Tag: Counterparts

Depression And The Elderly

The elderly face many more challenges than their younger counterparts. They are at an age where death is almost expected whether it is reading about a friend in the paper or losing a family member. They also face more health problems. These factors can often lead to depression if older people do not have the appropriate support systems in place. Depression does not have to happen and it is not part of aging. However it can happen and it will prevent an elderly person from living a full life as they are more likely to withdraw into themselves and their memories.

The biggest thing a family can do for their elderly parent or relative is to learn to distinguish between the symptoms of depression and of grief. Grief occurs much more frequently for the elderly as they are more likely to lose loved ones, their health, their mobility, their freedoms, and their careers. Doctors know grief is painful and can last a long time sometimes even weeks. It is when these weeks start to turn in to months and the grievers behaviors start to change that is cause for concern.

Depression in the elderly is more likely to go unchecked and untreated than in any other age group. Often relatives do not visit as often so do not notice how long the person has been feeling sad. Some assume feeling sad is part of aging, although that could not be further from the truth. Even doctors are often more concerned about the physical well-being of their patients rather than their emotion state. The consequences of these inactions are cause for serious concern. Depressed elderly individuals are at a higher risk for alcohol and drug abuse, illness, and suicide. Their relatives need to be able to discern when a person is depressed and to watch out for the warning signs.

Warning signs for depression in the elderly can be isolation, extreme sadness, loss of interest in hobbies, weight loss, difficulties sleeping, feelings of being a burden to their family, lack of personal hygiene, even possible suicide attempts. Sometimes the signs are harder to see as the depressed elderly individual may not even feel sad. It may be that they are constantly worrying, wringing their hands, complaining more than usual, experiencing more aches and pains than before, pacing in the home, or even generally lacking energy. These are all signs of depression that relatives should be on the lookout for so they can help the elderly seek the treatment they need and deserve.

Treatment is available and necessary. As the general population of Americans age, the once-called baby boomers are now turning into our elderly. The population of elderly is steadily increasing at rates never before seen. It is essential for families and relatives to pull together to help keep an eye on our older loved ones. Perhaps it is as simple as inviting a parent, grand-parent, or elderly aunt over for supper. Perhaps it is getting involved at the local recreation center and organizing activities for the elderly. Perhaps it is watching over older family members more closely to make sure they are eating properly and taking their medications on time. Whatever we choose to do, it is our responsibility as the younger generation to look after our elders.

Secrets on how to make memory better

It will start with some small incident like forgetting the birthday of a colleague. Then you will start to forget the birthdays of people close to you. After that, it will be the turn of the directions to your favorite restaurant and then god forbid, you will forget your own keys inside your home. We all suffer from moments of forgetfulness but sometimes, things go worse that you find ways to make your memory better.

Although we are not all blessed with a photographic memory, there are ways to at least improve what we are given and make us a little less forgetful. This is especially true with people who are already growing older. As we age, the neurons in our brains also age. Some die while others perform slower than usual. This is why people who are older have faultier memories than their much younger counterparts.

But hey, as mentioned, there are ways to improve memory. Here are some of them:

1. Use visuals or sounds
Depending on what kind of learner you are, people can either use visuals and sounds to remember something. For instance, if you are trying to remember a to-do list, all you need to do is stare at the paper and you will be able to see in your mind the list. There are people however who need to hear the list of their to-dos before they can remember everything that they have to do. To find out which technique will work for you, try remembering how you memorize in school. Do you read the words silently or read them out loud?

2. Use associations
Our brains also need help when it comes to remembering things. The easier we make the remembering task for the brain, the better it will be able to remember the information. This is where associations come in. Associating information with things that we already know or things that we can see is a technique that has been utilized in improving memory. For instance, have you heard of mnemonics? When memorizing a set of words, we often take the first letter of that word and then form a sentence or words from those letters. Associating the word that we are trying to memorize with the first letter makes it easier for our brain.

3. Visualize it
Do you ever wonder why photographic memory is the term use for people with really excellent memory? This is because people who really memorize well or have great memories do not see one item or one information when committing them to memory. They see a picture of the words in group. For instance, a person with a grocery list will usually memorize the items one by one but people who learned to improve their memories will memorize it as a whole. They will look at the list and visualize it as a whole until they can see the list in their minds eye.

4. Eat right
Another important way to improve memory is to check what you eat. Your diet will factor a lot in your ability to memorize things. Eating nutritious foods will help your brain perform better and faster. This is especially true when eating known brain foods like tofu, milk and fish.

There are many ways to make your memory better but the most important thing is to commit to the task and promise to improve it no matter what.