Mental Illness Diagnosis in Aging Patients

This research reviews literature related to mental health diagnoses in aging patients. Addressed in this review are anxiety, depression/suicide, alcoholism, prescription medication misuse/abuse, non Alzheimer's dementia, and Alzheimer's disease.

Clinical anxiety in elderly persons is defined within the context of feelings experienced by a person (Lane, Terry, & Karageorghis, 1995, pp. 1255-1266). At one level, anxiety is defined as a feeling of mingled dread and apprehension about a person's future where no specific cause for such dread and apprehension is present. At another level anxiety is defined as a chronic feeling of fear by a person. This feeling may be mild in intensity or the feeling fear may be overwhelming for the person so affected. Anxiety also may be a secondary drive involving an acquired avoidance response. In this latter context, when in the presence of the conditioning stimulus, a person will display behavior that may be interpreted as evidence of the presence of anxiety. Such behavior may include spontaneous urination, spontaneous defecation, and an attempt to flee, among other actions.

Four general criteria establish the existence of anxiety (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, pp. 393-444). These criteria are as follows:

1. A person must experience feelings of apprehension or anxiousness to establish the presence of anxiety.

2. To establish the presence of anxiety, a pers

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derly is the isolation and loneliness that leads to despair, also boredom, depression, uselessness, loss of loved ones, economic hardships, general feeling of unhappiness with life, and persons who suffer from a psychological affliction, from loss of purpose and a sense of meaningfulness after retirement and separation from family and friends (Stevens, 1993, pp. 313-325). Additionally, suicide rates among the elderly may be higher than for other age groups because of a widening social acceptance of the concept of the rational suicide for those individuals in the advanced stages of terminal illnesses, with serious and incurable physical illnesses, and those experiencing debilitating pain, with no recourse for relief which would leave then as alert and viable human beings. In this context, many elderly persons have indicated clearly that they no longer want to be burdens, and want to end their lives with dignity and grace while they are still aware and alert human beings. The most effective coping strategy for older adults in combating depression is one that incorporates the development of a sense of personal worth, and the gaining of a sense of control over one's own life (Heikkinen, 1993, pp. 269-277; Porterfield, 1986, pp. 3
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Rhodes Luchetta, Depression/Suicide Studies, Psychiatric Association, Terry Karageorghis, S14 Diagnosis, Lyons Murphy, Brown Davies, Forster Duniho, Snyder Rudberg, Fratiglioni Backman, alzheimer's disease, 1994 pp, elderly persons, american psychiatric, 1993 pp, american psychiatric association, psychiatric association, presence anxiety, psychiatric association 1994, association 1994, feelings apprehension anxiousness, prescription medication, feelings apprehension, establish presence anxiety, apprehension anxiousness establish,
Approximate Word count = 2362
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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