Effective Depression Management for the Elderly

Effective Depression Management for the Elderly

Depression is a common condition among the elderly. This can be detrimental as it can trigger the start of medical conditions such as heart diseases, hypertension, brain dysfunctions, and even skin disorders. In order to be successful in depression management for the elderly, it is important that the cause is determined. Depression and other medical conditions are interactive and can form a vicious cycle where the presence of the medical condition worsens the depression, and in turn worsens the medical condition and so on.

With this in mind, an effective treatment plan should simultaneously target both conditions since depressed elderly people are pretty frail and vulnerable to dangerous complications. This entails collaboration among different specialists in elderly care. It is important to those who are treating depressed elderly people that depression in this age group is much different from those of the adult group. The statistics are much different in their co morbidity, symptomatology as well as suicide rate, which is much higher.

The depressed elderly needs a solid support group. He should be able to feel that his family and friends are with him all the way. This will let the patient feel that he is not alone and he is important to other people, improving his perception of self worth. Engaging him in creative as well as recreational activities will take his mind off his depression and give him a respite from that miserable feeling. If he is cleared by his physician he should be given a workout routine or have him engage in stress relieving activities such as meditation, yoga or tai chi.

A clinically diagnosed depressed patient should be treated regularly with antidepressant. These drugs should not interact with his other medications for his heart or liver or kidney diseases. It is also important that the drugs for his medical condition will not interact with the antidepressant and exacerbate the condition. Psychotherapy should also be considered in the elderly who are depressed so that they can learn how to cope with their condition as well as reduce their stress levels. With psychotherapy, they will be able to pinpoint the exact reason why they are depressed and be able to deal with it accordingly. Psychotherapy sessions may be done in a one on one session or group together with other patients or with the patient's family and circle of friends.

Diet is still important, as there are certain foods that can help as well as harm. The dietician should inform the patient which food is good for him and which ones he should avoid. If the elderly is given supplement vitamins or tonics, make sure that it is cleared by the medical team so that there are no harmful drug interaction. Because of advances in medicine, more and more people survive late adulthood and into the elderly age group, which probably explains why the number of elderly people all over the world are increasing. Many patients as well as their families hope that there will be a decent drug or health product that will be able to cure or relieve them of their depression. The many researches on depression management for the elderly have come up with different models of treatment and it is with great hope the people look forward to it.

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