Anxiety among Senior Citizens – Causes and Precautions
Anxiety among Senior Citizens – Causes and Precautions
As they say with old age comes a lot of problems! And it is true since as we all hit our 50s, we all start getting different ailments that we never had before. Anxiety is one among such ailments that hit us hard as we grow old. It’s true that we all get anxiety issues at some point in our life, but the more you grow old it tends to intensify. So, let’s check out some factors that cause anxiety among the elders.
- Physical condition – now as we all grow old, we fall sick more often, get chronic diseases like high blood pressure, heart problems, arthritis etc. Now having these ailments, one may feel depressed or anxious at times. They start to think that they are not going to get well anymore and will remain sick the rest of their lives.
- Mental condition – the diseases not only affect the physical well-being of the person but also affect their mental condition! The more they remain sick or have chronic ailments, the more it seems to affect them mentally, which also leads to severe anxiety issues.
- Fear of the future – the more we grow old, we start to get frightened of might happen in the future. Old people remain in constant tension that something terrible might happen in the future. This kind of pressures can lead up to anxiety
- Worried about themselves – sometimes even if it a regular stomach ache or a simple cold, the older adults seem to worry about the fact and think something has happened to them. They keep on insisting that they can feel something is wrong with them. This kind of fear of unknown ailments can also be the cause for anxiety.
These were some of the causes which lead to constant worry or tension among older adults. Now we will look at the precautions that older people can take to minimize their stresses or anxiety.
- Making them feel secure – if you are staying with an elder having anxiety issues, then reassure him/her that everything is all right with and around him/her and there’s nothing to get worried. Take care of their small needs and wants; don’t make them feel aloof!
- Psychotherapy – when you feel that the older person is having severe anxiety issues, then it’s advisable that you take him to a psychotherapist. Regular sittings can help in the improvement of anxiety issues. Because during this kind of sessions, the patient is taught new and innovative coping techniques.
- Mild medications – sometimes it becomes necessary that doctors prescribe a mild dosage of anti-depression or anti-anxiety medications because there are times when the patient himself/ herself feel that he/she needs medicines to get over their anxiety issues. So, to calm them down and to stop them from worrying in the future doctors advise mild medications like Buspirone, Benzodiazepines and other kinds of anti-depressants. The motive behind giving medicines is to lower the chances of getting severe anxiety attacks.
