Growing Old and Depression

When it comes to adulthood and aging, I think depression can be a major issue. There are many changes and obstacles that people go through throughout the years. When you’re younger, life seems so easy. You didn’t have trouble seeing, you could run and move fast and you could hear someone from across the room. Later on, you’ll start to notice age spots, greying of hair, the fact that it takes a little longer to get out of bed in the morning. You might be battling different diseases or illnesses that take a lot longer to recover from then when you were younger. It is also really hard when you start to lose people that you care about, parents, siblings, friends, or even your significant other. Throughout my research paper I will define depression, talk about some of the symptoms and treatment options. I will also describe some of the normal age changes and living situations as you age and how depression ties into this. I will then talk about how you can lower your chances for depression.
To start this research paper off, I should start by defining depression. Depression is a very serious medical illness that leaves you with the constant feeling of sadness or a lack of interest in anything. Depression needs to be treated right away because it could eventually lead to harming yourself or even suicide. Depression is common in older adults but it is not a normal part of aging. It may be overlooked for some older adults because sadness is not their main symptom. They may have other, less obvious symptoms of depression or they may not be willing to talk about their feelings. Therefore, doctors may be less likely to recognize that their patient has depression. Depression can happen for a number of reasons such as other medical problems, lo...

... middle of paper ...

...r medications. Some times when older adults have illness or diseases, side effects of their medications can be depression so an easy solution for their doctor to do is switch their medication.
In my research paper I have talked about depression in older adults, and some reasons why it may happen. I also included a couple research articles supporting my topic. I think that aging can be very hard for people and depression is a major issue that can be avoided if taken care of right away. I enjoyed writing this research paper, and reading a bunch of different articles on this topic. I do know that depression does not affect everyone because everyone is different but I believe that it is a big enough issue that it needed to be talked about. I hope that people will become more aware of depression in older adults so that they are able to get the help they need!