Introduction:
This essay aims at promoting mental health and well-being
among older people. Promoting mental health and well-being among older people
is important as the number of older people aged 60 years and above, with mental
health problems are increasing day by day. Therefore, the essay will first
define health, in order to understand the relationship between mental health
and well-being. Similarly, this essay will also define mental health and well-being
in order to provide a clearer image of the background on mental health and well-being
based on “No Health without Mental Health” framework.
Secondarily, the essay aims at exploring the
determinants of mental health and well-being by describing and discussing the
general features of good mental health and well-being factors, that are
contributing to good mental health and wellbeing and how older people can be affected
by these factors. While interventions can be identified as one of the major
methods to raise awareness among those are affected as well as likely to be
affected by different factors that are contributing to mental illness, this
essay will discuss about interventions that can be used in order to address the
affected and likely to be affected by mental health issues. Likewise, the essay
will define both primary and secondary interventions to improve observations of
mental illnesses among older people.
Before the conclusion, the essay will outline
different policies and legislations that play important roles in the process of
interventions and how the interventions are being carried out and thoroughly evaluated
the policies and legislation.
Definitions:
Both mental health and
well-being can be identified as individual concepts that are related to each
other at the same time. Nevertheless, these two terms have two different
definitions. Health can be declared as physical, mental as well as social
well-being as a whole and not just being disease free. According to World Health
Organization in 1986, this definition addresses the key aspects of mental
health. Mental health is a condition of well-being where each and every
individual understands the full potential of life can handle stress and deliver
productive work while contributing to the society (WHO, 2009).
However, the idea of mental
health portrays, mental well-being is all about feeling content and lead the
life in a way that makes you feel good about yourself as well as others, being
confident and getting involved with social activities, boosted self-esteem and
self-confidence. The “No Health without Mental Health” concept created by HM
Government framework in 2012 declared that both mental health and elasticity is
the key to have physical healthiness, healthy relationships, and good education
and achieve the full potential. Interventions lay a key role in putting an end
to mental health issues and there are two types of interventions; primary and
secondary. Both are essential to the process as primary intervention mainly focuses
on stopping before it happens, for instance discovery of mental issues among adults
over 60 years old due to depression, through talking therapy. Royal College of
Psychiatrists (2015) indicates that 1 in 5 people living in the community and 2
in 5 spending their lives in care homes are suffering from depression and it is
believed that interventions could have played a part in preventing the
development of mental illness if they were carried out at the early stage of
signs. Nevertheless, secondary intervention would help reducing the impact of the
ailment through frequent checkups and medication. For example, GPs can provide
their support to an older person affected by depression. And at this stage, adults
affected can be prescribed anti-depressant or electroconvulsive therapy to
reduce further development of mental health issues.
Mental illnesses can have
long lasting effects if not identified and treated at an early stage. It is identified
that mental illnesses can affect older people who are in their 60s, and
depression is a key factor, that can damage the day-to-day activities and
making them unable to function (World Health Organization (2009). Mental health
problems can start as simple as symptoms of depression such as losing interest
in life, losing self-confidence, feeling restless and feeling tired for no
particular reason; and then develops into serious complications when it is not
discovered and treated at that stage where it can drive them into having
suicidal thoughts. And at the same time, it is necessary to keep in mind that these
negative results can be a caused by interacting with both internal and external
environment, where the person cannot cope with, such as being widowed,
unemployed, illnesses and disabilities etc. It is safe to assume that mental
health changes at each and every stage in a person’s life and it is directly
connected to his or her behaviour as well as external and internal factors an
individual is dealing with while good mental health improves the overall physical
health of a person (Collingwood, 2013). Thompson, M et al. made similar
observation in 2012 indicating how mental illnesses are determined by many
aspects for instance psychological, biological, social and environmental
factors that operate mutually in a composite state. These are indentified to be
linked with both physical and psychological upbringing of a person and can show
a negative outcome on the well-being of the person. Thompson, M et al. (2012) also established the
demographic factors like age and gender play key roles in determining good
mental health while structural level reasons including economic, social and
cultural issues can have an influence on poor mental health and well-being. Recent
studies conducted by, World Health Organization (2015) shows that depression
and dementia can be identified as the most common neuropsychiatric disorder
among the older people who are in the age group of 60 years and above and 20%
percent of the population in that age category suffer from a mental or neurological
disorder while 6.6% of disabled in this age category are suffering from neurological
and mental disorders. It also confirms that 3.8% in this age category are
dealing with anxiety. Furthermore, it stated that nearly 15% of adults in the
age group of 60 and over suffer from a mental disorder. While depression can be
identified as one of the key factors behind mental health issues among elderly,
poor mental health can also be associated with social outcomes like substance
and alcohol abuse, retirement as well as losing a loved one. However, it is
believed that good health during adolescent contributes to good mental health
and helps preventing future issues related to mental health. However, it is
believed that both mental health and emotional well-being are essential for
physical health of an individual during older age as much as it is important at
any other stage in life.
Mental health not only determines
the mental capabilities of an individual it also linked with all aspects of
life and can have a negative impact on life.
For instance, it can increase the chances of discovering heart diseases
among elderly who are depressed comparing to those who are medically well. And
at the same time an older person suffering from a heart disease and untreated
depression can have a negative effect on the outcome of the physical disease.
Older people often get affected by elder abuse such as,
psychological, physical, sexual, material, emotional, financial abuse, desertion,
being overlooked by the society and losses of dignity and reverence while
current studies suggest that 1 in 10 in this age category experience elder abuse.
This can lead to physical injuries as well as leave deep, sometimes
long-lasting psychological scars like depression and anxiety. . In the
United Kingdom it is understood that mental frailty holds down more than 20
percent of the total weight of diseases; and the expenditure in health care,
productivity drops and people who are unable to contribute to the society due
to mental health issues are entitled to state benefits, as the annual
expenditure on mental health issues in the UK reaches £110 billion a year
(Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010)
Description
Mental health is a
vital aspect of overall well-being which includes many features of mental
health and well-being. They are linked with key elements of good quality of
life including maintaining healthy relationships with family members and
friends, being able to function independently and positively while working for
the betterment of the society. Achieving the satisfaction of having good mental
health will reflect on decision making and being compassionate towards others
in a more positive way. Nevertheless, good mental health can be identified as a
fundamental need for every human being to lead a life with good qualities and
experience the maximum of productivity. The definition of mental health
suggests that the overall health, economic and social accomplishments are not
just aspects of the nonexistence of mental infirmity but existence of positive
mental health and well-being (WHO, 2010).
In the same way, good
characteristics of mental health and well-being are coupled with the idea of
skewed evaluation of well-being, and it can be utilized in order to point out
the quality of life of an individual. Diener in 1984 stated that mental health
is a biased point of view as it talks about the understanding of assessing the life
of an individual in a positive way. He also indicated that subjective
well-being is a crucial element of a good life and both positive and negative
outcomes are likely to follow as a result of the representation of subjective well-being.
Positive and negative aspects of mental health
can be directly linked with age among older people. Physical incompetence,
disabilities, retirements that affect on the income and financial instability,
losing loved ones, being neglected by the loved ones, deaths and being widowed
have a huge impact on the negative side of the well-being and mental health,
hence they are interconnected with the overall physical health of elderly. It
is necessary to make the elderly more engaged with physical activities like
yoga, aerobics, weight training etc, while continue to communicate with them
and encourage communicating with other people who are in the same age category,
as well as make them feel more valuable to the society in order to boost their
self-esteem. Depression in the old age is treatable and even among the elderly
who are suffering from dementia. Behavioural therapy, cognitive behavioural
therapy and life review therapy can be effective in treating the depressed.
Recent studies suggest using psychological and somatic interventions to put off
the commencement of depression among elderly, including cognitive and behavioural
interventions for individuals who are suffering from chronic illnesses. The sufficient
handling of remaining symptoms following a severe depressive occurrence,
including insomnia symptoms, may avert relapse (Fiske. A et al, 2010).
Interventions:
Public health
intervention believes in different defensive channels for mental health and
threats for mental health issues. It also believes in a deeper and well-knitted
approach for mental health matters and promotion of mental well-being. Hence,
good interventions can deliver good results in decreasing the danger of mental
illnesses, such as promotion of health and wellbeing in order to raise
awareness of depression among older people in clinical levels.
Nevertheless, a ‘Needs Assessment’ is
essential before an intervention can be carried out as identifying the
individual needs play a key role in this matter. This helps in recognizing the
ideal support mechanism that suits the individuals according to their
requirements and capabilities, before an intervention is carried out. This
procedure will assist in determining, examining the nature and ground reasons
of the matter. Hence, in order to raise awareness about depression among
elderly on clinical levels needs assessment should be done to generate and
execute interventions that are customized for the needs of the client.
This procedure needs strategies to
support the ones who are affected in order to obtain the knowledge in positive
mental health and well-being and how to respond and deal with day-to-day
depression and modify behaviour to promote positive mental health and trim down
the probability of mental frailty.
Depression among older people needs to
be identified at an early stage to prevent further damage to their mental and physical
health. There are different signs of depression, some sign are obvious and
noticeable, for example behavioural changes such as avoiding family and people
altogether, failure to find satisfaction in day-to-day activities,
restlessness, loss of appetite, being worried and confused for no particular
reason. Nevertheless some signs may not be visible such as emptiness
(Beyondblue, 2015).
Depression can affect both physical and
mental health of older people in short and long term. It is necessary to find
solutions on clinical levels and that’s where primary and secondary
interventions play their roles in order to promote and encourage positive mental
health and well-being among older people. Clinical based interventions which
support those who are affected by depression can decrease the danger of mental
health illnesses and promote good mental health well-being. Primary level
interventions focus on stopping before it happens by getting the patient to be involved
in talking therapy. This helps in observing the behavioural changes and
identifying the root cause. Throughout the observation, it is essential to
connect and communicate to collect necessary information to decide on the best
ways to intervene. Identifying the root cause is important in order to reduce
the damages and this can also have a positive effect on the patient socially
and emotionally, after being able to open up and vocal the matter. Mental
health promotion interventions will constantly focus on promoting constructive
mental health programs by mounting psychological well-being, proficiency and
elasticity, and also by producing caring living environment within their
surroundings.
In order to battle depression the
patient needs to be connected with other people including friends and family to
reduce the effects of feeling neglected. Similarly, being involved in different
activities such as aerobics, yoga or taking up a new hobby can help in reducing
the impact of depression while keeping the mental state active and feeling a
sense of confidence and accomplished. Weight training also gives an
anti-depressant effect and overall being physically active has a positive
effect on the patients (Fiske. A et al, 2010).
Evaluation:
Interventions focus on raising
awareness about depression and its effects among older people. The intervention
can be identified as recognizing depression and prevention techniques.
Similarly, the focal point of intervention was to promote health and well-being
of elderly by pushing them towards healthy activities to keep them active both
mentally and physically. Through talking therapy intervention, it has been
somewhat easier to assess the condition of mental health in elderly and
identify what causes depression, nevertheless lack of actual data and
statistics is a challenge we are currently facing. The
existing levels of provisions made for mental health diseases like depression
and anxiety is insufficient. A research carried on mental health in general suggests
that self harm statistics for the UK claim one of the highest rates in Europe
while women are more likely to be treated for mental health issues compared to men
and depression affects 1 in 5 older people (Mental Health Foundation, 2015).
Due to significant changes including genetic, age related neurobiological
factors as well as traumatic events that occur including cognitive and
functional limitations in the lives of elderly, they are extremely vulnerable
to mental health issues (Fiske. A et al, 2010). The mental health and
well-being of elderly can be enhanced by promoting Active and Healthy Ageing.
Health promotion focused on mental health for elderly entails producing living
circumstances and surroundings that maintain well-being and let people to lead
healthy and incorporated everyday life. Promoting mental health and well-being
based mainly on strategies that make sure older people have the essential
resources to meet their fundamental requirements (WHO, 2015)
The lack of
availability in actual figures and statistics hold by local councils and
clinical level authorities who are responsible in creating and updating health
and well-being strategies, is a problem that was highlighted by the
interventions and similarly they are unaware of the fact whether they are
providing the necessary support to the elderly who are in need of help.
Conclusion:
This essay demonstrated
the prevalence of mental health and promoting well-being among elderly, as well
as how they can be a victim of mental health issues. The essay went on to
highlight the issue of depression among older people which is a key factor in
causing mental health problems in their lives when they are over 60 years and
how it can be prevented. It also stresses the fact that the society needs to
look at the people who are suffering from mental health issues in a more humane
way while depression must be treated at clinical levels. Nevertheless, some
would disagree as there is no enough data to prove the actual figures of older
people affected by depression. There is an increasing demand for talking
therapy and training programs for health professionals in care for elderly in
order to find solutions and promote mental health and well-being among older
people.
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