In fact, in medicine, whether it is simple senile depression or depression with dementia symptoms, antidepressants are the best choice. Even the elderly who sometimes show mental agitation, irritability and paranoia can be effectively relieved after antidepressant treatment. For example, an elderly patient thought that a thief must have entered the house because he couldn't find anything, so he complained to the police station many times and didn't want to do anything all day because he couldn't get a satisfactory solution. Later, I saw a doctor and took escitalopram oxalate. I said I felt much more relaxed. Although I still forget things, I still can't find anything, but I won't concentrate completely and I won't be upset about it.
Many times, the depressive symptoms of the elderly are not typical, and sometimes they even show mania and irritability, but we can judge whether the elderly have reached the diagnostic criteria of depression through professional aspects such as sleep problems, somatization symptoms, social interests and thinking association speed.
There are many kinds of antidepressants, but they involve the elderly. I think SSRI drugs should be better, because relatively speaking, SSRI drugs have fewer adverse reactions and are more acceptable to the elderly. For example, Escitalopram Oxalate, which I mentioned above, is a new SSRI drug, and its influence on the common adverse drug reactions and chronic diseases such as hypertension in the elderly is definitely minimal. We say that the increase of blood pressure caused by escitalopram oxalate is the smallest, so in principle, escitalopram oxalate is the first choice of antidepressants for elderly patients with a history of hypertension.
Of course, it is also possible to choose other drugs, but we should still pay attention to the adverse reactions of drugs, such as the metabolic burden of long-term medication on liver and kidney function, such as the possibility of dependence or withdrawal reaction when some paroxetine and deanxit stop taking drugs.
Brain atrophy is a common and frequently-occurring disease in middle-aged and elderly people, and the incidence rate is increasing year by year. The onset of brain atrophy is relatively slow, and the clinical manifestations are closely related to the location and degree of brain atrophy. Diffuse cerebral cortical atrophy, mainly manifested as dementia, mental retardation, personality changes, behavioral disorders, and some will be accompanied by hemiplegia and epilepsy; Focal brain atrophy is mainly caused by personality changes of patients;
Cerebellar atrophy is mainly caused by language disorder, ataxia and tremor of hands and feet. Generally speaking, it can be divided into two categories: one is the decline of brain function, which is manifested as dizziness, headache, insomnia, numbness of hands and feet, depression and so on;
The other is mental decline, which is characterized by impaired cognitive ability and social adaptability, such as memory ability, understanding ability, judgment ability, calculation ability, and even dementia. The systemic symptoms of brain atrophy include dizziness, headache, blindness, dreaminess, weakness of waist and knees, numbness of hands and feet, tinnitus and deafness. In the early stage, melons will react slowly, move slowly, talk to themselves and answer irrelevant questions. The most fundamental cause of Alzheimer's disease is the formation of β -amyloid plaques in the brain. Before plaque formation, β -amyloid began to destroy synapses, and the "loss" of synapses led to the death of nerve cells, and nerve cells could not transmit signals to another nerve cell through the "lost" synapses, that is, the loss of neurotransmitters, thus causing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease such as memory disorders and behavioral disorders.
PS natto is a biological compound preparation, which is specially used to supplement the nutrient PS (phosphatidylserine) missing from brain neurons, activate damaged neurons and restore brain dementia. PS (phosphatidylserine) is a nutrient specially used in brain cells to maintain normal protein function, so PS must be supplemented to solve Alzheimer's disease. This is the latest breakthrough achievement made by the international medical community in Alzheimer's disease.
The best way to treat senile depression.
First, adjust your mood.
The method of treating senile depression and adjusting mood is called psychotherapy in clinic. It mainly includes behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, short-term psychodynamic therapy and memory therapy. The process of these methods is different, but in the end, they are all aimed at adjusting the mood of elderly patients with depression.
Second, behavioral therapy.
In the treatment of senile depression, behavioral therapy emphasizes the relationship between emotion and behavior, and holds that the cause of depression is too many unpleasant events and not enough happy events. Therefore, in the process of behavioral therapy, patients should be taught to monitor their emotions and record happy and unpleasant events in their lives.
When using cognitive behavioral therapy to treat depression, we should patiently listen to patients' various discomforts, encourage patients to express their depression, and help patients analyze their own understanding of the environment and themselves on this basis, so that patients can understand the problems of their cognitive model and correct their wrong cognition. Then urge patients to practice changing wrong ideas and establish a healthy and correct attitude.
Third, dynamic therapy.
Short-term psychodynamic therapy should generally follow the standard that patients can perceive their own focus conflicts, understand and think about conflicts from emotional relationships, and have a strong motivation to seek treatment. Patients can establish close relationship with at least one person in their life, and it is easier to establish therapeutic relationship with therapists during treatment, and it is easier to tolerate anxiety and attention caused by treatment. Patients with severe depression are generally not suitable for short-term psychodynamic therapy.
Fourth, memory therapy.
Memory therapy is a simple psychological intervention method. Foreign experts have systematically evaluated the effect of memory intervention on elderly patients with depression, and think that memory therapy is a feasible and valuable intervention method, which can alleviate the depression of the elderly to some extent.
In this case, as children, we must spend more time with the elderly. Children's care and companionship for the elderly is much more effective than many drugs.
The elderly may have various psychological and mental disorders such as anxiety and depression after entering old age, which seriously affects the quality of life. Research shows that the prevalence of mental illness among people over 65 years old accounts for 26% of the elderly population. There are large-scale community epidemiological surveys in China, and there are also surveys in Beijing. The results show that the prevalence rate of depression among people over 65 years old is about 4.4%, and those with severe depression are 1% to 5%. The prevalence rate of elderly people aged 70 to 85 and above has doubled.
Early diagnosis and early treatment are of great significance to senile depression. Moreover, the clinical treatment effect of depression is very good, and more than 90% can be cured.
I would like to remind you that it is very important to improve the early recognition rate of mental illness! Very important!
The core of depression is the decline of motivation, energy and interest. Many elderly patients with depression have hidden manifestations, and their symptoms are more focused on their own bodies or their younger generations, showing irritability, anxiety and physical symptoms. According to the data, about 80% of the elderly patients with depression complained of memory loss, and those with obvious cognitive impairment accounted for 10%~ 15%.
If an old man suddenly has more worries, stops doing what he likes, has less communication with the outside world, and always says that he is not feeling well, then he should consider whether he has depression after ruling out his physical illness. Once the mood becomes extreme, self-enclosed, not talking to others, and afraid of being looked down upon by others, the risk of suicide is high, and you need to go to a psychiatric clinic quickly.
1. The child's company and telephone are both decompressors and warmers.
Old people are "old children", and they will be more dependent on children. "Clinically, if a sick old man has a good family support system, his prognosis will be good. If the care of the children is in place, the elderly will not even get sick. " For the elderly, the company of family members is also a "good medicine".
Children should pay more attention to the thoughts and feelings of the elderly, understand what the elderly need, and provide the care that the elderly need most. Children are advised to call their parents 2-3 times a week. A greeting phone is like a heart warmer, which will make parents feel the warmth of love.
Young people should spend more time with the elderly, not only to eat, but also to take the elderly to the movies and go out to play. Activities with parents are like a stress reducer, which can relieve the depression caused by loneliness.
2. Community fancy activities are a tonic.
"If there is really no one at home, it is ok to go to the community to get companionship." In the community, the mental health of the elderly can be managed, get face-to-face emotional exchanges and social activities, and organize educational games, such as chess, Go, calligraphy, painting, handicrafts, healthy dancing, choirs, Peking Opera and so on. The loneliness of the elderly can be obviously alleviated. This kind of community support is like a tonic, which enriches the old people's later life.
3. Learn more, cultivate more hobbies and do more activities.
If you want to prevent senile depression, I'll give you some suggestions: First, you should have a perfect personality, and the elderly should try to be cheerful, gregarious, cultivate more hobbies, live as independently as possible and don't rely too much on others.
Secondly, we should do more activities within our power, often bask in the sun and pay attention to a balanced diet.
The third is to treat your body correctly, treat other physical diseases in time, and keep your body in good condition, thus resisting bad emotions.
Fourth, we should keep pace with the times, learn more new knowledge and not be eliminated by society.
Medical help and health education are sedatives.
Correct health education and publicity is like a sedative, which can make the elderly live in peace. Note that suicide can be prevented and intervened. Don't be afraid if the old man's mood turns bad and shows the thoughts of world-weariness and suicide. It is most important to accompany the old people to see a doctor as soon as possible and receive formal psychotherapy. Don't be afraid of medical treatment.
After last year's physical examination, the doctor said: Your cerebellum has shrunk a little! Go to the tertiary hospital and check it again. I didn't take what the doctor said seriously. I think, what if I really have cerebellar atrophy? I'll let nature take its course now!
It's hard. We must let nature take its course.