Emotional and mental wellbeing (slides) Flashcards
who is included in older adults?
65 and older
(young old 65-75)
(old old 75-85)
(oldest old 85up)
older adults experiencing chronic disease or dementia are at greater risk of __________ .
depression
Women have different coping methods, this may play a role in depression because?
women more commonly ruminate about stress
depression in old age is usually _________ depression
reactive depression
Reactive depression
depression that results from being unable to cope with a major life change. (diagnosis of an illness, death of a loved one)
What are some trends regarding depression in aging
Major depression more prevalent in younger age groups.
but still a common disorder among elderly people.
Can vary in duration and degree.
Depression
a mood disorder typified by a long-term pervasive sense of sadness and hopelessness.
Why is diagnosis of depression difficult in older age
because they tend to be more likely to mask symptoms - reporting physical symptoms and memory loss rather than mood disturbances.
What are some of the consequences of misdiagnosing depression (anxiety) as dementia
may result in a treatable disorder being labeled untreatable/incurable.
What is the most common treatment of depression
drug therapy
Why are elderly individuals not good candidates for antidepressants (drug therapy)
because of side effects.
also frail and smaller so doses can be incorrect. (child doses rather than adult doses should be used).
What is the best treatment for elderly with depression
short term drug therapy in addition to other types of treatment including psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive behavior therapy) and ECT (last resort).
What is dementia
a label for a large family of disorders. Dementias see decline in cognitive functioning (learning, memory, intelligence) does show severe deterioration.
what is the most common form of dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease. more likely in old age
@65 11%
over 65%
risk increases with age
____________ _________ is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills.
Alzheimer’s disease
__________ people in Canada now have Alzheimer’s disease
500,000
What will happen the the rate of AD in the next 25 years
it is projected to double if no preventative treatment does not become available
How does Alzheimer’s disease eventually affects all aspects of a person’s life
there is a progressive decline/damage to certain areas of the brain.
decline in Mental abilities, emotions and moods, behaviors (exit seeking, wandering), physical Abilities
What is the focus of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
Interventions focus on improving functioning/well being(e.g., through environmental modification) and helping family members to cope.
Drugs may help some symptoms temporarily.
What is intelligence
Theoretical limits of performance.
the global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with his environment
Crystallized intelligence
dependent on education and experience (similar to what is assessed by verbal scales of the WAIS)
- Gained through education (vocabulary, etc)
- Increases across the lifespan
- Most jobs depend on your experience (thus crystallized)
- rises or shows stability into the 70s.
Fluid intelligence
require adaptation to new situations not dependent of education/experience (Similar to what is assessed by timed, nonverbal (performance) scales of the WAIS)
- Innate ability to problem solve or deal with novel information
- begins to decline earlier.
What is memory
the ability to retain or store information and retrieve it when needed.
Memory is not only pervasive in everyday life but is essential to identity.
What is the societal stereotype concerning memory and aging?
as we get older we experience a substantial, inevitable decline in memory performance.
