60 senior citizens attend talk on mental illnesses
Dr Damanjit Kaur senior psychiatrist at Faith addressed the gathering
cityairnews
Feb 4, 2021 07:10
0
Chandigarh: As many as 60 members of Senior Citizen Association, sector 38, attended a health talk on ‘common mental illnesses in elderly’ at Faith Hospital, Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Addressing the talk, Dr. Damanjit Kaur senior psychiatrist at Faith said as per WHO the population is ageing rapidly. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60-yr will nearly be doubled from 12% to 22%.
She further informed that depression affects up to 7% of the population. While dementia affects 5% of older population and anxiety disorder affects 3.8% of older population
Giving tips to live healthier mentally in old age, she informed that one should be prepared for change, getting older and retirement involves a change in lifestyle for almost everyone.
You might think that learning new skills is only for young people but actually, volunteering, career changes and returning to education are becoming popular, she opined.
Talk about your problems and say what you feel. Also talk about your emotions to your friends, family members, people with specialist knowledge and who promise confidentiality such as counsel, she advised.
Speaking on how to keep yourself mentally active, she said that playing games like crosswords, chess, word search or housie games with friends can be useful. Keeping yourself busy in hobbies like gardening, cooking, going out to buy groceries etc. are also a good option, she opined.
