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Depression in older people
4 minutes
Dr. Graham Stokes takes us through some of the reasons why older people can find themselves struggling with depression, and ways to help support them.
Depression for many older people is a significant health problem.
It's not because they are 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 a loss of a partner.
It could be a period of physical illness.
It may be even going to live in a care home.
Major events.
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, 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's 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.
Just because depression is common doesn't mean to say it's easily recognized.
In fact, it's often underdiagnosed partly, that's because depression is complex.
The major signs include being alone, being miserable, but often not tearful.
It's what we call an absence of emotion.
Behavior changes, people can become apathetic, lethargic, withdrawn.
Everything is 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 makes us feel 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.
So it looks like they've got dementia and that's the misdiagnosis.
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 can open 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 and 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 is 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 using pictures, photographs, music, you can tap into who that person was and bring their history back to life again.
In essence, that's what life story work is.
Of you are concerned, if you're 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.
Mindfulness explained
13 minutes
Dr. Meera Joshi gives us a crash course on all things mindfulness. From explaining what it really means to ways we can practice it, she shares her expert advice.
What is mindfulness?
mindfulness is a term that's used so often nowadays that sometimes we forget what it really means being mindful is just being really really present it's about being really connected to and aware of what's going on right now in our minds and in our bodies
What does practising mindfulness involve?
practicing mindfulness involves learning a set of exercises that you do on a regular basis the aim of the exercise is learn learning to focus on being really present so you would start for example with being focused on an object and then move on to being focused on focused on sensations in the body and then move on to being focused on the graph the
What are the benefits of mindfulness?
evidence shows that there's quite a variety of benefits to mindfulness mindfulness can actually be quite protective it can reduce stress it can reduce burnout and it can prevent depression and anxiety mindfulness can also be a real boost it can increase feelings of happiness sense of well-being and can improve concentration
Is mindfulness just a fad?
there was a time when mindfulness was sort of as a fad especially when it first become really well-known the evidence now is so strong the mindfulness is becoming much more integrated into the line of world so mindfulness is used in schools it's used in the medical world it's used in the workplace and it's also used in correctional facilities as well
How do I start learning mindfulness?
a really get great way of starting to learn mindfulness would be through an app or through books that take you step-by-step through the process once you become familiar with these and you feel that you might want to develop your practice a little bit going on a course is a really good idea and that's because having interaction with other people will help you develop your understanding of mindfulness
Can anybody learn mindfulness?
mindfulness is for everybody we try to make mindfulness as accessible as possible for example we have special mindfulness programs for children in school so it's in a language that they understand and it's a bit more fun and there's also mindfulness programs for the workplace which is much more accessible and much more adapted to the work environment everybody can benefit
Do certain people benefit more from mindfulness?
from mindfulness the way we do the research studies for mindfulness however sometimes we focus on some groups of people so we know for example that people with chronic pain can really benefit from mindfulness because it can reduce their symptoms we also know that people that have hadn't had depression before can really benefit from mindfulness as well because it can reduce the chances of them getting depression again
Do doctors prescribe mindfulness as a treatment?
in the UK mindfulness is a licensed treatment for people that have had depression before so the studies actually shown that mindfulness is as good as anti depression depressant medication in preventing further episodes of depression if you think that this might apply to you going and seeing your GP is a really good place to start in particular you want to ask about mindfulness based cognitive therapy other situations where mindfulness can be helpful include difficulty sleeping and stress
What are the mental benefits of mindfulness?
mindfulness has quite a wide range of mental benefits mindfulness can really help with day-to-day tasks so it can help with improving concentration and improving working memory the working memory is when you hold a few pieces of information in your head at any one time so for example if you're doing mental maps and the evidence shows the mindfulness can really boost this and your ability to work things out quickly mindfulness can also help in thought processes so for example if you're worried about something any think about it over and over again you might find yourself getting feeling a bit low and that's called rumination and mindfulness has been shown to reduce through mination
Can mindfulness help performance in sport?
mindfulness can actually really enhance sport performance it does this by bringing an awareness to your body as well as helping you become focused and in some cases it can really give the leading edge so an example of this is the Seattle Seahawks they entered the American Super Bowl in 2014 and there were a relatively unknown team that only entered once before but that year they'd actually had mindfulness training alongside very rigorous physical training and that year they actually went on to win super bowl
Does mindfulness change how your brain and body works?
evidence shows that there are actual changes that occur in your brain in response to practice mindfulness on a regular basis there's an area of the brain for example for the amygdala which is responsible for the fight-or-flight response which you might have come across before this is a response to any threats or anything intimidating in your environment people that practice mindfulness or a regular basis have been shown to have a shrinkage in that area of the brain in the amygdala there is also evidence to suggest there are benefits to your body as well some studies show that your immune response is boosted when you practice mindfulness or making a basis your immune response is what helps you fight off infections for example
What's the difference between mindfulness and meditation?
mindfulness is a practice is actually based on meditation but isn't religious or affiliated to any particular group the mindfulness practice has been tested scientifically and that is what we teach there are some types of meditation that have slightly different aims for example emptying your mind or becoming more relaxed and these aren't really the aims of mindfulness in mindfulness we aimed to become more present and accept it just the way it is
Do you get an immediate benefit from mindfulness?
studies show that the benefits of mindfulness come from regular practice and this is because of the changes that occur in your brain they take time and they come with practice however everyone's experience is quite different and sometimes people do say that they get an immediate benefit to feel much happier or comma after just practicing for the first time
Do you practise mindfulness?
I personally practice mindfulness as do all mindfulness teachers I try to make time every single day particularly in the morning to practice and that's when i'll spend 20 or 30 minutes and then what I'll do is during the day try to find little pockets of time when I can be more mindful so that might be taking some time to have lunch and putting away any distractions and really focusing on my lunch where it might be taking a walk and really trying to be aware of what's going on around me instead of maybe just being in my phone instead
How can we use mindfulness to improve our working life?
mindfulness can work in two quite different ways in your in our working lives in terms of an individual basis it can really help in terms of developing concentration developing focus and if you do experience any stress or burn out related to your job it can reduce that in terms of the workplace culture mindfulness can be a real benefit it can bring a lot of collaboration creativity and improved connections between people
How can a family practise mindfulness together?
there are lots of really simple ways you can use mindfulness win in your family a really good example is at dinner time or at mealtimes if you put away any distractions and really make an effort to focus on what you're eating enjoying the textures the flavors and sharing this this can really bring mindfulness into what you're doing another example would be when you're outdoors if you're going for a walk together again bringing an awareness really taking in what you can see maybe sort of engaging and asking you to learn what do you see and what's here what's that that can really bring an awareness and mindfulness into what you're doing
What is a digital detox?
a digital detox is taking a certain period of time away from technology so that would be things like smartphones laptops Internet in general and televisions and the reason a digital detox is important is because our brains aren't really evolved to cope with information overload which is what the Internet can really do so taking some time away from all of this and allowing your brain to be really present and actually really mindful is really beneficial the benefits of additional
What are the benefits of a digital detox?
detox are actually quite similar to the benefits of mindfulness when you first do a distal detox you might feel as if you're a bit of a loose end where you might feel a bit bored because you're not used to just spending some time without your smart phone or your laptop with time however you will you may find actually that you start to enjoy activities that you used to do before or you might just start to enjoy your own company
How can we use mindfulness to help us with digital detox?
mindfulness can be really really useful in terms of digital detoxing a great place to start is actually becoming aware of how often you on your phone a lot of us are on our smartphones without really thinking about it and if you just become a bit more aware of it you'll start to notice there's a habit there that you can break another way of using mindfulness to detox would be to make some time maybe once a week once a month to put away everything that's technology or internet-based and make some time to do something it's quite basic quite normal maybe it's eating or preparing a meal or going for a walk really focusing on it away from everything else
Have you ever done a digital detox?
I've personally done this with detoxes before as part of my mindfulness practice and as part of my teacher training what we often do when we're practicing mindfulness is that we choose to put away our smartphones laptops anything to do with technology and and also decide not to get in touch anyone with anyone on the phone for example for a day unless we have any emergencies or important phone calls to make what also happens on mindfulness mindfulness retreats sometimes is that we decide to be silent which is probably what I described as sort of a next level if it in terms of mind in terms of district detox I remember I first started doing these retreats and started doing the silence in the detox and I used to feel quite uncomfortable it was quite interesting that I I'd always go in prepared and I think are you know this is going to be easy and about halfway through the day I'd miss being on social media or I'd miss taking the news for example but in general by the end of the day I just feel much more grounded and I'd feel almost better in myself for not having to always be checking what's going on in the world and so every so often if you're inclined to do so I definitely recommend a digital detox you
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