Depression Is A Normal Part Of Aging Among Older Adults

Depression is one of the most recurrently investigated psychological disorders within the area of medical R&D (Montorio & Izal, 1996). A number of exhaustive researches have been carried out to study its symptoms and impacts on different patients belonging to different personal and professional attributes and most of these researchers depicted that depression in the elderly people is very frequent and in spite of number of researches in this context, it is often undiagnosed or untreated. To add to this jeopardy, it has also been estimated that only 10% out of the total depressed elderly individuals receive proper diagnosis and treatment (Holroyd et al, 2000). And for that reason, an authentic

The evolution of mental health treatment in America has been a long and arduous road with many ups and downs. In many ways, attitudes towards the disease towards mental illness help shape the evolution of treatment. In addition, trends in treatment and cultural understanding of mental illness influence national policy. In Mad in American author Robert Whitaker discusses the mental health care system its history, evolution, and the current state of mental health care in America. Whitaker explores the ethnicity of practices and questions the safety and efficacy of psychiatric

In addition to the historical aspect, confusion about mental health is another reason leading to the perception of the mentally ill. The Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, (1999), dispels any confusion by making detailed analogies and information. Mental health and mental illness are not opposites; they are like two points on a continuum. The value of mental health is

Since the early 1990s, the progress of mental illness treatment has increased quickly. Many patients with mental illness have been able to leave hospitals and live normal lives because of advancement in treatment. The treatment of mental illness has changed in many ways. Some of these ways are medical technology, medication, and the housing treatment. These changes in mental illness healing have led to a great success.

The treatment of mental illness has gone through many reforms over the years. Stemming from some of the earliest documented cases of treatment such as trephination in 5000 B.C. to the opening of “mental” asylums starting in the late 1300s to the development of the modern healthcare system. Through the 1800s until now, major developments in mental health treatment include the evolution of the “mental” asylum, widespread psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy treatments. Primarily focusing on the treatment methods of the past two hundred or so years, the United States of America has made leaps and bounds to provide humane treatment to aid those in need.

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.

The United States has never had an official federal-centered approach for mental health care facilities, entrusting its responsibility to the states throughout the history. The earliest initiatives in this field took place in the 18th century, when Virginia built its first asylum and Pennsylvania Hospital reserved its basement to house individuals with mental disorders (Sundararaman, 2009). During the 19th century, other services were built, but their overall lack of quality was alarming. Even then, researchers and professionals in the mental health field attempted to implement the principles of the so-called public health, focusing on prevention and early intervention, but the funds were in the hands of the local governments, which prevented significant advances in this direction.

In today’s society there is a greater awareness of mental illnesses. With this greater awareness one might assume that there would be a substantial increase in government involvement or funding in the area of mental illness treatment. Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the U.S. today. There are hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness that go untreated. These potential patients go untreated for many reasons. These reasons are discussed in the Time article “Mental Health Reform: What Would it Really Take.

While understanding of mental illness has increased since the 1950s, public opinion has only become worse. Another change since the 1950s, is the medication given to patients.

In 1965, there was a histrionic change in the method that mental health care was delivered in the United States. The focus went from State Mental Hospitals to outpatient settings for the treatment of mental health issues. With the passing of Medicaid, States were encouraged to move patients out of the hospital setting (Pan, 2013). This process failed miserably due to under funding and understaffing for the amout of patients that were released from the State Mental Hospitals. This resulted in patients, as well as their families, who were in dire need of mental health services. This population turned to either incarceration (jails and/or prisons) or emergency departments as a primary source of care for their loved ones.

The negative stigma of mental health has lightened slightly over the years, however, it has not rescinded entirely. People still have an unmanageable time admitting that they may have a mental disorder and that they require assistance. Human beings struggle with these hindrances openly and also hidden on a daily basis. Therefore, our civilization needs to remove the shame associated with the treatment of mental disorders and work on devising a progressive suitable mental healthcare plan in order to ensure that many live a healthy, happy, and prosperous

Access to mental health care is not as good as than other forms of medical services. Some Americans have reduced access to mental health care amenities because they are living in a countryside setting. Others cannot get to treatment for the reason of shortage of transportation or vast work and household tasks. In some areas, when a

Mental disorders are becoming more prevalent in today's society as people add stress and pressure to their daily lives. The elderly population is not eliminated as a candidate for a disorder just because they may be retired. In fact, mental disorders affect 1 in 5 elderly people. One would think that with disorders being rather prevalent in this age group that there would be an abundance of treatment programs, but this is not the case. Because the diagnosis of an individual's mental state is subjective in nature, many troubled people go untreated regularly (summer 1998). Depression in the elderly population is a common occurrence, yet the diagnosis and treatment seem to slip

The purpose of this study, was to examine the mortality rate of public mental health patients and compare it to the mortality rates of the general population from each specific state. Originally sixteen states were invited to join in this study, but only eight states chose to participate. The eight states were Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. This experiment went on from 1997 to 2000, and the main goal researchers wanted to achieve was to find better ways to take care of the mentally ill. In all eight states researchers discovered that mental health patients had a greater risk of death than the general population.

According to the American Psychiatric Association “Studies show that seniors are at greater risk of some mental disorders and their complications than younger people, and many of these illnesses can be accurately diagnosed and treated.”(American Psychiatric Association, 2015, para. 1). Although many of the illnesses can be treated, many go undiagnosed due to the fact that many individuals do not understand mental illnesses and some seniors are reluctant to seek psychiatric care due to being ashamed or believing that their symptoms are a part of aging that everyone experiences. It is not just the seniors and their family or friends that fail to recognize symptoms of mental illness, even their doctors may mistake a symptom of mental illness for another illness or problem associated with older adults.