Seniors and Depression

Depression can attack anyone at just about any age. Many people do not realize that depression can be a big problem for those who are seniors. Surprisingly eighteen percent of Americans who are over the age of sixty-five suffer from some form of depression. Many of these people will have had periods of depression throughout their lives, but for others it will first begin in their senior years. It can happen at any time which means a person in their eighties can have their first depressive episode. When seniors become depressed it can usually be traced to something major that has affected their lives. If can be the death of a spouse or a disability that makes them dependant on others for the first time in their adult lives.

Understand that feeling depressed after losing a spouse is a reasonable and normal reaction for any person. But it shouldn't be a long-term feeling. The person must be able to move on. It's when they cannot that they are suffering from depression and this depression must be treated. For someone older depression can be a health issue in a way that it's not for a younger person. It can have adverse affects on the senior's immune system. This can mean that the depressed senior is more likely to become ill and not be able to fight it off. How many times have you heard about someone, married for forty plus years that loses a spouse and shortly after passes away from an illness that didn't seem serious?

Like most kinds of depression older women are more likely to be affected especially because they are already dealing with all the hormonal changes that they continue to go through. Women have so many things to deal with and usually so many others who rely on them. They too need people to be there to offer them some support. Sadly women who have lost their spouses or never married are the ones most likely to suffer from episodes of depression as seniors. Depression can surface with seniors who have medical issues to deal with. Common problems of seniors include hip fractures, heart and stroke issues, and slow recoveries. These too can be a cause of depression.

Seniors do not always get the care they should when they are dealing with depression. Too often it is brushed aside as a natural symptom of growing old. People assume its just a grouchy old man's, or woman's, attitude. They look at it as a natural passing from old age to senility. None of this is true. A person of any age suffering from depression needs help. Seniors can be helped the same as anyone else dealing with issues of depression. There are medications for depression and these can be given to seniors with the same success rate as with anyone else as long as you can convince them to take them daily. Unfortunately seventy percent of seniors are inclined to take their medication only fifty percent of the time.