It’s estimated at least 20 percent of adults over 55 face mental health concerns.
Below are the six key indicators aging adults and caregivers should consider when keeping aging minds healthy and active.
Causes
Many factors that come along with aging contribute to decline in mental health among the elderly. In general, aging causes a natural diminishment in mental and physical abilities, a fact often difficult to accept as you enter your later years. As friends and loved ones begin to pass away, a senior’s inability to cope with grief and loss is unfortunately a major contributor to depression and mental illness.
Medical bills, budgeting and overall finances also can cause mental malady, especially when addressing financial issues with aging parents. The elderly also face issues dealing with change. Even if it’s for the best, moving a senior to an assisted care facility can be difficult on his mental health merely because it’s a new living situation with the potential to alter his daily routine.
Finally, lack of social interaction is another primary cause of decline in mental health. Meals on Wheels, senior centers and visits from loved ones are fantastic ways to provide aging adults with the social interactions they need for healthy aging.
Warning Signs
To appropriately monitor the mental health of aging adults, caregivers and the seniors themselves need to keep an eye out for the red flags associated with mental illness. These include (but are not limited to) mood swings, change in diet, hopelessness, substance abuse, excessive sleep or lack of sleep, rage, extreme anxiety, obsessive compulsiveness and suicidal thoughts.
Sleep
Sleep often is a key indicator of whether or not an aging adult is suffering from mental illness. Insomnia inhibits a person’s ability to fall and remain asleep. It is common in seniors with decline in mental and brain health. Treating insomnia is more challenging with seniors because the popular medications used on younger people can cause additional health risks, like increased chance of fall and general disorientation when used on the elderly.
Doctors often opt for hormone-melatonin treatments over the aforementioned medications. If you suspect your senior loved one is suffering from poor sleep, make an appointment with his doctor to discuss healthy options available to help boost quality sleep.
Depression
Depression is an extremely common mental illness suffered by the elderly. Yet a relative few receive appropriate treatment for depression for various reasons. Ensure healthy aging through mental wellness by zeroing in on the symptoms of late-life depression.
Difficulty in Diagnosis
Diagnosing mental illness in the elderly is much more challenging than for younger age groups. Symptoms of poor mental health often overlap with those of the other illnesses the aging adult may be facing.
To further complicate the issue, seniors often are prescribed multiple medications, some of which possess side effects that affect the aging adult’s mood. Depression itself even can be listed as a side effect. Doctors will try to change up these prescriptions in order stop potentially depression-causing medications. So, it’s important to track and monitor the senior’s reactions to various medications and keep his doctor informed.
Physical Consequences of Poor Mental Health
The effects of mental illness in the elderly can threaten a senior’s physical health in three primary ways. The most straightforward way depression can physically affect a senior is that it increases the risk of cardiac issues. Seniors who lack mental wellness are more likely to suffer heart attacks. Furthermore, not only does poor mental health put the senior at risk for more physical ailments, it also increases the likelihood of death when those physical illnesses strike.
The third and final way depression can affect an aging adult physically is it exacerbates the existing illnesses. All these are reasons why mental illness in seniors must be treated as seriously as physical illnesses.
Treatment
There are numerous effective ways to help promote healthy aging by increasing long-term brain and mental health in older adults. Receiving counseling from a therapist is a good step to take if the senior is willing and able to speak about his depression or mental health fluctuations.
Forms of brain stimulation or medications, such as antidepressants, are other common options. Support from friends and family goes a long way to increase the overall well-being of aging adults. Declining mental health is a struggle many seniors face, but with the proper care, support and guidance, anyone can begin making great strides toward reclaiming happiness.
Home Care Assistance caregivers are available for respite care for your loved one to help protect your health. Contact Amanda Butas, certified dementia practitioner, and your Mesa client care manager, at (480) 699-4899. You also can visit us at our new office located on Power and McKellips roads, at 2031 N. Power Road, Suite 103.