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Geriatric psychiatrists are available today at Delos Psychiatry! To consult our psychiatrists, call us or schedule an appointment online. We are conveniently located at 2501 Walnut St. Suite 204 Boulder, CO 80302.
The elderly population is particularly susceptible to a number of mental health issues. Neurological disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse problems, can impact the senior population for a variety of reasons. While many seniors report supportive social connections, they also are susceptible to experiencing loneliness and severed personal ties.
Every age demographic has some mental health risk factors they may be more susceptible to, and while elderly people experience life stressors that can be experienced at any age, they experience others that are reflective of their specific concerns such as declining health and loss of functional ability.
Declining faculties can explicitly lead to a mental disorder like dementia, but it can also trigger disorders like depression or anxiety due to the general stress the declining faculties are putting on their life. A minimum of one in four elderly people experience one kind of mental disorder or another.
Seeking prompt treatment upon the discovery of early warning signs of a mental health condition is the best course of action. Early treatment of neurological and mental disorders, as well as substance use disorders in the elderly population, is imperative to success.
A combination of psychiatric and pharmaceutical care is the usual course of action, but each patient’s needs will differ based on the specifics of their condition and a specifically tailored treatment plan will be devised to optimize mental wellness and overall health.
Some conditions such as dementia are as of today, incurable, but early diagnosis allows healthcare professionals to manage the condition to the best of their abilities. Detecting dementia early assists with optimizing mental and physical health, well-being, and functional ability.
Early detection also helps treat and identify any potential accompanying physical illness. Challenging behavior as a result of dementia can be managed more fully when detected early. And information can be provided to families and primary caregivers to ensure that the condition is managed to the fullest extent possible.
Mental health issues are not certain to spring up with aging although the elderly populations’ higher rate of exposure to specific life stressors and the adverse effects of their development of mental health issues make early and efficient mental health treatment important.
Mental health issues can exacerbate the symptoms of other declining functions or ailments a senior may already be living with.
Lagging mental health leads to potential negative issues affecting overall health and can lead to prolonged hospital stays for other conditions which add additional life stressors and result in a vicious cycle of mental health worsening physical health followed by worsening physical health and mental health.
Elderly individuals may also struggle disproportionately with day-to-day activities and quality of life in the throes of a mental health condition.
Psychiatric disorders are fairly common among elderly people due to a variety of factors. Among older people, depression is the most frequently occurring mental health problem, and individuals aged 85 years and older commit suicide at the highest rate of any age group.
Common mental health problems among seniors include psychosis, dementia, anxiety disorders, mood disorders such as bipolar disorder, behavioral and sleep disorders, and more.
Elderly individuals find themselves disproportionately exposed to life stressors such as loneliness and lagging physical health which can cause and worsen mental health conditions. Geriatric treatment is available for patients in Boulder, CO, with Delos. Delos is at the forefront of excellence in mental health services for geriatric care. Reach out to us today and let us help with your mental health so that you can enjoy life again in your older years. For more information, call us or schedule an appointment online.
We are conveniently located at 2501 Walnut St. Suite 204 Boulder, CO 80302. We serve patients from Boulder CO, Denver CO, Silverthorne CO, Longmont CO, Superior CO, Lafayette CO, Broomfield CO, Erie CO, and Niwot CO.
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