Elderly people always feel anxious, chest tightness, and discomfort all over their body, which may be physical symptoms caused by depression

A friend told Huazi that her mother had been acting strange recently. Sometimes she said she felt anxious, had chest tightness, and felt uncomfortable all over. But after taking her to the hospital for several checkups, no specific illness was found. But sometimes, she became indifferent and depressed. She would only get a response after a few words. What happened?

Hua Zi said that if the hospital examination ruled out organic lesions, the elderly with these symptoms should be wary of depression. Because elderly depression is more hidden, the elderly will express their emotional pain in the form of physical symptoms.

1. The elderly are prone to depression

Depression is an invisible and intangible mental illness, with an incidence rate of about 11% in the general population, and a higher incidence rate among the elderly . However, depression is not as obvious as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and "three highs" chronic diseases, so it is easy to be ignored. However, the impact of depression on people cannot be underestimated. The suicide rate of the elderly is significantly higher than that of other age groups.

There are three reasons why the elderly are prone to depression:

1. Primary depression : People who already suffer from depression will gradually develop depression as they age and the condition will worsen in old age.

2. Long-term diseases leading to depression : The elderly are prone to major organic diseases, such as stroke, diabetic foot, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure and other diseases with high disability rates. Long-term suffering from the disease will lead to depression.

3. Aging causes depression : Aging causes hardening of the brain's blood vessels, decreased blood supply, and reduced secretion of neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, etc.), which can also cause depression.

2. Diagnosis of depression in the elderly is a difficult problem

Depression is a mental illness that is difficult for the elderly to understand, but the pain caused by the disease will always exist, and it may manifest as physical symptoms such as repeated gastrointestinal discomfort, palpitations, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing . In fact, these are physical expressions of emotional pain.

Some elderly people may become depressed and moody, and respond less to external stimuli, giving people the impression that they are "old and confused" ; some elderly people often need their children to accompany them, or feel that they have a serious illness and ask their children to take them to the hospital for examination, but when the cause of the illness cannot be found, they will still repeatedly ask to go for examination, giving people the impression that they are making a fuss .

The elderly do not admit that they suffer from "mental illness" and will repeatedly visit cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology and other departments instead of going to psychiatric specialists, which leads to an extremely high misdiagnosis rate of elderly depression.

3. Elderly depression can be treated

When elderly people experience mood changes or physical symptoms that cannot be diagnosed after repeated visits, it is recommended that they go to a psychological clinic for diagnosis and treatment . If they are diagnosed with depression, they should receive treatment under the guidance of a doctor. It should be noted that depression has a long course and may recur, so long-term treatment is required.

In the treatment of depression in the elderly, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are commonly used , such as sertraline, citalopram, paroxetine and other drugs. If SSRI is not effective, dual-channel antidepressants (SNRI) can also be used, such as venlafaxine, duloxetine and other drugs.

However, it should be noted that the elderly have many underlying diseases and their medication is complicated. When choosing medications, attention should be paid to interactions with other drugs.

In summary, elderly depression is a hidden disease. It is usually difficult for the elderly to know it, but it may be manifested through emotional changes and physical symptoms. Relatives and friends around them need to pay more attention and be more understanding and tolerant of the elderly. It is very likely that the elderly are not being unreasonable, but are just sick. If you can't find the cause of the disease in other departments, you can try going to the psychological clinic.

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