Aging and Emotional Health

People today are living much longer than they used to. Science continues its effort to improve longevity through medical and biological research. Unfortunately, aging is a reality that humans cannot avoid. With aging can come physical weakness and multiple medical conditions. In fact, “… 60 percent of seniors had two or more chronic conditions. Their common chronic conditions include heart disease, cancer, chronic bronchitis or emphysema, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and Alzheimer’s disease,” says the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

There is a connection between our state of physical and our emotional health. This underlines the value in taking care of ourselves as we age. Having multiple medical conditions can impact the subsequent diagnosis and treatment of other conditions such as depression or anxiety. If your emotional health is ignored it can lead to greater difficulties, both physical and emotional, and can even lead to premature death. This may seem rather bleak, though it does not have to get to that point, help is available.

Aging can also further complicate depression and anxiety. As we age, symptoms of depression and anxiety can show up in a different manner. For example, symptoms of depression often begin to manifest as soreness, lack of energy and weakness in the body for those that are aging. For most, they would not think that these symptoms were related to their emotional health as they appear to be more physical in nature.

The Growing Aging Population

With a growing population of individuals over the age of 65 comes more knowledge and research! There is a demographic shift happening – the human population is aging and there are more people in this category than ever before.. Currently, the number of children younger than five years of age is outnumbered by the number of the senior population. “Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double from 12 percent to 22 percent,” says the World Health Organization.

This shift can also drive change. With the increasing ‘demand,’ greater effort is expected to be funneled into geriatric research and medicine. With the value of emotional health now being recognized, it is fair to expect that more will be done in this area. Considering about 20 percent of seniors with mental health concerns go undiagnosed and untreated, one cannot help but wonder when things will improve for seniors.

The Truths About Aging

Aging is inevitable. With aging can come a decline in physical and cognitive capacities, increasing the risk of age-related medical conditions. While you can’t stop aging, you do have power over the future of your health. Physical and emotional health can always be improved.

Aging is so often feared for many reasons, there is a perceived idea of decline in many things we hold dear as we age. There are physical changes, emotional changes, social changes, the list goes on. Though not all of these changes have to be negative.

With aging comes an increase in knowledge and understanding. As you age you continue to learn, growing wiser and have the opportunity to form new and wonderful memories. While all of these positive changes are possible they can also be very difficult to attain. These positive aspects can be hard to see when they are having to compete with losses.

Do You Need Help

Your emotional health cannot be ignored. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “5% of seniors 65 and over reported having current depression and about 10.5% reported a diagnosis of depression at some point in their lives.” While those numbers may not seem all that high, most seniors experiencing depression go undiagnosed and untreated. One reason is the difficulty in recognizing the symptoms as symptoms of depression or anxiety tend to manifest more as physical signs rather than emotional signs as we age.

You may be asking yourself, what could lead me to need counseling? The following list of triggers for emotional conditions among seniors provided by the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation can be a helpful tool. This list identifies the following triggers;

• Alcohol or substance abuse
• Change of environment, like moving into assisted living
• Dementia-causing illness (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease)
• Illness or loss of a loved one
• Long-term illness (e.g., cancer or heart disease)
• Medication interactions
• Physical disability
• Physical illnesses that can affect emotion, memory and thought
• Poor diet or malnutrition

When presented with stressful life changes, as listed above, you may find yourself experiencing intrusive symptoms. The following ten symptoms offered by A Place for Mom identify some warning signs to be on the lookout for. The occurrence of any or several of these symptoms can indicate a need to seek counseling:

1. Changes in appearance or dress, or problems maintaining the home or yard.
2. Confusion, disorientation, problems with concentration or decision-making.
3. Decrease or increase in appetite; changes in weight.
4. Depressed mood lasting longer than two weeks.
5. Feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt, helplessness; thoughts of suicide.
6. Memory loss, especially recent or short-term memory problems.
7. Physical problems that can’t otherwise be explained: aches, constipation, etc.
8. Social withdrawal; loss of interest in things that used to be enjoyable.
9. Trouble handling finances or working with numbers.
10. Unexplained fatigue, energy loss or sleep changes.

Finding Hope

When faced with the challenges of aging you may feel like you are losing hope. While we cannot change the past, we can change our future. Though there are age-related medical conditions that are chronic, know that you can still prevent the development or the worsening of depression and anxiety with counseling. You can find help from Carolina Counseling Services – Fayetteville, NC.

It is possible to attain emotional wellness with counseling at any age. You have the power to ensure that the rest of your life will be worthwhile as you improve your overall health and wellbeing. Call us today, schedule your first appointment and begin the next beautiful chapter of your life.