Anxiety disorder is a common mental illness characterized by feelings of uneasiness, worry, and fear. While anxiety can happen to anyone if you have an anxiety disorder, you will feel an inappropriate and unreasonable amount of agitation, worry, and fear.

It comes next to depression as one of the most common mental health issues among the elderly. In fact, they are closely interrelated and as difficult to diagnose. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), about 50% of seniors with depression also suffer from an anxiety disorder – according to the CDC.

There are several types of anxiety disorders, i.e., generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Of the six, generalized anxiety disorder and phobias are the most common among seniors. This article, therefore, shall focus on these two so you will know what they are, their symptoms and how to cope with them.

Read on…

Generalized anxiety disorder

General anxiety disorder causes worry or fear that gets worse over time. It will affect your social life, your job, and day-to-day activities. Seniors with severe cases of GAD become withdrawn and reclusive.

The most common symptoms of GAD are:

• Excessive, uncontrollable worry/anxiety
• Edginess, nervousness, or restlessness
• Chronic fatigue or tires out fast
• Irritable or low-fused
• Poor sleep quality or difficulty falling/staying asleep
• Tensed muscles

Generalized anxiety disorder is caused by any or a combination of the following:

• A history of anxiety in the family
• Prolonged exposure to stressful situations like an illness or combat duty
• Excessive use of caffeine or tobacco
• Abuse when young.

How to cope with generalized anxiety disorder

Anxiety can increase your heart rate, causes palpitation and chest pains. It increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and other coronary events.

It is necessary, therefore to deal with it deals you in.

Here’s how…

1.  Don’t withdraw

When you start feeling anxious, don’t withdraw from people or from a crowd. Rather, stay put and get involved. Join activities that can foster a sense of belonging, of giving you some purpose.

2.  Talk to someone

Don’t go at it alone. Find someone to talk to – a friend, brother or sister, your confessor on anybody open to idle talk. When you do, don’t talk about your problems but anything to take your mind off your anxiety. Besides, nobody is interested in your problems.

A good conversation is therapeutic. It makes you forget your problems, it feeds the mind and is a learning experience.

3.  Laugh

How are phobias developed

I developed claustrophobia from some movies I saw as a young child but I could not pin a cause for my fear of heights. And maybe you, too, will find it difficult to recall the cause(s) of your phobia. At any rate, phobias are triggered by any or some of the following:

• Unforgettable incidents or traumas. Having been stuck in an elevator in the past will most likely make you fearful of using an elevator again. Images of the past will come rushing in just be the mere mention of it.
• Learned responses. As a child, I and some friends loved to shoot house lizards with rubberband-propelled darts. Images of those we killed and buried somehow developed in me a fear of dead animals – including people.  Not dead lizards only. I fear anything that slithers like snakes and other reptiles.
• Genetics. Some research shows that phobias are inherited, too. It means you are more prone to develop a phobia that exists in the family.
• Long-term stress. This can cause feelings of anxiety and depression, and reduce your ability to cope with particular situations. If repeated regularly, over the long haul, a phobia may set in. It’s kind of “here we go again,” kind of thing.

How to cope with a phobia

We all have phobias of one form or another. That’s perfectly normal. They are nothing to be ashamed of or be embarrassed about.

It becomes abnormal when they drive you with fearful anxiety; throw your world upside down. If they do, then these practical tips will help you cope with them:

 1.  Avoidance

I have a phobia for heights. Luckily, I am not afraid to fly. What I dread most is to stand on a ledge of a tall building, looking down.

How to beat the phobia Keep away from the ledge and instead of looking down, enjoy the panorama of the surrounding landscape. This will take your mind off your fear.

2.  Increase your tolerance

This involves gradually exposing yourself to the situation you are fearful about, i.e., heights, bugs, crowded streets, then withdrawing when your anxiety level builds up.

Keep this cycle of exposure and withdrawal until you get over your phobia. Some allergies are treated this way. Over time, your phobia will just fade away like a wisp of smoke.

3.  Meet it head-on

While increasing your tolerance is gradual acclimatization to the source of your phobia, meeting it head-on is facing your phobia directly in the face and see who blinks first.

While this may seem to be fraught with danger, but this is the best and fastest way of removing a source of your anxiety.

4.  Join a support group

Oftentimes, you may feel weak and powerless to cope with your phobia alone. You can get over this state of helplessness by joining the group.

A support group can help you realize that you are not alone; that so many people out there are are also driven to anxiety over one or more phobias. A group makes you feel empowered and accepted and it is a good hedge against depression.

5.  Try medication

If nothing of the above works, try medication – but only after consulting your doctor.

Take note, however, that these drugs will only address the effects of your phobia, not cure you of it. One of these drugs, for example, are anti-depressants like Xanax which can only lessen your feelings of anxiety, or beta-blockers which block the stimulating effect of the adrenalin in the body.

Anxiety disorder is a common mental health issue among people regardless of age. Though it may not have serious and lasting impact on younger people, it is a cause for concern among seniors because of its side effects.

More worrisome is the fact that anxiety disorder is difficult to detect and diagnose. More often than not, it is taken as a sign of aging.  Well, they are not and if you feel any of the above symptoms, consult your doctor before it’s too late.

~oOo~

The post Get Rid of Anxiety Disorder Once and For All first appeared on Age With Charm.

Right now, a guy is struggling with depression. He could be the guy next to you in a coffee shop or sitting forlornly in a park. He could be walking along aimlessly in a shopping mall or sitting in the far corner of a dark movie house. Or it could be you.

You are listless and can’t seem to figure out what to do. Somehow you feel sad, yet not knowing why. The world seems out of whack.

Though you know something is wrong (with you or the world around you), yet you could not put a finger on it.

But you know you have to snap out of it, get back to the real world, before it sucks you into its dark womb, like a black hole.

You have to unfetter yourself from its deadly grasp.

What is depression

Often called major depressive disorder, it a common and serious mental disorder that negatively affects your feelings, thoughts, and actions.

It causes feelings of sadness and loss of interest in things once enjoyed. It is serious because it can lead to a variety of physical and emotional problems, decreases your ability to function at work and at home.

We all experience occasional bad days when everything seems to go wrong; feel adrift and listless, lose a sense of purpose and eating and sleeping are impossible.

However, if it lasts for weeks or months, you may be suffering from clinical depression – the kind of depression that is not caused by a loss or a loved one, or a medical condition like thyroid disorder. It could be a case of mental disorder.

Depression in the elderly

Simple depression among the elderly is common, but it is not a part of the aging process. It may be caused by important changes in life like a loss of a loved one, transitioning from work to retirement, or dealing with a chronic illness.

Chronic depression is something else. And it comes in many common forms like:

Major depression

This type involves severe symptoms that interfere with your ability to work, sleep, study, eat and enjoy life.

Persistent depressive disorder

This type usually lasts for 2 years or more. A person with a persistent depressive disorder may experience bouts of major depression along with persistent depressive disorder.

Diagnosing depression in the elderly is difficult because it often mimics normal age-related issues or effects of other illnesses and medications.

To make matters worse, victims are often not willing to talk about their feelings or understand its signs and symptoms.

Why is depression bad for the elderly

Elderly depression is usually caused by loneliness, medical illnesses and disabilities. They may last longer compared to that in younger people.

Whereas younger people can snap out of it easily, seniors are not that resilient, and failure to cope with it may result in serious medical conditions like:

• Cardiac arrest
• Increased risk of death from an illness
• A person’s inability to rehabilitate from an illness
• Increased risk of suicide.

Risk factors for elderly depression

• Being single, unmarried, divorced, or widowed
• Lack of a supportive social network
• Stressful life events
• Damage to body image i.e., amputation, illnesses like cancer, heart attack
• A family history of depressive disorder
• Living alone, or socially isolated
• Chronic and severe pain
• Loss of a loved one
• Substance abuse

Symptoms of elderly depression

The most common symptoms of this mental issue, according to the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, include the following:

• Persistent sadness
• Feeling slowed down
• Excessive worries about finances and health problems
• Frequent crying
• Feeling worthless or helpless
• Weight changes
• Pacing or fidgeting
• Difficulty in sleeping and concentrating
• Somatic complaints (unexplained physical pain or gastrointestinal problems)
• Withdrawal from social activities

Treatment options for elderly depression

Clinical depression can be treated if diagnosed early. So if you think you are having depression episodes consult your healthcare provider or a doctor specializing in mental health conditions, i.e., psychologist or psychiatrist.

Treatment modes differ for each person. Sometimes your doctor may recommend a combination of treatments and number of treatment sessions. At any rate, it could be any or a combination of the following:

Psychotherapy

Also known as “talk therapy,” or “cognitive behavioral therapy,” psychotherapy focuses on helping you change negative thinking and behavior that make your depression worse.

It can help you understand or walk you through troubled relationships that may be causing your negative mood. Or it could be problem-solving sessions.

This type of treatment may last between 10 to 20 week depending on your need.

Anti-depressants

Anti-depressants help your brain improve the way it uses certain chemicals that control mood.

There are several anti-depressants in the market which are all under doctor’s prescription. Some may have side-effects like nausea, increased appetite, loss of sexual desire, insomnia, fatigue, and drowsiness, etc.

Antidepressants may take 2 to 4 weeks to work, and must be taken as prescribed. You can only stop if your doctor says so.

Be aware that they can result to addiction or dependency.

How to cope with elderly depression

Depression starts in the mind and must be stopped at its source. No matter what treatment options you take, if your mind is a fertile ground for this mental issue to thrive it will come back.

Here are some helpful tips to do that:

1.  Develop a sense of purpose

People 60 years old and above must have had several traumatic experiences already. While some can easily be forgotten, a few remain to haunt you. And it is tough dealing with shadows of the past. It can make you lose your bearings; make feel adrift.

To stop them from swallowing you up, do something interesting like like a hobby, or do something you are passionate about. Do volunteer work or teach out-of-school youths.

Having a purpose allows you to get your bearings back; enriches your life and makes you forget the past.

2. Develop a network

You must have heard the famous saying, “Misery loves company.” Don’t take it literally. People don’t want to be a sounding board of your life’s troubles and cares.

But do go out to get in touch with friends if you are in a depressive mood. if you do, don’t unload your shit on them. There is not faster way of driving away people than by saddling them of your problems. Talk about something else.

Be with people who are optimistic about life, not as miserable as you are.

Socializing with positive-minded people is a good antidote for depression and helps improve your physical, mental and emotional health.

3. Exercise

Exercise and depression are not the best of buddies. So if you start having depressive moods, put on your sneakers and work up a little sweat.

It need not be the pumping iron type (but it doesn’t do any harm). Hiking,  biking, zumba, or tai-chi are the prescribed activities for seniors with creaking bones and messed-up minds.

Or you can devise your own like going up and down staircases, brisk walking, deep breathing, calisthenics, etc.

Go for group exercises for extra motivation.

4. Eat brain-health foods

“Diet plays a huge role in depression,” says Shawn Talbot, PhD., nutritional biochemist and author of the book, 7 Days to Unlimited Energy, Focus, and Well-being.

Yes, most of us overlook the fact that just as there are foods good for the body, there are also foods for the brain.

For example, these are good to fight off depression:

• Dark leafy vegetables
• Walnuts
• Avocado
• Berries
• Tomatoes
• Beans, etc.

5. Go out and have fun

Going out for a long drive is my main elixir against depression.

Sometimes the suffocating familiarity of your home can be depressing; your daily routine can be depressing. And your neighbor’s dog (or the neighbor) can be depressing.

Getting away from all these by taking a long walk or drive can be very therapeutic. It takes your mind off the things that are eating you alive.

“Concerns should drive us into action, not depression. No man is free who cannot control himself.” – Pythagoras

Depression starts from the mind and it must be stopped in the mind.

~oOo~

The post Everything You Need to Know about Depression first appeared on Age With Charm.