Mental illness is a serious condition among adults aged 55 and older. Even if it is seen as an alarming condition in the medical field, many elderly individuals continue living with it without seeking any medical help.
According to the World Health Organization, dementia and depression are the most common mental and neurological disorder. If you think your grandparents may be at risk of having either of these, you have to observe them closely.
Prestige Health Care Services, Inc. lists 3 causes and risk factors of mental illness among seniors:
- Physical disability
Life is different when you can still do the things you loved versus when you are already bound on your wheelchair. Physical disability causes stress to many older adults. It sucks the life out of them as they painfully watch other people play, run, walk, jump and move unassisted.
Seniors who feel restricted may also be at risk of having dementia. If one does not move around, he or she does not exercise his or her mental capacity. And if you do not tickle your mind, you will eventually acquire dementia even if nobody else in the family has it.
- Long-term illness
Patients who are suffering from a chronic disease are afraid that their condition may grow worse. That is why they do one thing they think will prevent their condition from getting worse: staying put and doing nothing.
Long-term illnesses such as cancer or heart disease prevent a patient from moving around and doing what he or she wants to do. Any long-term illness can turn into a physical disability. And when it happens, the cycle goes on. They become depressed thus further worsening their condition.
- Change of environment
No one feels comfortable with a sudden change of environment. Seniors transitioning from home to an assisted living facility or a nursing home may think the change will be good for them. However, it only gave them depression.
Being away from one’s family and home is hard on these older individuals. They constantly expect a visit from a loved one. But when they know their family can’t come, their world crumbles. Imagine yourself being in their shoes. Would you not feel the same?
Other older individuals hate to retire in a place that is so foreign to them. They prefer to stay at home where they feel more independent. That is why most invest seniors in our Home Health Care in Worcester, Massachusetts. We offer medical assistance and assisted living services to patients, especially older adults, in the comfort of their home.
Having a mental illness among older adults will only worsen their disease. For that reason, we need to keep them from having this condition so that we can spend more quality time together with them.
Is your grandparent at risk of having a mental illness? Let us know so you can get help.
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