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January 30, 2017 - By: Danbury-Seniors
Dr. Donna Pellerin, MD-Psychiatry, was the guest speaker at the January 2017 meeting of the Danbury Commission on Aging. Her presentation was about seniors and depression. Her key points are submitted here by the Commission on Aging for posting on this website:
- Depression often increases as people age, for several reasons.
Retirement: Causes isolation, loss of connection with former colleagues.
Personal loss: Death of a spouse, – or worse, death of a child
Financial strain: Possible decreased income and increased expenses
Loss of independence: Need for others to drive; need for walker, cane, etc.
Multiple medical problems: Depression is a side effect of some medications.
Difficulty sleeping: Some spend more time in bed but with less quality sleep.
Difficulty breathing: Conditions like COPD & emphysema make breathing difficult.
Causes anxiety in extreme cases, e.g., trying to breathe while eating. - Seniors need to stay engaged, to find meaning and purpose in life,
to feel they’re doing something positive for society.
Volunteering allows engagement in meaningful activity; achieves a sense of reward.
It is not psychologically healthy to sit around doing nothing. - Senior centers offer activities
and opportunities to socialize with familiar faces at each visit.
Activities at religious congregations also offer similar involvement and benefits. - Senior don’t always know and won’t always say they’re depressed.
When they are, they need to see a primary care doctor
who can refer them to an appropriate specialist or facility that’s best suited to help.
Or they can start with a social worker who can assess the problem,
then refer them to a specialist or facility.
Or a person in need can call Danbury Department of Psychiatry 203-791-5140. - Treatment: ECT ( electro convulsive therapy, aka shock therapy) is 95% effective.
ECT quickly flushes out brain chemicals that cause depression.
Results are almost immediate, whereas prescription drugs might take days or weeks.
ECT needs to be repeated about every 3 months in order to sustain the effect.
Performed as a surgical procedure at a hospital; patient is anesthetized.
Risk is minimal. Patient awakens with no knowledge of having had a treatment. - There is a shortage of psychiatrists in the USA, especially in rural areas.
To compensate, doctors are conducting patient sessions on the telephone.
Telepsychiatry (psychiatric assessment and care via telecommunications and video conferencing)
will become more common in the future.
The Danbury Commission on Aging meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month (except July and August) at 1:00 p.m. at Danbury City Hall. The meetings are open to all Danbury residents.