Submitted on Wednesday February 27th, 2013
As Bette Davis said, "Old age is no place for sissies." Aging often brings loss and change. Usually people can adjust. But sometimes the changes can be too much and trigger depression. (See last month's article about the signs of depression.)
Left untreated, depression in older adults can lead to other serious problems.
- Slow recovery from injury or illness.
- Poor medication management, resulting in hospitalization.
- Social isolation, leading to overuse of alcohol and increased risk of falls.
- Dependence and the loss of ability to live independently.
- Suicide (which is more common in seniors than in any other adult age group).