When people reach old age, it is the happiest thing to have children and grandchildren around them. However, as we all know, nowadays many elderly people are lonely at home, often prone to some feelings of depression and sadness, and even suffer from depression as a result. As a matter of fact, there are many reasons why elderly people get depression besides being idle at home and having a sense of psychological loss. Only by finding the root cause of depression and then prescribing the right medicine can we achieve the desired curative effect. The following is an introduction to what is depression in the elderly? The causes of depression in the elderly are introduced: a. Personal factors. The occurrence of geriatric depression is also very much related to the personality factors of individuals. Older people will become depressed when they are unwell or have chronic illnesses that cannot be cured for a long time, or fear of terminal illness, or
Fear of death, or fear of becoming a burden to family members, thus forming a strong and persistent mental pressure, causing depression. Second, physiological factors. Various physical diseases of the elderly, such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer, may cause depression. There are also many elderly people suffering from chronic diseases, due to long-term use of certain drugs, also prone to depression. In addition, the prevalence of family members of elderly depressed patients is much higher than that of the general population, and the prevalence of their children is also high, indicating that the disease is related to genetic factors. Third, social and psychological factors. The emergence of depression has a greater relationship with various losses in old age, including loss of work, reduction of income, death of friends and relatives, lack of interpersonal communication, etc.
These include loss of work, loss of income, loss of family and friends, lack of interpersonal interaction, etc. For example, older adults often experience psychological discomfort with the change in role after retirement, and the huge gap can lead to a sense of loss, resulting in depressed mood. In addition, the circle of interaction becomes narrower and interpersonal interaction decreases.
The death of relatives and friends, especially spouses, can lead to a lack of emotional support, which is also a common cause of depression in the elderly. The above is a detailed description of the various aspects of elderly people. It can be seen that the main factors affecting the elderly with depression are psychological, personality, physical factors and external stimuli. Therefore, elderly people need to take comprehensive treatment from these aspects and do the corresponding prevention work in order to avoid depression in the elderly.