One of the issues related to our increasingly longer lifespans in the United States is the question of quality of life. People are living longer than ever before, but reaching milestones beyond 70 doesn’t necessarily look like the joyful jaunts one sees in advertisements for erectile dysfunction drugs or adult undergarments. Sometimes it means being or feeling increasingly alone while living on a limited income and struggling with physical challenges. Sometimes a long life feels less like a gift and more like a burden. Here’s an excerpt from an article about Evelyn Burns-Weinrib, an elderly Canadian woman who survived a suicide attempt with a new mission– helping people recognize and respond to the symptoms of depression in senior citizens. Click the link below for the full article, and if you recognize any of the symptoms in yourself or a loved one, please seek help.
Getting old isn’t easy, (Burns-Weinrib) notes in a nevertheless upbeat interview.
“You know what? The person who called it ’the golden years’ was young,” she remarks wryly.
“It’s very difficult to get older. Because getting older is made up of a lot of losses. … We lose a lot of our physical ability, our mental ability. It creeps up on us. We lose family members, we lose friends.”
“So even if you’ve never been depressed in your life, getting older can bring on depression or it can make existing depression worse.”