Depression in the Elderly
Although it is a prevalent issue, depression in the elderly is not a typical aspect of aging. Despite having more illnesses and physical issues, many seniors are content, according to some research. (Behm et al., 2014).
Severity and Prevalence
Depression is different from the typical bluesy or depressed feeling. It's a typical but severe condition that needs medical attention. (Pinto et al., 2016).
In Canada, 10 to 15 percent of elders experience depression. (Emery et al., 2013).
The proportion of women who experience depression is almost two times higher than that of males. (Walks 2016).
Depression has a different effect on older individuals than it does on younger people. For the elderly, the condition is associated with cardiac diseases and risk of health from illness (Members et al., 2014). The condition also reduces the ability of a person to rehabilitate.
Approaches to Dealing with Depression in the Elderly
There are a few approaches that have been taken in dealing with depression among the old.
Using antidepressants is one of them. However, this method has been criticized by several experts as it has some side effects (Siu, et al., 2016).
Some argue that it is not effective in dealing with depression for aging individuals. Some have suggested the use of electroconvulsive therapy. This method is only effective for people who are at a severe level (Beck et al., 2015).
However, therapy is one of the most effective ways to deal with depression (Greenberg 2017). This method is more effective in dealing with depression for elderly people.
There has been a challenge over the years on how to deal depression among the old.
Treating Mood Disorders in the Elderly
Treating mood disorders among the old has become more complex given the changes over the years. These changes include the etiological models, epidemiological trends and classification system, diagnostic tools, and interventions (Kennerley et al 2016).
Despite there being substantive development in the psychopharmacological inventions in the past six decades, the management of depression and other mood disorders is still a problem for mental health providers (Seaward 2013).
Many patients with mood disorders seek alternative intervention and, in particular, complementary alternative medicine (CAM). Comparatively, CAM is safe, cost-effective, and its efficacy is lower as compared to modern allopathic treatment.
However, our literature review indicates that there is an insufficient amount of research on the experiences of seniors with depression who participate in alternative therapies and holistic programs. This study aims to explore these experiences and how such therapies may impact the lives of seniors with depression.
Research Objective and Hypothesis
The purpose of this study and focus of our research will be to examine the lived experience of senior clients with depression who participate in alternative practices over the span of two years. The identified research gap gave rise to the formulation of the following research question: What is the longitudinal lived experience of clients over the age of 65 with depression who are participating in holistic programs for two years?
We hypothesize that individuals suffering from depression and are participating in holistic programs or complementary alternative treatment would have better results than individuals that are undergoing the allopathic treatment. The study seeks to provide a better understanding of whether therapies might have any positive impact on the treatment of depression among the old. The study would seek to use previous data from other research and develop data that can be used in the analysis of this issue.
References
Beck, A. T., Davis, D. D., & Freeman, A. (Eds.). (2015). Cognitive therapy of personality disorders. Guilford Publications.
Behm, L., Wilhelmson, K., Falk, K., Eklund, K., Zidén, L., & Dahlin-Ivanoff, S. (2014). Positive health outcomes following health-promoting and disease-preventive interventions for independent very old persons: long-term results of the three-armed RCT Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 58(3), 376-383.
Emery, J. H., Fleisch, V. C., & McIntyre, L. (2013). Legislated changes to federal pension income in Canada will adversely affect low income seniors' health. Preventive medicine, 57(6), 963-966.
Greenberg, L. S. (2017). Emotion-focused therapy of depression. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 1-12.
Kennerley, H., Kirk, J., & Westbrook, D. (2016). An introduction to cognitive behaviour therapy: Skills and applications. Sage.
Members, W. G., Go, A. S., Mozaffarian, D., Roger, V. L., Benjamin, E. J., Berry, J. D., ... & Franco, S. (2014). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association. circulation, 129(3), e28.
Pinto, J. M., Fontaine, A. M., & Neri, A. L. (2016). The influence of physical and mental health on life satisfaction is mediated by self-rated health: A study with Brazilian elderly. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 65, 104-110.
Seaward, B. L. (2013). Managing stress. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Siu, A. L., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Grossman, D. C., Baumann, L. C., Davidson, K. W., Ebell, M., ... & Krist, A. H. (2016). Screening for depression in adults: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Jama, 315(4), 380-387.
Walks, A. (2016). Our mortgaged future: understanding the overleveraged state of housing finance in Canada. Alternatives Journal, 42(2), 22-27.
