If an elderly member in your family shows signs of forgetfulness, don’t ignore it as another sign of old age. “They may be showing symptoms of dementia. Take him or her to a psychiatrist and go for a complete screening,” said Mathew Varghese, professor, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute for Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru.
He was here on Saturday to attend a seminar on ‘Mental health in the elderly: issues and services’.
“There is a practice to ignore forgetfulness as a sign of old age. It is not normal to forget. If you forget things that you do regularly at home, it needs medical care,” Dr. Varghese said.
He said there was a difference between “healthy ageing” and “successful ageing”. Pointing out the common mental health problems seen among the elderly, Dr. Varghese said anxiety related to daily activities, sad mood, increased fatigue, and sleeplessness should be taken seriously and brought to a physician’s attention.
About treatment options, he said regular physical activities, balanced diet, sleep hygiene, intellectual and social activities and networking too were important besides medical attention.
Quoting a study conducted in 2000 by Becca R. Levy of Yale University, and others, Dr. Varghese said positive perception of self increased one’s longevity. Life satisfaction, social support system, good physical and mental health, financial security and personal control over one’s life were essential for successful ageing.
Asked to what extent our public health system was prepared to handle mental health cases among the elderly, he said, “We are not prepared. There is a National Programme for the Elderly that began in 2012. ₹400 crore has been earmarked for different projects. The work is under progress.”
Two national centres and eight regional centres are being set up under the programme. “One of the regional centres is in Thiruvananthapuram,” he added.
