Symptoms of depression in the elderly

Everyone should be familiar with depression. Depression can occur at any age. This mental illness has a great impact and torture on patients. Some patients have even attempted suicide because of this. Everyone should pay more attention to patients with depression, especially now that elderly depression is already very common. Let's take a look at the symptoms of elderly depression.

There are many manifestations of elderly depression. If we can discover elderly depression as early as possible and pay more attention to it, we can also treat it as early as possible. The impact of elderly depression is very large. Let’s take a look at the symptoms of elderly depression.

1. Low mood

It is a core symptom of depression. The main manifestation is persistent low mood. Patients are often unhappy, depressed, and feel that the days are long; their previous interests and hobbies become uninteresting, and they feel that life has become boring and meaningless; they can't cheer up, can't be happy, and even feel desperate, extremely disappointed in the future, with an obvious sense of helplessness and uselessness, and self-blame and guilt.

More than half of the elderly patients with depression may also experience anxiety and agitation, tension, worry, and restlessness. Sometimes physical anxiety will completely mask the symptoms of depression.

2. Slow thinking

People with depression have slow thinking and unresponsiveness. I feel that my "brain isn't working as well as before."

Most elderly patients with depression show a certain degree of impairment in cognitive functions (memory, calculation, comprehension and judgment, etc.), the most obvious of which is memory loss, which needs to be differentiated from senile dementia. Dementia is mostly irreversible, but depression can improve as emotional symptoms improve, and the prognosis is better.

3. Decreased willpower

Patients may show slow movements, lazy lifestyle, unwillingness to talk (speaking less, low tone, slow speaking speed), unwillingness to do things, and unwillingness to interact with people around them. I always feel that I lack energy, feel weak all over, and even cannot take care of myself in daily life. Not only do their previous enthusiasm and pleasure in life diminish or disappear, but they are also increasingly unwilling to participate in social activities, and may even recluse and live alone, alienating themselves from their relatives and friends.

4. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors

Patients with severe depressive episodes often have negative suicidal ideas and behaviors. The risk of suicide in elderly patients with depression is much greater than that in patients of other age groups, especially when depression is co-occurring with physical illness, the success rate of suicide is higher. Therefore, the patient's family members need to pay more attention and take strict precautions.

5. Physical symptoms

Such symptoms are very common, and are mainly manifested as: pain syndrome, such as headache, neck pain, back pain, abdominal pain and chronic pain throughout the body; digestive system symptoms, such as abdominal distension and pain, nausea, belching, diarrhea or constipation; cardiovascular system disease symptoms, such as chest tightness and palpitations; autonomic nervous system dysfunction, such as flushing, hot flashes, sweating, and hand tremors.

It is very necessary to understand the symptoms of depression in the elderly. Many people suffer from depression when they reach old age. Because their families do not care enough about them and fail to discover the existence of depression in time, it will have a great impact on their physical and mental health. Once the existence of depression in the elderly is discovered, they should be actively counseled.