Produced by Bupa's Health Information Team, March 2011.
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Depression in old age video
Depression for many older people is a significant health problem. It’s not because they’re old; people do not become depressed simply because they’re growing older. Things happen in later life. Now, those things can be major. It could be loss of a partner. It could be a period of physical illness. It may even be going to live in a care home – major events.
But in truth, most elderly people negotiate that very well indeed. What’s far more likely to make a person depressed are the daily hassles of life: fretting and worrying that they might trip and fall when they’re at home or outside. Or maybe it’s the past: they review their life and they dwell on regrets and failings and disappointments. Or it could be the future: they fret and worry because they fear future losses – so, it’s a sense of foreboding.
But maybe what is also significant is the culture they live in. For so many elderly people what they’re exposed to is being ignored, ridiculed, not given respect, and that depresses the person as well.
Symptoms of depression in older people
Just because depression is common doesn’t mean to say it’s easily recognised. In fact, it’s often underdiagnosed. Partly, that’s because depression is complex.
The major signs include being low, being miserable, but often not tearful – it’s what we call an absence of emotion. Behaviour changes: people become apathetic, lethargic, withdrawn. Everything’s too much effort. They sleep poorly, they wake early. They eat very little so their weight falls off. Their thinking becomes negative, pessimistic.
But sometimes the problems make us feel as if there is something wrong when in fact there is nothing wrong. For example, they fret about their health, they complain about their medication, so we think it’s a physical illness. But sometimes the effort to think and communicate and remember becomes so great that they don’t, and so it looks as if they’ve got dementia and that’s the misdiagnosis.
Helping older people with depression
So, how do we help somebody who is depressed? Understandably, we can prescribe antidepressants. Now, for many people, they work. But they are rarely the complete answer. They open up a window of opportunity and we have to think of ways of helping whilst that window is open.
How do we help that person? Well, we give them back some control, some choice. Don’t dictate to them. Give them choices about what they might wear and what they might eat. Bring some pleasure, interest, reward into their lives. And challenge that negativity, because nobody’s lived a life where there’s been no success, no enjoyment, no value.
For somebody who’s depressed, they will benefit from talking about their past because that was a time they would have enjoyed, their life was rich. And so it makes a lot of sense to reflect upon those times. So by using pictures, photographs, music, you can tap into who that person was and bring their history back to life again. In essence that is what life-story work is.
If you are still worried about that person with depression, then contact your doctor because they will point you in the right direction.
This video is intended for general information only and it does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional.
This information was published by Bupa's Health Information Team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been reviewed by appropriate medical or clinical professionals. Photos are only for illustrative purposes and do not reflect every presentation of a condition. The content is intended only for general information and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional. For more details on how we produce our content and its sources, visit the About our Health Information page.
Release date: March 2011
