“That old man has gone senile”, “Aunty ka dimaag satak gaya hai!” You must have heard these phrases throughout your life. These terms and expressions are used to describe an older person’s declining mental health. Families (sometimes even ours) brush them off and sweep them under the rug. But what they don’t realise is that with early intervention, the patient’s quality of life can improve significantly and help them live out their life peacefully and happily and in some cases, even prolong it!
Some common medical conditions:
Depression: Around 7% of the older population are diagnosed with depression. Depression is both untreated and underdiagnosed in a primary healthcare setting. This is due to symptoms being overlooked and ruled out as problems encountered due to old age.
Older people with symptoms of depression have poorer functioning compared to those with chronic medical conditions such as lung disease, hypertension, or diabetes.
Dementia: Dementia is a syndrome of a chronic illness of progressive nature that may or may not is caused due to other medical conditions such as Parkinson’s, Chronic BP problems, etc.
It presents itself as deterioration in memory, thinking, behavior, and the ability to perform everyday activities. It mainly affects older people, although it is not a normal part of aging.
Alzheimer’s: Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and later, dies. Alzheimer’s is one of the most common causes of dementia- it affects the individuals thinking ability, behavioral and social skills, and prevents the person from functioning independently.
Anxiety: Anxiety problems are usually brushed off in the elderly, by saying that they are just worried about their health or financial affairs. But a constant state of worry is a cause for concern. Medication and therapy can be effective in helping them cope with their anxiety and an effective treatment plan improves their life drastically.
It is found out that even the elderly brush off their symptoms so as to not disturb the other members of the family. It is the duty of the other individuals of the family to be on the lookout for these symptoms. Help you elders and bano sanskari.
Virtually Yours,
People of Nora ♡
