Depression is the most common of mental conditions which can be treated, but among the elderly, it is one of the most overlooked. Sometimes, it?s because physicians don?t recognize the signs and symptoms. Sometimes it?s because of an overall attitude of society that perhaps feeling low is just part of getting old. The danger in overlooking depression is twofold. First, quality of life that could be improved isn?t, and unnecessary suffering goes on. Second, the alarming fact of elder suicide looms. Depression is both an emotional occurrence and a physical event. The physical component is triggered by brain chemistry, and can be helped.

Feeling low doesn?t have to be a permanent part of getting older. There are many elders who are able to take aging in stride, and accept the many limitations that accompany getting along in years. Aging is frequently marked by losses. Loss of spouses, siblings and friends, as well as losses of physical strength and abilities can lead to sadness. The sadness associated with loss can often be lessened with time. But what if Dad, who lost his wife last year, just doesn?t seem to care about anything anymore? If more than a year has passed since loss of a spouse, and an aging parent still seems unable to move forward, it may to be time to see the doctor for a checkup.

If you are able to accompany Dad to the doctor, mention the problem specifically. Loss of enjoyment of things one normally likes is one of the symptoms of depression. Other symptoms include feeling sad for extended periods, loss of appetite, sleeping too mu

Depression is one of the most treatable of all mental health problems. Many excellent medications can make a great difference in one?s mood and ability to participate in life. Counseling or talk therapy can also be a great help in managing feelings of loss and grief and in helping an aging parent to get through the grieving process.

If Dad is just not getting back to the way he was, and has an alarmingly long, ongoing period of sad mood and other symptoms, encourage him to see his doctor. Plan to go with him to be sure he doesn?t gloss over the problem. Many elders are unaccustomed to talking about their feelings. They may lack the basic vocabulary to describe them. The adult child can offer gentle assistance with this difficult area. If unchecked, depression can become a downward spiral with no end. It can become worse and more miserable for the depressed person as time passes.

Addressing depression in an aging parent can lead to relief, and improved quality of life. It is a loving act to suggest that the problem can be improved. It may take the initiative of a son or daughter to get help for Dad, but the effect of help if well worth your effort.

© 2009, Carolyn L. Rosenblatt, R. N., Attorney at Law and Dr. Mikol S. Davis, Psychologist, AgingParents.com

nurselawyer

Author Bio

* Depression is often overlooked in aging persons, even by doctors, who may think feeling sad is just part of getting old. * No one who can be treated for this problem of depression should suffer unnecessarily. * Adult children of aging parents may need to help advocate for their loved ones with the parent’s doctors, to get the right help when it is needed.

Warrnings
* Do not ignore the obvious signs of an aging parent’s symptoms of depression. It can be dangerous and even lead to elder suicide

No related posts.

When Dr Joey contacted me, he wanted my help with his dogs. He had been putting up with really bad behavior from them for a long time. He was grieving terribly for his Forever Dog Friend, Satin, who had passed away. On top of that, his other best dog friend, Shami, had also recently passed away after a terrible and mysterious illness.

He told me his heart was so heavy with grief that he just didn?t know how he could go on. His health was very bad (he was suffering from cancer) and he could hardly move because he was in so much pain. To complicate matters, his remaining three dogs were out of control. They jumped on everyone, which was terribly embarrassing. They barked and would not quiet down, and they urinated in the house. One dog would go outside — then come back inside to pee!

Dutchess was physically launching an attack on the front door anytime someone just walked by, and since the door was largely glass, Dr Joey was afraid she?d break the door and hurt herself in the process! He couldn?t take them for walks because they would pull in all directions and one dog would have to be dragged along? terribly frustrating and dangerous for all of them. Plus, little Zena and Zoey were afraid to go outside. And, to make matters even worse, they had begun fighting amongst themselves.

He desperately wanted them to behave and didn?t understand why they weren?t. He also worried that they weren?t happy. And because of the tragic loss of two of his dog companions, he was very concerned about their health.

Recently, the vets had insisted th

After several holistic healing therapy and animal communication sessions, the dogs are much better behaved, no more inappropriate indoor urination, they are happy to greet visitors more appropriately, Dr Joey is healthier himself, and to-date, Zena has not had to have surgery as her symptoms are so much improved.

Without giving your dog a voice to speak what?s on their mind, we can only guess at why they are behaving the way they are. After all, who knows better how they are feeling? If they are in pain or discomfort? What works for them or doesn?t work? If something is confusing or frightening, and why?

Here are 6 signs of depression or other psychological issues in dogs that would benefit from the services of a professional animal communicator and holistic healing therapies are:

1. Urinating or defecating in their home or kennel is a major clue that something isn?t right in their world. A dog?s natural instinct tells them not to foul their own den, and when they do, that tells us there is something seriously amiss. It could be coming from an undiagnosed physical problem, but it is most often an emotional or mental reaction to their caretaker?s distress and anxiety, creating an unstable mindset.

2. Aggression to others indicates that they are not feeling emotionally stable in mind, body or spirit, or are being mishandled, misunderstood or mismanaged. This is most often a response to their caretaker?s emotional, mental or physical distress which they then take and focus outward onto their world in ways that seem appropriate to them, from their viewpoint. Proper rebalancing of both parties is critical to resolving this issue.

3. Hot spots and chronic skin problems are symptoms of an underlying condition that has to be addressed and resolved at the root or source of the issue. These problems often come from a reaction to improper diets or treats, allergies, a buildup of acquired toxicity that overwhelms their system, a messed up digestive tract because of antibiotics treatments, parasites, lack of proper supplementation, or frequently it can be a symptom of vaccination side effects. It is also a very clear indication that their caretaker is experiencing too much stress in their world, which then bleeds over energetically onto their animal.

4. Lethargy or loss of interest in exercise, play and activities is a clear indication that there is something seriously wrong. Regardless of the animal?s age, they should always be interested in their surroundings and happy to engage with others. Pay attention if they aren?t. The contributing factors can include their experience of grief or loss (of a friend, human or otherwise, or even a favorite toy or object), sadness, or undiagnosed physical discomfort. Other factors can only be discovered by communicating with them directly.

5. Fearful or skittish behavior indicates they have lost their confidence. Allowing our animal friends to continue to live in fear is a disservice to them. What they are asking for is help in regaining their confidence, their sense of place and purpose. Improper management or training efforts that are largely misunderstood or not the right approach to them have to be examined and discussed, to come up with an appropriate training style that works for them. There can also be underlying physical distress that contributes to them feeling out of balance. And of course, we have to look to their human friends to see what fears or underlying anxieties they are carrying in their own bodymind that is contributing to the problems.

6. Physical health or pain problems often have underlying emotional, mental or spiritual components that may actually be coming from their caretakers issues. If this is the case, then you will take them to the vet and they?ll get misdiagnosed or worse, and you?ll spend a lot of money in vet bills. And you?ll be no better off than if you hadn?t gone, and sometimes actually worse off because the real problem got missed and now your animal has even more stress to deal with.

So what if the real issues in all these cases is something going on in you that is causing distress in your animal? Without communicating with your animal first, you?ll take them to the vet and maybe you?ll get lucky and it will clear up anyway. But the truth may be that it wasn?t ever about the animal themselves, it was about a problem with you that they were unable to express in a way you could understand.

The bottom line is that if your animal is not properly balanced and stable in their own body, mind and spirit, or are not healing quickly and easily as their body is designed to do, then they may be picking up and carrying their caretaker?s own energetic imbalances. To get the best long term result, we often have to explore deeper to discover the root of the matter. If we are imbalanced, then they will be too, because we and our animals are intricately connected in body, mind and spirit.

Are you wondering what happened to Dr. Joey and his bad dogs? I heard from him a few months later on the one year anniversary of his best dog friend Satin’s passing. Amazingly, he had been able to move his clinic that summer. And, he said his personal health recovery felt like a miracle. NO more cancer of the bone marrow. Plus, his dogs, Dutchess, Zoey and Zena were all doing fine ? no more bad behavior. Dr. Joey said that his and his dog?s lives had drastically changed in our work together, and he had become alpha once again creating more stability for his household. As you can imagine, Dr. Joey was deeply grateful for everyone?s recovery!

Val Heart

Author Bio

Val Heart, Expert Animal Communicator & Master Healer for You & Your Animals! Dedicated to assisting seekers ready to take a pro-active approach to improving their relationships with themselves & their animals through improved communication, energy medicine, health & balance for body, mind & spirit. Free Report: 10 Things You Must Know Before Hiring An Animal Communicator, Free Expert Animal Communication eTips, Animal Classes & Workshops. Speaker, Teacher, Columnist, TV, radio. Call (210) 86

No related posts.

Depression is not only painful for the individual affected; it can also bring much pain to the individual?s family. This is because the individual will normally shut himself off from any kind of communication with others, preferring to leave himself/herself isolated. This will leave family and friends bewildered by the individuals actions and leave them wondering what they can do.

Fortunately, there are some signs that an individual is struggling with depression that you can look out for. These warning signs can help you identify if a friend or loved one may have a problem and if you suspect there may be a problem, you can get them some help early on.

Some of these depression symptoms will be quite clear and others will be harder to spot. Some people who have depression will act as extroverts and freely mix with people making it hard to spot a problem with them. They?re outgoing around people, but inside they feel disinterested in life. However, everybody who is suffering with depression will display various signs of depression; it?s just about knowing what to look out for.

Depressed people who try to hide their depression by smiling and acting happy can be hard to spot. But it is possible to look behind their phony smiles. Normally when a person smiles, their smiles will reach their eyes too; you know they are happy! However, when a person?s smile isn?t genuine, the smile won?t reach their eyes. You know they aren?t happy or really enjoying themselves. This can be a sign of depression, if you notice the person is acting this way regularl

Some other warning signs you should watch out for will include a person who feels worthless, not being able to concentrate, regularly taking about death, not able to hold a job down. You shouldn?t have too much difficulty recognizing if an individual is suffering from depression after chatting with them for a little while.

Depression can be a serious illness that as led to death on too many occasions. If your concerned about a friend or a loved one. Spend some time with them and talk to them about how they feel. Taking the time to listen too them and helping them could save so much potential heartache.

Mark Gardner

Author Bio

Mark Gardner is a popular webmaster and publisher of facingdepression.com To learn if you may be suffering with depression, take our Self Depression Test today!

No related posts.

Those who suffer from signs symptoms of depression and related disorders likely know the warning signs of depression all too well. They also know that these disorders tend to manifest themselves as repeated episodes of the depressive condition with the typical patient having many distinct episodes during their lives.

While not identical in every person, signs symptoms of depression that may be experienced can include any of these:

1. Difficulty sleeping or other disruptions of sleep patterns

2. Overwhelming feelings of anxiety and/or sorrow at inappropriate times

3. Loss of interest in pastimes formerly enjoyed

4. A sensation of hopelessness, lack of self esteem and feelings of guilt

5. Fatigue and overall lower energy levels

6. Loss of appetite or abnormally large appetite, leading to weight loss or gain

7. Suicidal thoughts and recurring thoughts about death

8. Irritability, restlessness and short temper

9. memory lapses and an inability to concentrate

10. Difficulty in maintaining close or romantic relationships

Depression warning signs have increased in frequency in western industrialized societies, especially among those born after 1930. Some have concluded that pollution and its attendant harmful effects on the human body are to blame for some of the increase in depressive disorders and has ramped up the number of persons suffering from depression signs.

Experiencing one or more of the signs symptoms of depression and other mood disorders has to do with levels

Depression warning signs can derail careers and relationships, cause school work to go downhill and lower quality of life. The feelings of despair, sadness and frustration can make it impossible to function normally and relate to others. In many cases, depression goes undiagnosed due to the stigma borne by mental illness or failure of medical professionals to correctly diagnose or treat the problem.

Those who suffer from this condition often choose to self-medicate rather than go through the side effects of prescription medications. These people may use alcohol, caffeine or street drugs in an effort to feel better, which never works in the long run. Many of those who commit suicide happen to have symptoms of depression.

An additional problem faced by those suffering from depressive disorders is the stigma which is attached to the ailment. People who have depression signs are sometimes seen as crazy, unpredictable, even dangerous! In short, they are often avoided because of their disorder which only adds to their feelings of isolation and despair.

The stigma associated with signs symptoms of depression can be devastating to those afflicted with depression. Teachers, co-workers, neighbors and employers will tend to treat them differently because of the disorder. It can be difficult to hide in many situations, for instance, when trying to get a new job. While it is not legal to ask a prospective employee about medical conditions they may have, one does not necessarily want to withhold the truth from an interviewer.

At the same time, it might be a long shot to actually land that job if your interviewer is aware of your depression. This is a case whether or not your depressive disorder would affect the quality of your work. In the case of students, teachers may treat them differently and the student could suffer from low expectations on the part of teachers.

There is also a lot of misinformation about persons with mental illness of any sort, with many making the assumption that all such persons are potentially violent and feared as a possible danger. Again, this leads people to isolate the sufferer, making their life even even worse.

Health insurance plans offered by employers often will involve higher premiums from the employer if a new hire has health problems, including depression signs. The employers fear is that their premiums will go through the roof if they are to take on a new employee with any sort of preexisting medical issues. This is true! Those who suffer from depression signs and disorders hardly get a fair shake from insurance companies.

The feelings of worthlessness and isolation that are felt by those who suffer from a depressive disorder are made worse by the stigma attached to the condition among the general public. This leaves the patient feeling even worse, their sensation of inadequacy and guilt compounded by the way that society treats them.

Society as a whole must learn to treat those with signs symptoms of depression and other mental illnesses like the human beings that they really are. They are simply human beings with an illness, no different than a physical illness, merely different symptoms.

David Lee Buster

Author Bio

Read more about the symptoms of anxiety – David Lee Buster is one of the webmasters of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com – visit the website for more articles on natural health living.

No related posts.

It would be nice if we could do away with the signs of aging and look many years younger. Here are the secrets.

As you get up there in years, certain problems are going to crop up and one of them is wrinkles. They can be most visible around your eyes, forehead, cheeks and neck. You can get downright discouraged and even depressed when you look into a mirror. Don’t worry, there are solutions.

Maybe you cannot stop time from marching on, but you can reduce the signs of the aging process and look better than ever. Here is what happens and some points to keep in mind.

What Causes Fine Lines? As a person ages, the skin undergoes significant changes. The inner layer of the skin begins to thin and the cells begin to divide more slowly. Fat cells begin to lessen or die beneath the dermis.

The collection of collagen fibers and elastin which provide a sort of scaffolding for the surface layer begin to come apart. Skin then loses its flexibility. It tends to sag and creates furrows.

The sweat glands wear out and become dry and scaly and facial lines develop. Gravity makes the situation worse and contributes to the formation of drooping eyelids and jowls. Also, eyebrows tend to move up as someone ages perhaps because of forehead wrinkles and the skin has less of an ability to repair itself so wounds heal more slowly.

There are other forces at play that can make your skin suffer, such as :

1. The sun damages collagen fibers and causes an accumulation of abnormal elastin. Metalloproteinases, or enzymes, are produced that

2. The sun’s UV radiation promotes oxidation. This also leads to the development of skin abnormalities.

3. Cigarette smoking causes the thickening and fragmentation of elastin, reduces circulation and the amount of oxygen that is supplied to the skin, and leads to less Collagen formation and reduced water content in the skin. Lastly, smoking reduces the chances that the skin is able to fend off free radicals causing cell damage.

4. Air pollution. Ozone may be a problem for the skin. It may cause a reduction of Vitamin E in the skin which is an important antioxidant.

5. Fast weight loss. This can cause fine lines since it reduces the volume of fat cells which cushion the face. This will cause the skin to sag.

6. Heredity. You may have inherited some skin characteristics from your parents.

Wrinkles are the most visible signs of aging. As tissues sag, these lines form a type of canvas that is covered with cracks that have varying depths. As time goes by, they deepen and reach the dermis. As the dermis loses its elasticity, it becomes slack which leads to the formation of more pronounced wrinkles over 0.05 mm in depth.

Here is the normal progression of wrinkles characterized by age group:

From twenty to twenty five, vertical wrinkles on one’s forehead and even between the eyebrows may already be visible. Fine lines at the external edges of the eyes are not yet noticeable.

In the twenty five to forty age range, wrinkles start to become a reality. But, they are less than 0.0005 mm in depth. They are caused by the superficial drying out of one’s skin as well as the slowing down of cellular renewal.

And from forty to fifty, slowly the skin will lose its cutaneous substance. Deeper wrinkles as well as laughter lines now reach the dermis where they are greater than 0.5 microns in depth. The skin loses it elasticity and the facial contours are not less well defined.

For those that have reached fifty years of age or older, hormonal secretions end as menopause appears and this accelerates the aging process. The skin’s surface begins to modify and intermediary lines are replaced by ever deepening furrows.

The older you become, the more wrinkles you get. You can minimize this damage by taking good care of your skin.

Wrinkle Treatments: here are a few promising remedies for sagging skin. There are some new wrinkle creams and topical lotions, like Avotone or Revitol, that contain natural ingredients that may help lessen this problem. For example:

1. Argireline – this is a safer alternative to Botox. It is not derived from any poisonous substance, but from naturally occurring amino acids. This element relaxes facial tension because it is able to reduce the excessive release of neurotransmitters which are also known as catecholamines. These make your facial muscles become tense. If your muscles are not tense, they do not contribute to wrinkles. Also, it may slow down the degeneration of elastin and collagen which normally occurs with aging.

2. Dermox SRC – this is a specially tested serum that helps to control wrinkles, increases the synthesis of collagen, and repairs the skin’s surface.

3. DMAE – it has been indicated that this antioxidant is able to function as a cell membrane stabilizing agent. It reinforces the skin’s foundation of elastin and collagen, makes cells live longer, and helps avoid cell dehydration. It may also assist in the healing of scars, which includes acne scars, and promotes the flushing out of too much lipofuscin from skin cells reducing age spots.

How Can You Minimize Fine Lines and Wrinkles?

There are several things you can do to reduce the wrinkles that you already have and minimize future occurences. These include:

-Avoid the sun or always use sunscreen

-Do not smoke

-Use a very good topical anti-wrinkle cream

-Drink plenty of water

-Eat an abundance of vegetables and fruits

-Exercise.

By doing these things, you will be taking important steps to help maintain a youthful appearance while reducing the onset of wrinkles.

Ken Black is the proprietor of the Skin Care Reviews website. Visit this site for more secrets on anti-aging skin care products.

No related posts.