Introduction Geriatric depression is the most common serious disease in elderly people, especially with older hospital patients, yet is often difficult to diagnose and many primary care clinicians fail to recognize depression cases. This research examines the causes, symptoms, and treatments of depression in the elderly. The causes of depression in the elderly are varies depending on their medication, their mental state, and other factors such as physiological and biochemical change. According to Solnek and Seiter (2002), drug reactions cause depression in the elderly. When the elderly often take multiple medications simultaneously, they are vulnerable to suffer depressive symptoms. In addition, “the role of loss in late life is frequently …show more content…
Physicians are difficult to determine whether these symptoms are caused by physical illness or because of depression. How to recognize depression in the elderly? Everyone has had signs of transient depression at some point in their lives when they are suffering loss, separation, pain, but these manifestations will gradually disappear, they continue to live almost normal and do not need treatment at all. The cases that need treatment are the types of depression that affect the mood, the activities of leisure activities and the daily behavior of the people around. Recognizing depression in older people is not always easy, but some people, especially the primary clinicians can be aware of depression by the following signs and symptoms. The most important sign of depression is personality changes. People with depression begin to feel less interested in their activities, objects, and the loved ones that they have previously cared for. Elderly depressed people often "give up" away from social activities as well as other pastimes. Elderly depressed people easily fall into isolation, loneliness due to self-deprecation. They often find it difficult to express their feelings in words, so people around them do not recognize their instability. When trying to express their feelings about depression, they often focus on other topics. For example, they complain about financial worries, harmony with
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 purpose of this research is to review factors that trigger elderly depression states, their physical and mental health conditions,
In a study conduct on the perceptions about the elderly suffering from depression”. This question was asked “Are they depressed or just old?. Many people in our society overlook the symptoms of depression while interaction with the elder. While the
Older adults are at a stage in life where they have to come to terms with their “inevitable decline” (Gladding, pg. 301). Older adults may suffer from “loneliness, fear and loss” (Gladding, pg. 302). They have been facing “chronic health problems that require increased attention” (Gladding, pg. 302). Many older people have difficulty transitioning to a “retirement lifestyle and long for their professional roles” (302). Many elderly also experience “limited socialization and interpersonal activities” (Gladding, pg. 303). Depression “affects 121 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of disability” (Pépin, Guérette, Lefebvre & Jacques, pg. 117).
Occasionally everyone has suffered from depression, weather it was long term or short term. Feeling hopelessness, irritablity, or feeling anxious or “empty” these symptoms can greatly effect people’s daily routines. Suddenly, waking up in the morning, trying to fall asleep or simply interacting with other people becomes one of the most difficult challenges. Depression can be cause by many things such as financial issues, relationship problems, family problems or an individual just may not be happy. Although, if this person uses their social imagination it may be a little easier for them to cope with their depression. Looking at their problems in a more general perspective helps them realize they are not alone and these are daily problems
After reviewing the case of my patient Tom, I have come to the conclusion that he suffers from depression. At this stage of analysis of this case, we can look at the symptoms and signs shown by the patient and match them with the symptoms and signs of depression. Looking at the DSM IV (Diagnostic Statistic Manual 4) we can understand that the most basic symptoms of depression include loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities for more than two weeks, being in a mood that is different from
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
Aim: This research is aimed to clarify characteristics of depression in the elderly, in elderly persons with dementia, and elderly persons with advanced dementia by classifying the patterns of dementia and depression into four types through the analysis of their scores of cognitive functions and depressive states.
Depression is considered to be one of the most common emotional problems among elderly individuals. The prevalence of depressive symptoms in the general population is at its lowest incidence during the middle-age years, increases throughout late adulthood, and reaches its highest level in adults age 80 or above (Glass, Kasl & Berkman, 1997). Ot-her experts reported that among elderly who live in the community, the prevalence of the depressive symptoms has ranged from 11 % to 44 % with an average of about 20%. About 43 %of the institutionalized elderly, however, were diagnosed as having depression (Reeker, 1997). Studies conducted in America revealed that depression
Depression is a blanket problem for most age group, especially more for geriatric population because of the developmental stage they are in, low or no income, health issues, isolation, etc. It is estimated that 5-10% of elderly who has a primary care visit reports to be depressed (Schaik, Marwijk, Beekman, de Haan, & van Dyck, pg. 2). Antidepressant drugs, psychotherapy, and combination of both have been utilized by the elderly but most go untreated. Of the ones who choose to utilize psychotherapy, there is limited information of the patient satisfaction. A better patient satisfaction can yield better patient outcome, which in return can help other elderly patients to seek the same mode of help for treating their depression.
Geriatric psychiatrists and researchers selected 100 questions related to diagnosing depression in elderly American individuals in order to address somatic and cognitive issues, and issues identifiable with Erickson’s Integrity versus Despair stage of development such as motivation, mood, past and future orientation (Yesavage, 1983). A nominal variable was used for the study because a yes/no format was chosen for administration of
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
It is known that depression can lead to complications in chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and stroke, increase morbidity and mortality, and increases health care expenditures. However, while “many older adults may face widowhood or loss of function or independence…depression is not considered a normal part of aging” (Buigues et al. 2014). Despite depression being one of the two syndromes being explored in this article, the authors have not given a specific, clinical definition for depression. During their primary search, they used the term “depression” and included articles that measured depressive symptoms or depression. This lack of specificity may have lead to some bias or inappropriate inclusions in this review. The authors would have benefited by creating or using a more defined definition for depression, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-V) or stated clearly whether or not the relationship they were exploring was between frailty and depression or frailty and depressive symptoms. The DSM-V defines depression as requiring “five (or more of) the following symptoms have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning; at least one of the symptoms is either (1) depressed mood (2) loss of interest or pleasure” and includes the following
Mental illnesses are increasing at an alarming rate worldwide and is one of the significant health problems of today’s world.This essay will present the manifestation of ‘depression in an elderly client in a community mental health setting. Depression among the elderly differs from depression in the younger adults which are accompanied by physical symptoms and co-morbidities rather than emotional symptoms. The presentation of these somatic conditions make the diagnosis of depression difficult in older people and therefore requires the identification of differences in symptoms of depression and coexisting somatic conditions. Depression is associated with significant reduction in cognitive abilities of the elderly. Furthermore decreased in
This is a psychological assessment for Bessie Delany. Did you know that about 80 percent of depressed older adults received no treatment? According to Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman (2013), “depression is the most common emotional problem of older people and it has been called “the common cold”. Older adult’s personality changes when depression strikes; for example, depressed people become apathetic and tend to isolate themselves. “Some of the symptoms of depression include feelings of uselessness, of being a burden, of being unneeded, of loneliness, and of hopelessness” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013). In addition, some of the characteristic that are very noticeable when a person is being affected by depression include loss of weight and appetite, fatigue, insomnia, and constipation (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013).