Mental Illness and the Senior Citizen Essay Example

Mental illness and all form of psychological disorder are a problem that has yet to be adequately dealt with. This problem affects a high number of people around the world, and in the US alone, an estimated 26.2% of all adults over the age of 18 suffered from any one form of mental disorder (. These disorders manifest in people based on specific factors, both personal and environmental. Age and gender are among such variables that are relative to the presence and types of mental disorders seen in people (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2013). In such case, one can perceive that particular disorders are more prevalent in a specific demographic of people as compared to any other, in this case, based on the age factor. Thus, the psychiatrists have a relative scope of what to look out for when it relates to a mental disorder for a particular age demographic. Some behavioral aspects also affect the range of these disorders, but the duration for which they are persistent is too short to be considered an actual factor in the determination of severe mental illnesses.

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Concerning elderly persons, their advanced age makes them more susceptible to certain illnesses and disorders, and thus as recorded by statistics, increasing the prevalence of mental diseases at their age demographic. It is so significant that statistics indicate a rise in mental disorders and illnesses as the age rises. The demographic, mostly researched at the age of 65 onward have a tendency to have actual mental illnesses as opposed to the demographic of 18-26 which though indicated to have the highest recorded number of disorders and diseases, is only actually affected by disorders ranging from substance use and abuse including alcohol to anxiety and antisocial personality disorders (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 2013). This creates a need to understand why the aged are so affected by mental illnesses.

Firstly, in understanding the mental disorders and illnesses and their prevalence among the aged, we must first consider the particular disorders that affect them. In this case, the ailments they face are generally termed to be cognitive impairment disorders (Linden, 2012). Cognitive impairment is the difficulty in making decisions or in processing thoughts and thus resulting in memory loss, concentration incapacity and seemingly loose functional autonomy. The interesting phenomenon about these cases of cognitive impairment is that with the advance in age from 65 years, they only become more frequent and significantly more severe affecting the individual's life entirely and almost leaving them unable to carry out any form of daily life on their own (Linden, 2012).

These cognitive impairment disorders are stated to be common among the old and increase with age but are often undetected and untreated. This leads to the deteriorating of their mental condition even further, and nearly total loss of their functional autonomy is becoming burdens to their families and caretakers. However, this is only because of a lack of understanding of these impairments. Though most could be linked with a genetic background of the disease in their families, most of these illnesses also have demographic, psychological and somatic causes. The first among them is Dementia. Dementia is a common ailment among the aged, affecting 7% of persons over 65 and 20% of persons over 85 ("Geropsychology: It's your future," 2016), and has necessitated the setting up of care facilities for people of that age demographic, i.e., geriatric hospitals. It is defined to be a syndrome that encompasses nearly all of the cognitive impairment including difficulty processing language and thoughts, memory loss and continual brain damage over the period of ailment ((Gleason & Coyle, 2015)).

This disorder mostly is sighted from the age of 64 onwards, and the patient's condition only becomes worse with the advance in age. In a recorded study, the found that the cases and rates of dementia double every five years ((Gleason & Coyle, 2015) and thus the problem is only more rampant and leaves most aged people senile in most cases.

Also, reasonably common among aged persons is depression which manifests in the form of sub syndrome depression or dysthymia. It's also worth noting that the cases of depression among the elderly are mostly underdiagnosed and undertreated and this is evidenced through a staggering 5.7% of US citizens aged above 65 who are suffering from some form of depression (Gleason & Coyle, 2015). These cases have been mainly attributed to the distressing nature of old age diseases which is coupled with the many troubles of age such as the constant loss of loved ones and spouses, financial incapability, loneliness and slow but constant physical breakdown.

These cases of depression usually end up in suicides as they assume to have already reached their lives end. However, depression among the elderly is very much treatable and could help in preventing these suicides and to help them live out their lives to the maximum. This is through early detection and use of antidepressants which function quite well in the elderly as they do on the young. Similarly, modern antidepressants which contain SSRIs are more tolerable with the aged and thus are an appropriate cure for their depression without causing adverse effects.

In some cases, depression among the aged has also been seen to be linked to Alzheimer's disease which is also a relatively common cognitive impairment. This is through depression is noted to be prodromal of Alzheimer's and the symptoms of severe depression being commonly observable in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's disease in itself is a cause of dementia, and thus its definition is quite similar to that of dementia, it is an irreversible, continuous brain disorder that gradually impairs a person's thought process and memories and eventually their entire cognitive functionality, it has been labelled to be the most common cause of dementia among the old and is stated to be widely found in persons who are over the age of 6, as the demographics suggests and is estimated to affect at least 5 million Americans (National Institute of Aging.)

Its symptoms may range from ocular complications, pure memory loss such as word finding, problems with the sense of smell, and impaired reasoning. It develops over stages which begin with mild Alzheimer's, evidenced by repeating questions, slow sentence construction, repeatedly getting lost and trouble handling money. This is closely trailed by moderate Alzheimer's which in turn is evidenced by worse memory loss such as the inability to recognize family and friends, confusion and failure to carry out tasks that require detail such as getting dressed. Then this progresses over time to the final stage, severe Alzheimer's. By this stage, the person's brain tissue has shrunk quite significantly. At this point, the person cannot even communicate and eventually gets to the end of the somatic shutdown. This has been the case with most old people who near their deathbed and it continues to plague the entire world without a node of treatment or reversibility.

The rise in cases of mental incapacity may be attributed to the failure of persons to utilize the resources of psychology as most of these disorders go merely undiagnosed and untreated till the person dies of the ailment such as for Alzheimer's or till they commit suicide, 20% of all deaths in America fit the demographic of 65 and above. However, despite the irreversibility of some of these disorders such as Alzheimer's, the cognitive impairments are manageable, and it is possible for this demographic, despite being at high risk, to lead decent lives and maintain their wellbeing. This can only be achieved through the intervention of psychology. Seeing as the root cause of the breakdown of these individuals' lives is deterioration of mental health, psychology offers a solution to this by creating a breed of psychologists known as Geropsychologists who are especially suited to old people.

Geropsychology is a branch of psychology tended to deal with the needs of older persons, precisely the demographic of 65 and above who are always at risk of mental disorders ("Geropsychology: It's your future," 2016). As it is, Geropsychology is the best solution to the needs of the older persons as it is devoted to the questions of health and aging. The professionals within this field are equipped with skills to treat the treatable cognitive impairing disorders and to help manage those that cannot be processed for the individual suffering and his family/loved ones to lead as healthy a life as they had before the onset of the mental health problems. Geropsychology is equipped with skills that allow for behavioral-based treatment for mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression and also aid in managing the quality of life and the behavior of persons suffering from irreversible impairments. The study is also quite useful in helping older persons manage the constants changes both physical, relating to their slow but eventual somatic breakdown and environmental relating to whatever is going on in their lives as is relative to older people such as loss of spouses and friends (Roberto, 2015).

Psychology thus has a vital role in the management of later life to aid in achieving maximum potential and normality in this period. However, with the predicted rise of the percentage of the older demographic to 21% by 2030 (Gleason & Coyle, 2015), it is faced with a severe problem of the number of professionals who major in the field. In America, only a recorded 2% of all psychologists focus on Geropsychology, and this is bound to create a problem when Americans finally realize the value of their services. There won't be nearly enough professionals to be able to give specialized attention to the millions of needy American older people and the older people all over the world.

There is also a problem that faces the practice of psychology with regard to aging and health whereby most individuals, either the old themselves or their families live in constant denial of the seriousness of these mental conditions (Alonso, 2011). Thus despite the efforts of Geropsychologists who are always offering their services and continually researching into the issues of aging and health, they can only do so much without the support of the persons they intend to benefit.

References

Alonso, J. (2011). JS03-03 - Prevalence and Impact of Common Mental Disorders: International Similarities & Differences. Results of the Who World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys Initiative. European Psychiatry, 26, 2005. Doi: 10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73708-7

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Arlington, VA.

Gleason, H., & Coyle, C. (2015). Mental and behavioral health conditions among older adults: implications for the home care workforce. Aging & Mental Health, 20(8), 848-855. Doi: 10.1080/13607863.2015.1040725

Linden, D. (2012). The biology of psychological disorders. Hounds mills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Roberto, K. (2015). Clinical Geropsychology Has Come of Age. Psyccritiques, 6060(4040). Doi: 10.1037/a0039761