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Mental Health Care for Aging Adults
The need for particular counselors, therapists, and specialists is also increasing with an increasingly aging population. While many older persons eagerly anticipate entering their latter years, others can find adjusting challenging. This is because the natural process of aging can be difficult for certain people and their families.
Was you age, it may get difficult for you to deal with new frailty or medical conditions. You might find it challenging to find enjoyable, meaningful activities if you do experience physical challenges that limit your mobility. Some may also find it difficult to face retirement and impending mortality.
As you pass middle age, you may face health problems and stress due to several reasons. The assistance of a professional or another mental health expert may smooth this transition.
On this page
About Geriatric therapy
About Geriatric therapy
Therapists / Counselors for Geriatric therapy
FAQs
A Quick Overview
Common Physical and Cognitive Issues
Identifying the Symptoms
Ways to Promote Well-Being Among The Elderly
Find Help From a Licensed Therapist Who’s Right For You
Schedule a Virtual Psychotherapy Appointment with a Counsellor Today
Mental Health Care for Aging Adults
The need for particular counselors, therapists, and specialists is also increasing with an increasingly aging population. While many older persons eagerly anticipate entering their latter years, others can find adjusting challenging. This is because the natural process of aging can be difficult for certain people and their families.
Was you age, it may get difficult for you to deal with new frailty or medical conditions. You might find it challenging to find enjoyable, meaningful activities if you do experience physical challenges that limit your mobility. Some may also find it difficult to face retirement and impending mortality.
As you pass middle age, you may face health problems and stress due to several reasons. The assistance of a professional or another mental health expert may smooth this transition.
FAQs
Many medical conditions can occur due to age. However, a few, like urinary incontinence, vascular dementia, multiple sclerosis, chronic disease, insomnia, and heart problems, are prevalent in the senior population. Depression or anxiety are also seen very commonly in them.
These clinics are places specially designed for people in the transition phase from middle age to old age. In these clinics, as an aging adult, you receive extraordinary care for your complex medical conditions. The main focus of the staff of these clinics is to keep the older people independent and functional and to help them manage a quality lifestyle with minimum effort. These clinics can also plan and coordinate with other general physicians or mental counselors to cater to the needs of the senior population.
There is no right age to start considering counseling. Yet, 60 years of age or above it may be appropriate for this. But if you start feeling weak anytime in your middle age, you should consider seeing a counselor to learn the medical practices for leading a healthy lifestyle as you age.
These specialists have additional training for treating elderly people. Their primary job is to work with other doctors to give special care to geriatric adults dealing with complex health issues due to age. They can also coordinate with doctors in the team and appropriately guide the patients about the treatment options and choose from the options as per their health conditions.
They are the expert on the subject matter and analyze the bigger picture of any given problem. Most older adults face multiple medical conditions at one time and might be under medication for all those conditions. That is the reason these professionals prioritize physical activity for their well-being. They do not advise medication for every medical condition.
A Quick Overview
According to studies, our life expectancy has increased by a few years in the last two decades. An increased life expectancy means more of the aging population. That can lead to high demand for geriatric counseling and therapy.
This is an area of medicine that focuses on the ailments and conditions associated with getting old as well as its medical care and treatment. The psychological and emotional requirements of those over 60 are the main focus of this mental health therapy. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 15% of the elderly suffer mental health issues. Therefore, this is a developing area that needs attention.
Common Physical and Cognitive Issues
Your body and mind may start experiencing changes as you approach the shift from middle age to old age. Physical issues are concerned with those physical disabilities that might stop you from doing the things that were very easy and enjoyable to do before. Whereas cognitive declines are those related to brain functions.
Following are some of these issues you might face with age:
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Cognition-related problems - These may include:
- Problem with verbal and visual memory
- Visuospatial capacity
- The ability to recall and name objects immediately
- Problem-related to hearing or eye-sight
- Declining physical strength
- Decreased energy level or appetite
- Dementia or Alzheimer
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Physical problems - These may include the following:
- Problems related to oral health
- Bone-related problems like osteoarthritis
- Heart problems
- Respiratory problem
- Diabetes
Apart from these issues, you might face mental health issues like depression, anxiety, a few behavioral changes, and sleep problems. That is why, as you get older, you might need special health care professionals to help you with this aging transition phase and support you emotionally in coping with these conditions.
Identifying the Symptoms
The mind and body functions change as you grow old, which is when you may see some symptoms that indicate geriatric diseases. It may take some time to understand the signs of these problems for you or people around you, but eventually, they get more evident. Following are a few such symptoms:
- Bladder control problems: Urinary incontinence is an embarrassing thing to happen, but it is a common symptom of aging. This problem can cause isolation or depression. But with the proper assistance, this can be easily treated.
- Senile Dementia: Another symptom of aging is often forgetting things. In a few cases, the patient fails to recall or recognise the most common things impacting their daily life. This is the symptom of a disease called Alzheimer's.
- Loss of balance: Falling frequently can lead to many medical conditions like weakness, serious injuries, and arthritis.
- Weight Loss: This can happen for reasons like low interest in having proper food and a diminished sense of taste because of other unknown medical issues. It can lead to weakness and malnutrition. It can worsen your condition.
- Experiencing Problems In Sleeping Patterns: It can lead to many other health problems, like falls, poor mental health because of lack of sleep, and injuries. It is crucial to get a good rest at night.
Ways to Promote Well-Being Among The Elderly
Taking care of the well-being of the elderly is essential. Social awareness, support, and trained staff to care for the elderly are the core elements of geriatrics. Society needs to be aware of the issues that occur with age and how to tackle them. Only then can it ease the life of older adults and can make efforts to promote their well-being.
Often, society associates old age with negative feelings about the elderly. You may think you need to provide them care and attention constantly. It may include hand-holding, thinking of them as having low decision-making ability, reduced physical mobility, and isolation and loneliness. This may be why it gets difficult for them to cope-up with these negative feelings.
Thus, stated below are a few ways we can promote good mental and physical well-being among the older adults:
- Giving them confidence and independence by showing them that help will be instantly available if they need it.
- They may feel self-sufficient by working a paid job or doing voluntary work. It can mark positive feelings in them. The sense of contributing back to the community can be fulfilling.
- Having a routine and maintaining physical activity is an excellent way to be mentally and physically fit. Regular exercises foster overall health, mobility, and mental stability. Any form of physical activity, whether dancing, walking, or gardening, is also an excellent way to lift the mood.
- Being socially active is also a powerful way to encourage them to take care of their well-being at that age. The fear of loneliness and isolation are two main fears of older adults. Social interactions with different age groups of people, or the community might boost their confidence and decrease their anxiety due to isolation.
Find Help From a Licensed Therapist Who’s Right For You
Therapy is successful when you and your healthcare provider cooperate and bond well with each other. That is why finding the right counselor is crucial. Old age is the phase where you may take time to gel with anyone. The right therapist will be patient enough to give you the time required.
It might take you a few sessions to understand and get comfortable with your therapist. Hence you should give that time to each other. If, even after 3-4 sessions, you cannot build trust and bond with your provider, then you can think of a shift to a new one.
You can find a list of various professionals on our website. You can easily choose from the different specialists depending on their qualities. Our therapists are good listeners, empathetic, caring, helpful, and experienced.
Schedule a Virtual Psychotherapy Appointment with a Counsellor Today
Aging cannot be avoided, but it can be managed with consultation and the help of a geriatric therapist. We at DocVita have various specialists from different fields that can help you manage and cope with your age-related stress or discomforts. All you need to do is go on the DocVita website and book your session today.