For many people, aging is a difficult process that can lead to serious depression. For elderly people with depression, however, the signs of the condition are often more difficult to detect than in younger people. Depression impacts every part of your life, from your mood to your sleeping habits and physical health. Here are some common elderly depression warning signs to look out for.
Sign 1: Pervasive feelings of guilt or sadness.
Everyone gets sad and feels guilty at times. For depressed people, these feelings do not go away and end up interfering with the enjoyment of life. An elderly person with depression will not have moments of levity to break up their grief, but will live with a constant feeling of despair. Experiencing grief when you are not depressed, on the other hand, is often a roller-coaster emotional process marked by both highs and lows, or good days and bad days.
Sign 2: Sleeplessness, Loss of Motivation
Depressed elderly people often experience insomnia and a loss of energy. While the elderly person may attribute the loss of energy to just being tired, it is more than simply a lack of sleep. Depressed people will feel physically slow, and may even exhibit slowed movements or speech patterns. They may also grow irritable and lose interest in social activities that they once enjoyed, or begin isolating themselves from others.
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