As the holidays come to a close, are you experiencing the holiday blues? Are your parents? While you where visiting your aging parents did you notice any signs of depression or mood changes? It is known that suicide rates increase over the holidays. But did you know that between 5% to 20% of persons over age 65 living in the community suffer from depression (2002, Primary Care Geriatrics)?
Depression is a common disorder among the elderly but is not a normal part of growing old. It is one of the diagnoses that continue to go untreated. There are many reasons for this, one being that physicians have the tendency to focus on illnesses affecting the body instead of the mind. Another key reason is that the older adult was taught to be independent and feel that they should take care of themselves and "their” problems. Your parent may feel that they should not “bother” their physician or you with their feelings of loneliness/depression. As the adult child, you may feel that you do not have the right to intrude on your parent’s privacy. But, if your parent has any of the common depressive symptoms such as irritability, frequent crying, loss of interest or pleasure, weight gain or loss (especially weight loss), insomnia, fatigue, decrease in ability to concentrate, feeling of hopelessness and/or suicidal thoughts, please assist him/her in making an appointment with his/her physician. If you can, go with them to the appointment and take a list of symptoms/ concerns to share with the physician. Reinforce that these depressive symptoms are treatable and that he/she deserve to feel better, to have more energy, and to continue to age in place.
One day I googled “depression in the elderly” and received 369,000 results- here are some resources that might assist in you in your search.
Resources:
The geriatric depressions scale is a self - administered scale that can measure depression in the elderly.
GERIATRIC DEPRESSION SCALE (GDS)
CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWER FOR HOW YOU FELT THIS PAST WEEK.
CIRCLE ONE (YES OR NO)
1. Are you basically satisfied with your life? Yes No
2. Have you dropped many of your activities and interests? Yes No
3. Do you feel that your life is empty? Yes No
4. Do you often get bored? Yes No
* 5. Are you hopeful about the future? Yes No
6. Are you bothered by thoughts you can't get out of your head? Yes No
* 7. Are you in good spirits most of the time? Yes No
8. Are you afraid that something bad is going to happen to you? Yes No
* 9. Do you feel happy most of the time? Yes No
10. Do you often feel helpless? Yes No
11. Do you often get restless and fidgety? Yes No
12. Do you prefer to stay at home, rather than going out and doing new things? Yes No
13. Do you frequently worry about the future? Yes No
14. Do you feel you have more problems with memory than most? Yes No
*15. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now? Yes No
16. Do you often feel downhearted and blue? Yes No
17. Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now? Yes No
18. Do you worry a lot about the past? Yes No
*19. Do you find life very exciting? Yes No
20. Is it hard for you to get started on new projects? Yes No
*21. Do you feel full of energy? Yes No
22. Do you feel that your situation is hopeless? Yes No
23. Do you think that most people are better off than you are? Yes No
24. Do you frequently get upset over little things? Yes No
25. Do you frequently feel like crying? Yes No
26. Do you have trouble concentrating? Yes No
*27. Do you enjoy getting up in the morning? Yes No
28. Do you prefer to avoid social gatherings? Yes No
*29. Is it easy for you to make decisions? Yes No
*30. Is your mind as clear as it used to be? Yes No
*Appropriate (nondepressed) answers = yes, all others= no... or count number of CAPITALIZED (depressed) answers
Score: _____ (Number of "depressed" answers)
Normal 5 +/- 4
Mildly depressed 15 +/- 6
Very depressed 23 +/- 5
________________________________________________________________
References:
1. Yesavage JA, Brink TL, Rose TL, et al. Development and validation of a geriatric depression rating scale: a preliminary
report. J Psych Res. 1983; 17:27.
2. Sheikh JI, Yesavage JA. Geriatric Depression Scale: recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clin Gerontol.
1986; 5:165-172.
The Geriatric Depression Scale may be used freely for patient assessment according to the authors
http://depression.about.com/od/elderly/Elderly_Depression.htm
http://www.consultgerirn.org/topics/depression/want_to_know_more
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/depression/aboutdepression/01.html
For those of us caring for aging parents, there is information, support, and shared experiences to be found in the world of books. The New York Times just published a review of a new book called 
Eric Tinsley
George Slater
