Age can create many challenges, including maintaining vigor and good health. With each new year added to your life, you are likely to notice changes in your general well-being. Your hearing and vision may be affected. Arthritis, aches and pains can give you lots of discomfort to the knees, ankles, wrists and other joints. You may have difficulty doing the things that you used to enjoy. With all these changes, you may find yourself feeling less hopeful than you once did.

If aging is impacting your physical and emotional health, you may be worried that things will only get worse. With increasing health concerns, medications and impairments you may find yourself wondering if your best days are behind you. Your concerns can be compounded by other major life changes such as retirement or ‘empty nest.’ All this can increase your likelihood of developing depression or anxiety.

Physical-Emotional Link

One risk that most older adults are likely to experience as they further advance in years is age-related, chronic medical conditions. A significant number even have complicated circumstances. In fact, “… 60 percent of older adults have or have had two or more chronic conditions. Their common chronic conditions include heart disease, cancer, chronic bronchitis or emphysema, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and Alzheimer’s disease,” says the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Medical science may have successfully extended longevity and found cures for many diseases, but it cannot stop aging. Aging is inevitable even when it is slowed down.

Developing medical conditions are not the only complications of aging. Because physical health is linked to emotional health, you are also at risk for conditions such as anxiety, depression, self-harm, overwhelm, grief and loss, etc. It is understandable that so much change would bring on difficulty adjusting.

You are Not Alone

A demographic shift is in progress – the human population’s average age is rising. Seniors outnumber children under five years of age at this time. This shift is happening because the ‘baby boomers’ are now in their senior life. “Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double from 12 percent to 22 percent,” says the World Health Organization. This means that more and more people will be joining the ‘older adult’ age group in the coming years.

This demographic shift offers an opportunity for more research and medicine. With more individuals in this age bracket comes renewed interest and more treatment options for emotional health concerns related to aging. Hopefully, this would bring about changes in the clinical setting. For instance, the monitoring of emotional health as a clinical protocol should be as important as your physical/medical checkup.

Realities of Aging

Aging is inevitable and experienced by all. The process cannot be stopped because it is a fundamental process that occurs at the cellular level, the basic units of all living things. It can, however, be accelerated by factors described as harmful to the cells, such as UV radiation and pollution.

Many are apprehensive about aging. The fear goes beyond the change in their appearance – graying hair, wrinkling skin, and declining strength. Fear often stems from the increased vulnerability to a host of medical conditions and physical disabilities. Aging can result in the deterioration of vision and hearing. It can also affect cognitive and cerebral abilities or functioning. With multiple medical conditions and medications, the exacerbation or complication of symptoms is a great possibility.

The emotional concerns of older adults deserve attention as these can impact their symptoms and treatment of other medical conditions. For example, seniors living alone or away from their loved ones are at risk to develop depression or anxiety. It can affect their self-esteem and sense of security, triggering negative emotions, such as sadness, fear, grief, and overwhelm. Stress, worry and loss of purpose can also impact healing and recovery.

The Statistics

With an aging populace come a lot of issues that deserve attention. Based on the report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “5% of seniors 65 and over reported having current depression and about 10.5% reported a diagnosis of depression at some point in their lives.” While these numbers may seem low, it is important to remember that many seniors remain undiagnosed and untreated. This can happen for a variety of reasons, some of which being lack of awareness, stigma surrounding mental health and/or barriers to receiving treatment.

Who is at risk for emotional conditions? The Geriatric Mental Health Foundation offers a list of potential triggers for emotional concerns among older adults:

• Alcohol or substance abuse
• Change of environment, like moving into assisted living
• Dementia-causing illness (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease)
• Illness or loss of a loved one
• Long-term illness (e.g., cancer or heart disease)
• Medication interactions
• Physical disability
• Physical illnesses that can affect emotion, memory and thought
• Poor diet or malnutrition

If you are at high risk, what are the symptoms that you must watch out for? When should you seek professional intervention? Check out the following signs and symptoms from A Place for Mom:

1. Changes in appearance or dress, or problems maintaining the home or yard.

2. Confusion, disorientation, problems with concentration or decision-making.

3. Decrease or increase in appetite; changes in weight.

4. Depressed mood lasting longer than two weeks.

5. Feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt, helplessness; thoughts of suicide.

6. Memory loss, especially recent or short-term memory problems.

7. Physical problems that can’t otherwise be explained: aches, constipation, etc.

8. Social withdrawal; loss of interest in things that used to be enjoyable.

9. Trouble with finances or working with numbers.

10. Unexplained fatigue, energy loss or sleep changes

Where There is Hope

Losing hope can happen when you are facing a number of changes or the symptoms of chronic, age-related medical conditions. Losing hope does not have to happen. Your medical conditions can worsen without hope. You are also in danger of developing depression or anxiety that may interfere with your treatment. Choose to improve with age and emotional wellness. Choose to have a better quality of life with hope in your heart.

If you are entering your senior life, do not take your emotional health for granted. Go where hope flows eternal. Be proactive. Be healthier, wiser and more productive as you age. See an experienced counselor or therapist independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services – Fuquay-Varina, NC (N. Main St.). Call today to schedule!

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