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Depression is a type of illness that isn't like others. It has no active, obvious signs that other people can see, and it can happen to anyone, including those in their 50s.
It's a complicated problem that even the happiest people who seem satisfied with their lives so far might be experiencing and hiding this personal issue. However, as scary as it sounds, it's not something you can't overcome. You can do something about it to help improve your living situation, even in a delicate age.
To learn more, here's what you need to know about depression in your 50s.
Depression in Elderly
What makes depression challenging is that it can be masked under a beautiful smile. That said, depression in most adults and middle ages doesn't appear sad. Other seniors claim that they don't feel sad at all. However, remember that depression can affect your regular life in several ways.
Common symptoms in the 50s include lack of energy, low motivation, and physical problems. Some physical complaints include worsening headaches and even arthritis pain. These symptoms may sound common in their age, but issues related to this due to depression are another story.
Moreover, you might think that at your age, experiencing depression is unheard of. You might think you have a good retirement life, a happy family, and a roof above your head, so what could be the reason? In longitudinal experiments, some patterns reflected how happiness dips gradually throughout adult life, and the lowest point was recorded at around 40s to early 50s.
How to Cope with Depression?
Depression can occur to anyone, even if they haven't experienced any significant incident that affected their life. You need to note that different factors can be the reason for this. You might be confused about how and when it started or how to cope. If you're wondering how here are a few ways to help you cope with your depression.
Normalize and Internalize Your Feelings
First, you must understand that depression may happen at some point in any elderly's life. You're not alone. Take your time accepting your feelings and learning how to accept them. Though you may struggle to understand your feelings, don't beat yourself up. Be kind to yourself and prevent blaming yourself for what you are thinking.
Visit Your Healthcare Provider
If you start to feel unusual, visiting your healthcare provider would be the best thing that you should do. You must forget the stigma surrounding mental health problems and visit institutions like psych clinics to do that. Remember that people who visit them need help like you do. They're also facing the same or an entirely different type of mental health problem, and reaching out to a professional is, after all, the best thing you can do.
On top of the therapy they might present, your healthcare provider might also introduce you to antidepressants or prescriptions related to anxiety.
Purchasing antidepressants can be expensive enough. However, doctors sometimes prescribe mood stabilizers and pills for your anxiety that may be comorbid with your depression, which makes it even more costly and challenging.
On the brighter side, mainly prescribed prescriptions like Xanax are prescribed to patients who have an anxiety disorder to help manage their symptoms. This prescription has coupons to help patients purchase them for a discounted price. Fortunately, some coupons cover antidepressant prescriptions as well.
Visit Group Sessions
As mentioned, depression is almost common to people at your age. If you look into your locale, you might find communities like support groups for people with depression. Visiting in group sessions will allow you to understand better what you're going through.
Aside from that, you'll also discover how people live their lives with the same conditions as yours and learn about how they cope as well. Most importantly, it will help you remember that you're not going through this battle alone.
Go Out As Much As You Can
Having depression makes older adults have low energy and low motivation. As such, even going to their bed is a struggle. However, as someone who has realized their problem and is trying to be better, doing simple things like walking, visiting a neighbor, or accompanying your dog would greatly help.
It allows you to breathe fresh air, appreciate your surroundings, and be more grounded in the present. It may take too much of your energy, but it will help you ten-fold in ten-folds as a return.
Discover A New Skill
No matter how simple or as complicated as you may think, it's never too late to discover a new skill—finding new skills as your new hobby keeps you busy. It will give you a new meaning in life, which helps you look forward to tomorrow. So, better do that new set you bought or try out that new hobby you discovered on the internet today.
Get More Sleep
This straightforward tip seems to be the hardest to do, especially if you have some issues sleeping at night. However, many adults experience sleeping problems, but you must understand that lack of sleep can only worsen depression.
Nonetheless, you should understand that getting enough sleep allows your mind to rest. Aside from that, it aids your body and brain to function properly the next day. It will help if you aim to get at least seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
Final Thoughts
Above all, you must remember that you should never diagnose yourself with depression when you start feeling blue. However, if you think it's been a long time, but your sadness or lack of energy isn't improving, you should visit your doctor as soon as possible. Just remember that you're never alone in this battle. If you need help, use all the resources available near you.