Studies show that there is significant mental health morbidity in adults above 60 years of age in India. Approximately 20.5% of older individuals are estimated to suffer from mental health morbidity. Also, surveys revealed that India's approximately 17.13 million older citizens suffer from mental health disorders.
Regardless, a few of the common issues faced by people with geriatric psychiatry include the following.
1. Depression
The older population frequently experiences depression. In this regard, a few possible causes include the loss of a spouse, loneliness, empty nest syndrome, decreased mobility, and trouble transitioning to retirement
Psychologists sometimes define old age as integrity versus despair. Here, integrity is often experienced by those who are content with and accepting of their lives as they have lived. But unfortunately, many people tend to look back with worries or feel hopeless about their present situation.
2. Dementia
Dementia is typically observed in individuals over the age of 65. This neurodegenerative condition, dementia, is characterised by issues with intellectual functioning, and the most notable characteristic is memory loss.
In this case, as the neurons or brain cells age, people may begin to forget names, locations, things, and other crucial information. Also, it's not uncommon for people to experience issues like wandering off in public, trouble remembering words, irritability, restlessness, sleep disorders, and occasionally delusions.
3. Delirium
Delirium is typically a passing mental condition characterised by confusion, disorientation, and the inability to think or recall things effectively. Most of the time, it lasts for many days or more.
Some of the symptoms include changes in alertness level, disorientation, difficulty concentrating, talking illogically, sleep disruptions, mood changes, hallucinations, and delusions. In this regard, the elderly population can experience this issue more frequently than younger people. To cure it, psychiatric and neurological care is necessary, but occupational therapy is also used.
4. Normal Ageing
The ability to identify cognitive impairment depends on awareness of the personality and cognitive changes that come with ageing. Age-related changes in sleep, eyesight, and glomerular filtration rate are typical and usually expected. Besides this, the psychomotor speed and the capacity for multitasking also decline and do not portend more significant damage.
Regardless, with time, vocabulary has the potential to get strong, and core personality qualities often remain constant. Furthermore, any changes in these qualities are symptoms of a mental illness or cognitive disorder.
5. Other Issues
In addition to the problems mentioned above, there are several other concerns about psychiatry that older people may encounter. These include clinical issues like OCD, psychosis, delusional illness, adjustment disorders, psychosis, and so on.