Half of over-55s experience mental health problems

Nearly half of adults aged 55 and over have experienced mental health problems, leading to health bodies to call on GPs to spot the warning signs.

According to Age UK, 7.7 million people aged over 55 say they have experienced depression, while 7.3 million have suffered with anxiety. Worryingly, despite the growth in ill health, 35 per cent of respondents to the YouGov research say they did not know where to go for help and support.

Additionally, 25 per cent said they felt it was more difficult for older people to discuss mental health issues such as anxiety or depression, compared to younger people.

The charity and NHS England are collaborating to published new guidance, Mental health in older people, to help GPs spot the tell-tale signs of anxiety and depression, and identify a range of mental health problems including those which specifically affect older people.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK Director commented: “In recent years there’s been nothing short of a cultural revolution in our willingness to be open about mental ill health, which is an essential pre-condition to people getting help, but it’s one that may well have left many older people behind. They grew up in an era when there was a real stigma associated with mental illness so for many these attitudes are deeply engrained and still driving their behaviour today.

“A further barrier to seeking support is that there is a widespread lack of awareness about effective treatments, beyond ‘taking pills’, which many older people feel they do quite enough of already. And finally, it is understandable if a lot of older people, having seen so much and having experienced so many ups and downs through life, take the view that feeling depressed or anxious is just something they have to put up with, not illnesses that are just as deserving of a proper medical response as a physical problem like a chest infection or a leg ulcer. For some they will indeed be recurrent problems that they have long since given up any hope of defeating.”

Alistair Burns, National Clinical Director for Dementia, NHS England, added: “This is further evidence to show why the NHS is putting mental health front and centre of patient care. As part of what has been independently described as ‘the world’s most ambitious effort to treat depression, anxiety and other common mental illnesses’, we are helping doctors to recognise and respond to mental ill-health in later life.

“Depression and anxiety affect nearly eight million people over 55, but can often go unnoticed and untreated. Older people mustn’t miss out on help and treatment because of a ‘stiff upper lip’ approach to dealing with problems, or because they aren’t offered or don’t know where to go for help. GPs are the first port of call for many older people, so we are equipping doctors and their teams to better spot and tackle mental ill health in older adults.”