why depression is a serious issue. She argues that younger people are more likely to experince depression, since rates continue to increase. Our brains are the same size as the earliest humans, but our day to day tasks have changed drastically. Researchers have yet to find convincing evidence that serotonin imbalances is the cause of depression, and despite the numerous treatment options available today, depression rates are higher than ever.

Adults are at higher risk of suffering from depression than children and teenagers. Different forms of clinical depression may develop under different situations or circumstances in your life. These forms of major depressive disorders are as follows:

Depression is the most common mental disorder, not only for adults, but for children and teenagers as well. The DSM-IV classifies depression as a mood disorder. It states that an individual has suffered a “major depressive episode” if certain symptoms persist for at least two weeks, including a loss of enjoyment in previously pleasurable activities, a sad or irritable mood, a significant change in weight or appetite, problems sleeping or concentrating, and feelings of worthlessness. These symptoms of depression fall into four categories: mood, cognitive, behavioral, and physical. Depression affects how individuals feel, think, behave, and how their bodies work. People with depression may experience symptoms in any or all of the

Depression is one of the most common and serious mental health people face today. According to statistics, "In 2012, it is estimated that 16 million adults over 18 years in the US had at least one episode of major depression in the past year. This represented 6.9 percent of all American adults" ("Major Depression in Adults"). These figures show that there were a large number of adults who suffered bouts of depression over a period of twelve months. Also, the article notes that someone may be suffering a period of depression when you lose interest in things, have difficulty concentrating, food and sleep disorders, and suffers from fatigue; in addition, these symptoms must persist for more than fourteen days ("Major Depression Among Adults").

Among other things, depression can affect a persons relationships, cause lack of focus at work or school, memory loss and lead to substance abuse, as well as, suicidal feelings. There are certain groups of people who are at higher risk for depression. Senior Citizens can become depressed as a side effect of medications or medical conditions such as heart attack or stroke. LGBT people often

The overall theme of the articles researched were all based on elderly depression and the effects elderly depression can have on their quality of life. During the course of the research, similarities were very evident amongst the different articles. Some of the similarities were: depression is often miss or misdiagnosed in the elderly population, group psychotherapy, assessments, and medication treatment. There are many articles available on elderly depression, but you must know exactly what to look for as there are many topics the information falls under. Elderly depression research ranges from normal part of aging, to death, to living situations and on and on. However, even with the current research available, there will still a gap in literature until effective ways to diagnosis the elderly with depression are found. There are still too many elderly people being misdiagnosed, not diagnosed at all etc. The biggest reason that the literature gap will remain is because there is still too much stigma

Alcohol is often associated as a mild case among substance use disorders despite that there are many persons diagnosed with alcohol use. Based on the survey conducted by the World Health Organization (2005), the worldwide per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages equaled 6.13 litres of pure alcohol consumed by every person aged 15 years or older. Likewise, it was reported that each person consumes 28.6% or 1.76 litres of homemade and illegally produced alcohol and is considered unrecorded alcohol. Since most studies on alcohol abuse focuses on the younger generations, only few literatures were found on cases among older adults. Elderly people are hospitalized due to alcohol abuse due to higher sensitivity and poorer ability to metabolize alcohol (Saitz, 2003). They are advised to moderately drink with no more than two drinks on a single occasion as they are at risk for interpersonal and functioning problems (Merrick et. al., 2007).

When you break this population down to the micro, messo and macro levels its taking a look at the individual, the community and society. The individual characteristics of the elderly would best be described as how they feel about themselves. As statistics have proved, a lot of elderly are faced with issues of depression and suicide in prison. According to Essentials of Abnormal Psychology there is a problem of depression in the elderly. A Canadian study by Dalhousie University researcher Kenneth Rockwood and colleagues estimated that 18% to 20% of residents in nursing homes may experience major depressive episodes (Durand, M. V., Barlow, D. H., & Stewart, S. H. 2008). This can comparable if not more, to those that are incarcerated as it may

Depression is a mental disorder that can affect individuals of all ages. The text defines depression as a reaction that arises in response to a major life event with which an individual cannot cope (Hooyman Kiyak, 2011, Pg. 230). This may include a change in mood, loss of interest, or isolation. As Hooyman & Kiyak (2011) notes, depression is most prevalent amongst our older population. Statistics show that rates for depression is higher for older adults who are suffering from chronic diseases, which is very common for aging adults. However, because of such prevalence, it is vital for caregivers to educate themselves on the various signs and symptoms of depression. Doing so will allow for caregivers to distinguish between unipolar depression

Each year, an estimated of one in five or 43.8 million Americans suffer from a mental illness. Of those, only forty-one percent receive treatment for their disorder. Mental illness is the third most common cause of hospitalization and accounts for more than 193.2 billion in lost earnings each fiscal year. Depression is one of the many illnesses that are prevalent midst these statistics and effect people of all ages. Within the category of depression, is late-onset depression, referring to the development later in life.

Depression historically affects roughly 10% or more of the elderly population. However, this number is not exact because many cases of depression are undiagnosed. For those that are diagnosed, a major problem in the primary care setting is the inability to properly treat depression. Because older adults are more likely to have other health issues, the symptoms of depression can be overlooked or untreated because they are believed to be attributed to a different disorder or health issue. This mental disorder can cause emotional suffering which often causes inadequate functioning in day to day life. Those with depression often exhibit poorer function when compared to those with chronic medical conditions. A mental disorder that imitates depression

The trend indicates that the younger patients were more likely to receive treatment for anxiety and depression than the older patients. Based on the depression scores (Table 4), younger patients (18-44) reported a lower percentage of depression than older patients (45 and above) but 50% of younger patients received medications for their anxiety and depression. This study result can be justified by a previous research result which showed that providers were more likely to diagnose depression in younger patients and ask about treatment for depression in the past, current symptoms of depression, alcohol problems, and suicide risk than in older patients. Depressed elderly patients were less likely to be given a prescription for any medication

Depression affects everyone's life at sometime or another. Depression comes in a wide variety of forms, from mild unhappiness to a chemical imbalance in the mind. There are many different symptoms that reveal a person's problem with depression. If left untreated, depression may continue to develop into a serious illness or even death.