Although a person with Alzheimer’s depression may have similar forgetfulness problems to Alzheimer’s disease, the major difference is that a person with dementia really forgets everything, whereas a person with depression is simply convinced that he or she has forgotten. For example, if you ask an elderly person with dementia what he ate for breakfast, he is bound to say the wrong thing, or simply not answer the question. But if you ask an elderly depressed person, he will tell the doctor “I don’t know” or “I can’t remember”, and if the doctor emphasizes that he must remember, he will end up saying exactly the right answer. People with dementia have no sense of direction when they walk down the street because their minds are gradually losing function, and they may even get lost or wander off from time to time, but this does not happen to people with depression. Depression is an unusual and persistent feeling of severe depression that is accompanied by a series of physical discomforts, including insomnia, loss of appetite, weight loss, chronic fatigue, and loss of the ability to experience joy. Patients do not feel the joy of life and often experience headaches, back pain and abdominal pain, and a significant decrease in concentration. The reason for the higher chance of depression in the elderly is the loneliness and feeling of powerlessness (feeling useless) after retirement, coupled with a sudden drop in income (or no income at all), gradual loss of physical strength, health problems and the death of old friends one by one. The main manifestations of geriatric depression 1. Pseudo depression: often feel loss of appetite, headache, easy fatigue, sleeplessness, thirst, constipation, etc., which is actually the result of low mood, but appear as symptoms of physical discomfort. 2. Delusions of grandeur: Strong pessimistic thoughts, feeling sorry for what you have done to your child, or even delusions of victimization common to schizophrenia, and when the delusions are too strong, you may attempt to commit suicide. 3. Anxiety: often fidgeting, pacing back and forth, not wanting to talk to the person, and unable to calm down. 4. Dementia: Symptoms such as low willpower, slow judgment, memory loss, etc. Patients often stutter “I don’t know”, “I don’t know”, etc., and appear to be slow to respond. At first glance, it looks very similar to dementia, but it is not difficult to distinguish it after examination (if it is really dementia, the symptoms cannot be improved). Doctor’s advice Geriatric depression can get worse if left untreated. There are several types of antidepressants available to treat geriatric depression. Antidepressants take two weeks to be effective, and after recovery, they need to be continued for six months to one year. In case the patient’s worst mood will usually be in the morning, it is important to avoid going out at this time of day. Family and friends can take turns accompanying the patient on walks, such as shopping, playing sports or participating in other leisure activities. Depression can sometimes be misinterpreted as laziness and indolence, but this is actually just a symptom of being sick. Treating depression in older adults is more difficult because their health is not as stable as it was when they were younger. The biggest headache for doctors is that many elderly patients often do not take their medication as prompted, so family members must supervise the patient to take their medication when and as often as possible, otherwise full recovery is difficult. It is important to resume normal activities in older adults with depression. People with depression cannot be treated with medication alone, but it is most important that they resume their normal activities. In this regard, the encouragement and supervision of family members are very important. Usually, doctors will work with family members to arrange activity schedules for patients for each purpose, such as playing tai chi in the morning, mahjong in the afternoon, chatting with friends over tea in the evening, etc. In short, they must feel very busy!