Depression in seniors is quite prevalent, but the good thing is that it is less of a risk compared to other age groups. However, there is another battle connected with depression particularly in seniors: hopelessness.
An interesting study tested The Hopelessness Scale, which was created to quantify hopelessness using particular questions in seniors diagnosed with a major depressive disorder. The scale was shown to be consistent with these seniors and their depressions. Indicators of hopelessness were based on three factors: the positive outcomes of the future (hopefulness), issues in control and feelings of giving up, and future expectations. All factors were closely tied with depression and suicidal intent in these seniors. Another study done in the Netherlands revealed the true essence behind these feelings of hopelessness that seniors (may) have as “a tangle of inability and unwillingness to connect to one’s actual life.”
Both studies show that seniors can feel like giving up and it can be noticeable in their behavior. They start to detach from their world: they stop eating, receiving necessary care for themselves, interacting with family or friends, or even talking. When confronted with loving words about this behavior, the words seem to fall by the waste side. The appearance is stubbornness but the reality is hopelessness.
To a loved one taking care of a senior, this is hard to watch and one feels helpless. So what can one do? How does one help someone who has given up? There is no simple answer but here are some tips:
- Do not force them. If the hopeless are resistant to receiving care, it is a fruitless effort to make them want to receive help. Becoming overbearing or demanding to a senior will only push them away, and might even make them more resistant to receiving care. This tip requires patience on the part of the caregiver. It means waiting for the opportune time to talk to them about their needs.
- Listen. Do not forget the reality of what these seniors may be feeling. The issue is deeper. Hopeless seniors, at the end of the day, need an ear to listen and perhaps a shoulder to cry on. Listen to their needs and painfully when they open up to you. It is only then can one empathize with their situation and help them appropriately.
- Enlist the help of professionals. If these seniors continue to resist every attempt to help them see their need to take care of themself, seek help from a caregiver, nurse, or case manager as the Mayo Clinic suggests. Maybe the words don’t need to come from a loved one but from someone who has the clinical expertise to help these seniors.
The hopeless need hope, and loved ones are the people who can give it to them (or at least point them in the direction). Do not become hopeless in your efforts to help your senior loved ones, but become the helper they need so they can persevere in their life.
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By: Jonathan Reza
Office Support Specialist at WellPath Partners
B.S. in Philosophy at University of Redlands
M.A. candidate in Philosophy at California State University, Long Beach
