Depression In The Elderly

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

There are two main types of depression one being major depression that has the capability to mentally cripple the individual. Then we have mild depression or dysthymia that can be caused by situations also referred to as situational depression. Major depression is a very serious form of depression which handicaps the individual and makes them incapable of doing what we would consider everyday activities.

I worked in a long term care facility for three years before going to an internal medicine office. When starting right away I noticed, with my medication passes, that most of the residents were on some type on medication for depression or a mood disorder. I started to think that it must be a common diagnosis for most of these patients because of being in a nursing facility instead of living at home, in which they had been staying most of their adult lives. I then began to think of some of the residents that where immobile and couldn’t ingest orally anymore and would have to rely on internal feedings to keep them alive. It was hard to image how they must have felt. I could see the emotional impact that it had on them losing their ability to

Depression affects 22% of men and 28% of women aged 65 or over. Royal College of Psychiatrists estimates that 85% of older people with depression receive no help at all from the NHS. 1 in 3 people over 65 will die with a form of dementia. In England

Depression is a very prevalent mental disorder that many people have in the world. Depression can be termed as consistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities that result in an impairment in daily functioning. Depression can be characterized by hopelessness, and a pessimistic view of the world. People who suffer with depression should take act immediately in receiving help because they could possibly commit suicide and or poor health outcomes. Many older adults who receive help are more than likely to reduce the severity of depression. Also, older adults that receive help by using evidence based practice from their clinicians

There are many areas of overlap between dementia and depression. The most patients don’t report on depressive symptoms by patients with dementia and the co-occurrence of some symptoms such as sadness, apathy, loss appetite and loss of interest in both disorders. Depression has different causes and common to people of all ages, including biological factors, malnutrition, abnormal changes in the brain, stressful situation, social isolation and drug and alcohol use. Older adults may experience depression due to illness, side effects of the drugs, and major life changes such as: losing relatives and retirement. The same changes may lead to dementia developing after depression occurs concurrently.

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

Depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion and difficulty concentrating. Symptoms such as loss of interest in life, lack of enjoyment doing activities, feeling tired all the time, poor sleep, weight loss or gain, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, chronic unexplained pain and memory loss can be correctly attributed to poor health, dementia and old age. In serious depression, thoughts of suicide or death are common. Untreated depression can develop into a problem. There is evidence that depression takes a serious toll on a person’s physical health. Physical pain is one symptom of depression that is generally overlooked. A study that was published in the Psychosomatic Medical Journal found that two thirds of people with depression also were in some sort of physical pain.

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

Four major developments that have influenced the treatment of geriatric depression: 1) The discovery of anti-psychotics and antidepressants 2) Deinstitutionalization and the expansion of community-based mental health centers 3) Dramatic shift in the demographics shift due to the baby boomers moving into later life 4) A movement towards evidence-based practices as the golden standard in the treatment of geriatric depression. The following is a general list of factors that have shaped social work’s response to geriatric depression over the course of this era: 1) Socio-political issues 2) Social work developments 3) Medical and clinical advancements 4) Healthcare trends and 5) Federal policies and organizational initiatives. These five domains were chosen to focus the examination of this paper on the evolution of treatment for geriatric depression based on the recommendation from Greene (2005) who suggested in order to “understand the current nature of social work practice in the field of aging, it is important to take into account the major attitudinal, economic, and social forces that have been shaping it” (p.

Dysthymia is another form of depression, but it’s not as severe. This disorder can be a chronic illness that is long lasting. Dysthymia occurs every day for one year or less in teens. Some of the symptoms are fatigue, appetite deprivation and low self- esteem. The Primary Care Journal states that dysthymia only affects 3 percent of the population and it is associated with functional impairment. (www.en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/dysthymia). Individuals who are diagnosed with dysthymia usually don’t notice that they are experiencing depression. They are able to carry out their daily lives.

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

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

According to Depression scholarly (n.d), depression, also known as major depression, is a “mind-set disorder that causes a constant feeling of misery and misfortune of investment” (Depression scholarly, n.d). Depression also refers to “an array of abnormal variations in the mood of a person”. This condition not only affects an individual’s thoughts and behaviors (Journal, n.d), but is also capable of changing the thoughts and feelings of the individual as well as physically and emotionally affecting his or her health. This type of disorder is, frankly, a common disorder that can happen to anyone at any age, as it is one of the most “disabling disorders in the world, affecting roughly one in five women and one in tem men at some point in their lifetime” (Depression, n.d). Although depression can affect anyone, it is more likely to occur in individuals who have been suffering from anxiety disorders (Journal, n.d).