Introduction
Depression is the foremost common mental health disorder among older people. Depression in old age can manifest itself solely with physical symptoms, such as lack of appetite, weight loss, unexplained pain, and digestive disorders. However, individuals with depression are frequently less likely to engage in physical activity or follow healthy eating and sleeping patterns that contribute to overall well-being and feeling healthy. The paper aims to identify symptoms, behavioral inclinations of older adults, consequences of depression, and treatment ways.
Symptoms of Clinical Depression
At any point in a person’s life, a variety of risk factors can threaten mental health. Older people, in addition to the usual stressors in the lives of all people, may also be affected by factors more characteristic of old age, such as significant and sustained deterioration inability, and functional decline. The authors admit, “older adults may experience depression as a result of an interaction between stressful life events and psychological vulnerability” (Haigh et al., 2018, p. 117). Besides, events such as the loss of loved ones or a reduction in socioeconomic status after retirement can occur much more often in the lives of older people. All of these factors can lead to isolation, loneliness, or psychological distress, which may require long-term care.
Older adults and their families should be careful, as it is challenging to identify senile depression. According to Kok and Reynolds (2017), “Establishing a diagnosis of depression in older patients can be more difficult than for younger patients because of physical comorbidities and cognitive dysfunction” (p. 2114). Focusing on physical symptoms can be confusing even for a healthcare professional if the older person does not provide more detailed information about their mental health.
First, mood changes such as despair, irritation, apathy, and negative thoughts are considered characteristic symptoms of depression in representatives of the older generation. Limited mobility is also a reference to depression since a cheerful and active person stops leaving his home, and any need to go somewhere makes him nervous, insecure, and weak. As the depression develops, the range of interests of a person narrows (Kok & Reynolds, 2017). A person stops attending entertainment events, friends, and relatives may refuse to leave the house. Increased anxiety, sleep disturbance, and appetite disorders are common symptoms of depression (Kok & Reynolds, 2017). Obsessions of uselessness, self-blame, or blaming loved ones are another big problem for all depressed patients.
Consequences of Depression
An elderly patient rarely agrees to admit his diagnosis, but if the pathology is not treated, it will break the person both morally and physically. This pathology significantly shortens the patient’s life, and this depressive disorder can lead to a heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases. Such patients adhere poorly to the treatment regimen of the underlying condition, do not go into close contact with the doctor.
Moreover, depression and pain have a similar path in the brain, and thus, people with depression can also experience daily aches and pains, such as headaches, abdominal, joint, and muscle pains. Besides, depression can increment the hazard of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Deepening depression may be a sign of the first symptoms of dementia. The presence and worsening symptoms of depression may indicate an early stage of Alzheimer’s syndrome in older people (Haigh et al., 2018). Therefore, depression can cause severe and additional health problems among the older population.
Patients’ Behavior
Experiencing depression includes the following fundamental emotions: sadness, disgust, contempt, depression, longing, despair, anger, fear, guilt, and embarrassment. A person may feel guilty about the events of the past, those unpleasant events that occurred through the person’s fault. At the same time, the patient is wholly immersed in his gloomy experiences, and external affairs, even the most joyful ones do not affect him, do not modify the mood, and sometimes also worsen the situation. Stress and lousy mood arise at the mere thought of the need to make a decision or change your plans in connection with suddenly changed circumstances. Depression sufferers are well aware of cases when they complain that small everyday tasks, minor issues that were previously solved almost automatically, acquire the meaning of complicated, painful, insoluble problems (Kok & Reynolds, 2017). A person feels that he has begun to think, act, and speak slowly, suppress or lose the instinct of self-preservation, and cannot enjoy life, show complete indifference to what he previously liked.
Therapy
Drug treatment is not a sufficient method for the elderly. However, people with moderate to severe depression are most likely to get better with antidepressants. For most patients, the best way is combination treatment: medications relieve symptoms relatively quickly, and psychotherapy helps to learn how to cope with life’s problems, including depression. Antidepressants are essential medications used for most depressive and anxiety disorders (Kok & Reynolds, 2017). Precisely, antidepressants increase serotonin and norepinephrine’s availability to neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft in certain brain parts. Preclinical studies show that antidepressants also consistently decrease the neurons’ activity in the macula blue of the brainstem, where noradrenergic neurons are found (Kok & Reynolds, 2017). Antidepressants also increase BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in the limbic system, and neurotrophin is required for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.
The dog-assisted treatment has appeared to be compelling in lessening indications of discouragement within the elderly. The increment in verbal intelligence with handlers all through the think about recommends that the puppy act as a mediator in social interaction by evoking positive, enthusiastic reactions (Ambrosi et al., 2019). The dog acts as a catalyst, arbiter, and inspiration for open consideration within the mediation. Thus, puppy treatment has appeared promising in terms of infection timing and treatment control, demonstrating a potential increased sense of strengthening related to treatment.
References
Ambrosi, C., Zaiontz, C., Peragine, G., Sarchi, S., & Bona, F. (2019). Randomized controlled study on the effectiveness of animal‐assisted therapy on depression, anxiety, and illness perception in institutionalized elderly. Psychogeriatrics, 19(1), 55-64.
Haigh, E. A., Bogucki, O. E., Sigmon, S. T., & Blazer, D. G. (2018). Depression among older adults: a 20-year update on five common myths and misconceptions. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(1), 107-122.
Kok, R. M., & Reynolds, C. F. (2017). Management of depression in older adults: a review. Jama, 317(20), 2114-2122.