TW: Depression, Death
I was having a really hard time coming up with something to write about this week. I have a lot of thoughts about death philosophically as a human. It is hard to decipher what is valid coherent thought and what is more emotionally rooted. This makes it hard to write about academically.
Geriatric depression has had a huge influence on my family and the way we deal with death collectively. Almost every single one of my grandparents had a level of severity that shortened their lifespan. I cannot express how deeply this influenced my view of death in traumatic ways. But I have had the ability to expand my view of what death and aging mean.
Specifically, when I talk about geriatric depression, I am talking about when elder people start openly lamenting, accepting, and accelerating their death when they are not terminally ill. I think a huge cause of geriatric depression in this generation of elderly people is their lack of understanding of their mental health. Another issue, I think, is also how generally ableist and ageist our society is. Disabled and elderly people are the most vulnerable people in society. We have emotionally and systematically neglected these groups for a long time in western society, and we need to change this.
If aging and disabilities were destigmatized and supported in our society, I believe geriatric depression would be less prevalent as we would be less terrified about what being disabled or elderly means. You can still live a normal, happy, full life if you are disabled or elderly. I believe we should enable this as systematically as possible. Changing our societal relationship with death means becoming more comfortable with the states before death, and understanding that being closer to death does not automatically mean you should resign yourself to wait in agony. Supporting people with cognitive and physical disabilities goes a long way for supporting aging, as when you age, you may develop these disabilities; this does not have to decrease the quality of your life. Our healthcare needs to become more encompassing in this aspect of our lives.
Thank you so much for your vulnerable post and for discussing geriatric depression Maia!
This is true sadly. Death can bring such harmful thoughts and conditions even before its onset. I think your values for the future are really great though and I think is a much healthier and happier future for all of us if implemented.
Hi,
Aging is a scary process and can be quite challenging to cope with for many. I agree, that aging and disabilities have a lot of stigma around them and awareness and education to remove the stigma is important. I envision a world where people are comfortable discussing death and eco-friendly death care options.
I had never heard of geriatric depression before, thank you for bringing the science to my attention.
I very much support your view that the current level of care for the elderly and disabled in society is far from adequate, and mental health education for the elderly is not widely available.
Hi Maia!
In answer to your question... yes! I am scared of getting old. As you outlined, elderly people are some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
I really appreciate what you shared about your family's experience with geriatric depression. I am sorry to hear about the trauma this has caused. Depression is always a difficult subject to talk about, even among family members. I know from my own struggles with mental health.
Your post also reminded me how long it's been since I've seen my grandparents! Most of my family lives in Toronto and I haven't been able to see them for three years. When you haven't seen someone in-person for a while, you forget the importance of that connection. You become oblivious to the mental struggles they have gone through or are still going through.
As you say, support for elders with cognitive disabilities should improve. One of the best measures of any society is how well it treats its most vulnerable members. I'm curious what ideas you have to make healthcare "more encompassing"? Should a greater portion of provincial budgets be devoted to healthcare? Should the government incentivize caregiving services to increase their mental health care capacity?