The Elderly’s Mental Health

Mental illness generally is more prevalent in the elderly than in the rest of the population, but this figure can hardly be surprising. Far too many elderly people live on their own. They no longer can, nor wish, to work. They have to watch relatives and friends of their own age die off, leaving them more and more isolated.

Nevertheless, we’ve all heard it said many times that you should plan for retirement. People tend to leave their jobs and careers behind them as though a great weight has been lifted from their shoulders. You certainly can’t blame them for that. If they’ve managed their affairs sensibly, they have a nice pension on which to live, and glorious days of golf, or sitting with their feet up on the front porch with a nice glass of scotch, stretch like a golden road before them. Now all that’s fine for those who can afford the lifestyle, but how about the poor old chap who’s stuck on Social Security, or the widow who’s husband died and left her without a penny?

All the more reason why people should plan for the years when they’re no longer working. That being said, so many don’t. Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Centre in the Bronx, makes it clear that depression is not a normal nor inevitable part of growing old, nor is it harder to treat. It is, however, the most prevalent illness.

We’ve noted that so many older people live on their own and if they’re of an introverted nature, and have no-one to care for them, or even to look in on them to make sure they’re all right, then the world simply passes them by. Dr. Kennedy points out, too, that they can commit a sort of passive suicide. They stop eating, or at best survive on snacks. They stop taking their medication and become dangerously sedentary.

He recommends that they should be screened periodically, so that it may be ascertained that they’re not completely losing interest in life and heading into a dangerously depressed state which may lead to suicide.

Alcohol, too, can play an injurious part. After all, the poor old person’s all alone. No-one visits them and all they have are the ghosts of the past. These spectres are made more real, perhaps, with the help of a bottle of scotch. Maybe the faces become clearer, the old times come alive again. The main problem is that falls can result because of their drinking, and who’s there to pick them up?

Alzheimer’s goes without saying, but other dementia can take their toll, two in particular. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a viral infection which can lead to a rapid downward spiral. Medications, too, can cause problems. These days, it seems, more and more medications are being dished out and someone elderly, with a slower metabolism, can experience toxic levels of these drugs more quickly. This means that the drugs can interact, causing mood changes and symptoms of dementia.

Mental Health Services For The Elderly

One out of every five adult Americans suffers with mental illness. Some important mental health problems that occur during old age include dementia, delirium, psychosis, schizophrenia and depression. Elders suffering with mental health problems tend to have abnormal cognitive and behavioral patterns that are often associated with decreased ability to function. Other prominent symptoms that elders usually complain include sleep disturbances, a change in appetite and mood differences.

In most cases, mental health problems in elders that require treatment are quite conveniently ignored. Improper treatment of mental illnesses in elders seems to the most prominent reason contributing to high suicidal rate in these people. Many of these people require specialized mental health services.

However, there are several reasons that contribute to improper mental health services to the elderly. Some of them are listed below:

1. In most cases, elders are reluctant to undergo treatment for their mental health disorder. They continue to harbor their minds with discomfort and stigmas, thereby showing resistance to leaving their homes and going to a rehabilitation center or a clinic.

2. Our society has never shown respect or dignity for individuals suffering from mental health problems. Even a mental health professional is apprehensive about an elderly person with such condition. Beliefs and attitudes of these professionals do have a significant influence on the quality of medical care provided to the patients.

3. Medical negligence is another big hurdle. In many situations, symptoms of mental health diseases are just written off as indicators of ageing.