Time to care more for the elderly around us

How Depression Affects the Elderly

 

Just in America alone, geriatric psychological conditions affects 6 million adults aged 65 and older. In Singapore, depression strikes about 6% of the elderly population. The prevailing stigma against mental health issues heightens among the elderly. Despite its prevalence, only about 10% of these elderlies get treated.

 

Some reasons why so few elderly get treated include differing symptoms of elderly depression (hence difficulty in identification), depression being confused with effects of multiple illnesses, and fear of high costs of treatment. Even worse still, many do not report their condition as they feel that there is no hope for help.  

 

 

 

Symptoms of Elderly Depression

Signs of elderly depression include frequent moodiness and negative feelings (e.g. guilt, worthlessness, helplessness), becoming increasingly avoidant of the people around them, changes in sleeping habits (insomnia or sleeping a lot more than usual), poor concentration, persisting lethargy, and expressing suicidal thoughts.

 

 

What can we do to help with geriatric depression?

While we may not be able to reach out to all the elderly, we can start by paying more attention to our grandparents and/or parents! Encourage them to join activities they are interested in, for instance dance classes in community centres, to help them find a sense of community and prevent feelings of isolation.

 

Bring them out for light exercises, be it a short stroll in the park after having dinner together, or even sit-down taichi! Such measures are proven to help promote positive feelings among elderly – and yourself included! Even if you don’t live with your grandparents, you can still surprise them with mid-day calls whenever possible, to give them a sense of company and let them know that you care for them, even if you are not by their side.

With increasing awareness on mental health issues, we can start by caring more for the elderly around us too. They are especially vulnerable to feelings of isolation and such leads to increased risk of geriatric depression, which can be detrimental to their existing conditions. Let’s do our part and start caring more for our grandparents and parents, so that only positivity knocks on our doors!

 

 

Written by Ting Yu. Ting Yu is an undergraduate in SMU pursuing Psychology. She is a writer who aims to raise greater awareness on mental health in Singapore, and to learn alongside with the readers.