Depression in Seniors

Depression is a mental illness that can change a person`s thought process and behaviour (Canadian Mental Health Association).  In this blog, I will be talking about the effects that depression had on my grandmother and what she did to help her cope with her ‘illness’. During the blog, I may refer to her just as “Mary”, rather than saying “my grandma” repeatedly.

Mary’s depression was set on my numerous events in her lifetime. These events caused her to become very sad and she had lost interest in some activities.  Mary had lost her fiancé towards the end of the Second World War and was not able to accept his death and still believed he would come home one day.  This was very traumatic for her and affected her deeply. Death of someone close to you in a common life experience, but stresses such as these can develop into deeper depression. If stresses continue to pile up, it may be difficult for a person to recover (Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario).

 After some time, she married, but lost her second child within 24 hours of birth after engaging in strenuous activity. This produced a great amount of guilt that would last her a lifetime. She focused all her time and energy towards her children and grandchildren to try and make up for the large amount of guilt she still felt.  Like in any family, the children grew up which left her alone with her thoughts and felt a "…sense of uselessness… “(Mullaly, 2007).

She still faced difficulty and she became angry and depressed. She was prescribed Prozac, which she continued taking for her remaining lifetime. Prozac is an antidepressant medicine used in treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, Panic Disorder, and other mental health disorders (Eli Lilly and Company, 2011). Mary was well but experienced some side effects of the drug such as severe and unusual mood swings and trouble sleeping. Mood swings are considered a serious side effect (Cantrust) and family members became worried.

Mary truly believed in the cycle of life, meaning that the old were supposed to die before the young and never the other way around. Because of this belief, it made it extremely difficult for her to cope with the additional deaths of her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter to cancer. Mental illnesses can make it very difficult to cope with even little everyday tasks (Health Canada), let alone things such as deaths of loved ones. She became confused, upset, angry, and emotional, which led to sleepless nights filled with tears and she saw death as a release from the stresses of her life.  

There are a few different ways to treat depression. Mary chose medication but there is also talk therapies and social support. With a combination of medication as well as talk therapies, the recovery rate is 60% - 80% (Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario).  CMHA Ontario continues to state that in seniors, if their depression is recognized and proper treatment is applied, outcomes for those individuals are very good.

-Nicole (Nikki) S.

Resources:

Canadian Mental Health Association (n.d), Depression
Retrieved from: http://www.cmha.ca/bins/content_page.asp?cid=3-86-87

Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario (n.d.), Seniors and Depression
Retrieved from: http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/seniors.asp?cID=5800

Prozac, Eli Lilly and Company (June 2011)
Retrieved from: http://www.prozac.com/Pages/index.aspx

Mullaly, B. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press Canada.

Health Canada (May 2006), Mental Health – Mental Illness
Retrieved from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/diseases-maladies/mental-eng.php

Cantrust, (n.d), Prozac (FLUOXETINE) Information
Retrieved from: http://www.cantrustrx.com/prozac-information-prozac.htm