Tag Archives: depression

How does depression affect the elderly?

 Guest Blog from Jason Tucker

Depression can affect anyone regardless of age or gender but it is particularly common in elderly patients. Although the onset of depression is often attributed to specific events, a particular incident or situation may simply be a contributory factor rather than the cause. Whilst a specific event or set of circumstances may contribute to the onset of depression, the illness will manifest itself in the same way regardless of the cause of the trigger. Studies have shown that the brain circuits of patients suffering depression show changes to the way the brain manages mood, appetite, sleeping and behaviour. Whilst depression can be a distinct illness and appear without any other illnesses, patients often develop depression as a result of other illness. Elderly patients may find they develop depression following the onset of another illness but Doctors are often able to treat the depression successfully.

Film premiere highlights extra support for Torbay carers

Help for families supporting an older person suffering from depression, anxiety or psychosis.

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

 

  1. ​Carers, patients and healthcare staff from across Torbay and Southern Devon recently came together to celebrate the launch of a new educational film to help families supporting an older person suffering from depression, anxiety or psychosis.
  2. Funded and produced in collaboration between Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS Trust’s Torbay Carers Services and Devon Partnership NHS Trust, the film is the third in a series of DVDs aimed at supporting unpaid carers.

Caring for an Older Person with Depression, Anxiety or Psychosis follows on from two highly successful films about dementia. The films share the experience of living with, and caring for, someone with mental ill health and explore the ways in which people learn to cope with the challenges involved.

This latest film features four couples who have lived with depression, anxiety or a psychotic illness. They openly discuss what happened to them, the effect of their illness on their daily lives and relationships and how they have come through their struggles with ill health. Carers talk about the effect on the person with the illness and on themselves.

Mental health spending falls for first time in 10 years

Total government expenditure on services down by £150m, the first reduction since 2001, says Department of Health report

 

 

More than 6 million Britons are estimated to sufer from depression each year.

Spending in real terms on mental health has declined for the first time in a decade, a report for the Department of Health has found.

Although one of the coalition’s first big policy announcements was to declare that mental health ought to have “parity with physical health in the NHS”, investment in mental health for working-age adults dropped by 1%, once inflation is taken into account, to £6.63bn. For the elderly the recorded fall in real terms spending was 3.1% to £2.83bn.

In total, spending on mental health services in England dropped by £150m, the first fall since 2001. However this drop comes after a decade of rising investment: in 2001 just £4.1bn was spent on working-age adults mental health.