Welcome to Tiny Talk 8.
Focusing on depression later in life.
Before focusing on depression,
Which occurs later in life,
Let's have a brief look at what major depressive disorder is.
It is a common disorder,
About 7% of adults have it,
And it impacts how you feel and function.
Symptoms range from mild to severe,
And two or more need to be present for over a fortnight to be seen as a disorder.
Depressions vary in their intensity as well as in how they present.
Some one may have depressive episodes,
Sometimes alternated with manic periods.
Others may have milder but chronic symptoms.
These are the symptoms described in the DSM-V,
The diagnostic manual for psychologist and psychiatrist.
1.
Feeling sad or having depressed mood.
2.
A loss of interest or pleasure in activities.
3.
Changes in appetite,
Weight loss or weight gain.
4.
Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much.
5.
Loss of energy or increased fatigue.
6.
Increase in purposeless physical activity.
7.
Feeling worthless or guilty.
8.
Difficulty thinking,
Concentrating and making decisions.
9.
Thoughts of death or suicide.
Symptoms should mark a change from how one previously functions and should be unintentional,
For example when you think about weight loss.
If you look at some of these symptoms you will understand why depression may be harder to recognize as we age.
Generally speaking the older we get,
The less sleep we need.
When retiring,
Feeling worthless may be a natural initial response as you find and establish new activities.
But activities may be reduced as well,
For example as a consequence of physical impairments.
Also,
Later in life depression may not present as sadness,
But more as a lack of initiation and enjoyment of activities.
Finally,
People of older generation may be less inclined to talk about their mood and feelings.
Depression is common in people who have Alzheimer's and other Dementias.
Around diagnosis would be a time to look out for symptoms of depression,
But it may present later as well,
For example when changing living environment.
Depression is also a possible early indicator that someone is developing dementia.
As always with the brain,
What came first or is the main diagnosis may be hard to establish.
Not much is known about how to treat depression when there is dementia as well.
The aim of this talk is to raise awareness of the complicated relationship between depression and dementia.
