California has the highest number of adults aged 65 and older. Older adults are prone to specific mental and physical health conditions more than the rest of the population. It can be difficult for an older adult to receive timely behavioral healthcare due to increased populations and lack of resources in California. For these reasons, older Californians have prevalent mental health needs that require addressing. This guide lists the most common needs.
Isolation and Loneliness Prevention
Friends and loved ones age along with us. Sometimes, this results in older adults living alone or experiencing loneliness due to grief. Additionally, when living family members have left the nest, older adults live alone. While living alone can work well for many people, some older adults can experience symptoms of isolation, distress, and loneliness. Isolation usually occurs due to living alone, a lack of social relationships, or intense grief. Older adults should increase social activity, live in a caring community, and foster positive relationships with friends and family.
Anxiety Management
Anxiety is a prolonged nervousness or fear without any specific cause that significantly reduces the quality of life. Anxiety can happen at any stage in life, but it can be more common in older adults for a lot of reasons, such as fear of death or recent illness diagnoses. Anxiety can be managed and treated with therapy and medication, particularly behavioral healthcare dedicated to senior populations.
Depression Management
Depression is widespread in older Californians; over 15% were diagnosed with some type of depression. Depression is a long-term mental health condition that results in sadness, lack of interest, and apathy; when untreated, it can easily lead to suicide or intense social isolation. Depression can be managed with therapy, medication, a positive social life, a healthy living environment, and more.
Undiagnosed Mental Illness
Many older adults believe that therapy or behavioral healthcare only exists for ‘crazy’ people. Misguided beliefs and a lack of awareness regarding mental health have resulted in many undiagnosed or untreated mental health conditions. Many members of older generations have simply ignored symptoms of common mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Some conditions, like schizophrenia, may only manifest later in life, resulting in delayed diagnoses or treatments. Over one million adults in California have some type of mental illness. Older adults need to realize the importance and benefits of routine behavioral health checkups.
Cognitive Decline and Memory Care
Cognitive decline is quite common in seniors. Aging brains can present with many symptoms, such as memory loss, confusion, mood changes, and personality changes. One of the most significant cognitive diseases is dementia. In California, dementia is considered a public health crisis that will double in number by 2040. The increase in dementia will result in an increased need for supervised senior care communities, including assisted living, nursing homes, and memory care. Memory care, medication, and cognitive skills are great ways to promote brain health.
Abuse and Trauma Resources
Many older adults have experienced some sort of trauma in their lives, from family abuse, war, oppression, recessions, and more. Significant trauma can result in conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, trauma or abuse can even happen during the senior years, such as neglect in a nursing home or some other form of elder abuse. In larger California cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, there is a significant older adult population and fewer resources to provide adequate care. It’s not uncommon for Los Angeles nursing home abuse to make headlines due to ill-equipped senior communities cutting corners when it comes to staff training and resident supervision. Older trauma and abuse survivors need to be permanently removed from the hostile environment and given adequate behavioral health treatments to improve symptoms.
Excellent Behavioral Healthcare
One bad therapist or mental health appointment can turn people away from behavioral healthcare entirely, particularly for seniors who may not understand how easily mental illness can affect their quality of life. For these reasons, one of the most critical needs for seniors in California (and everywhere) is positive and excellent-quality behavioral healthcare. Unfortunately, behavioral healthcare is expected to increase in demand but not supply as healthcare provider numbers decrease. More behavioral health specialists, especially for older adults, are necessary to promote wellness.
Conclusion
California has the largest population of older adults, and many of them are experiencing symptoms of mental illness, whether they’re aware or not. Depression, anxiety, abuse, and trauma are all common among older adults in particular. California has a large quantity of older adults with depression or cognitive conditions like dementia. Seniors must get the behavioral healthcare they need, but a decrease in providers could prove dire for current and future aging populations. Therapy, medication, memory care, beneficial living environments, and positive social relationships significantly improve mental health symptoms, particularly for older adults.
