Senior Mental Health: How to Age Well Mentally and Emotionally
The technical age for being a senior is 62, or retirement age. Some say 65 makes you a senior, which correlates with the age a person qualifies for Medicare. The World Health Organization identifies seniors as anyone over 60 when discussing mental health. Among that group, 20% struggle with a mental health or neurological disorder. Americans over 65 make up 16% of the population. Sadly, this population accounts for a higher percentage of total suicides, 19%, according to reports. Unfortunately, substance misuse is also increasing among older adults, with over one million adults over 65 having a substance use disorder. The AARP research team conducted a survey on people 50 and older. In the two weeks before the survey, 45% of the participants reported having anxiety, 31% felt depressed or hopeless, and 52% had sleep disturbances. Symptoms like these reduce quality of life for our seniors. Mental Health and Aging …