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How Can Your Aging Adult Determine Whether She’s Feeling Grief or Depression?

Home Care Services in Springfield VA: Senior Grief or Depression?

Home Care Services in Springfield VA: Senior Grief or Depression?

Depression and grief can look very similar from the outside.  People who are grieving can be extremely sad, but that may not be actual depression.  Determining the differences between these two conditions can ensure that you get the right help for your elderly family member.

 

Grief Can Lead to Depression, but They’re Different

Grief involves loss, whether that’s loss of a person or some other type of loss.  Depression can be a result of a loss, but it’s still quite different from grief.  Depression is more a pervasive sadness that takes over your aging adult’s life.  Sometimes it’s not so easy to tell the difference between the two.

 

Grief Is All the Emotions

When your elderly family member is grieving, she’s going to have good days and days that aren’t so good.  She may also experience a wide range of emotions from some of the highest highs to the lowest lows.  During the grieving process, your elderly family member might choose to go through her happy memories, before the loss, and there are emotions associated with that.  It’s a constant up and down of all of the emotions.

 

Depression Is More Constant

Depression, on the other hand, is much less like a roller coaster.  It’s fairly even-keeled if a little bit of a downer.  In fact, that’s the source of depression’s name.  Your aging family member’s entire emotional aspect is depressed and held low.  She’s likely to be feeling extreme sadness, all the time, as opposed to having good days and bad days.

 

Seek Help for Your Aging Adult

If you’re witnessing your elderly family member dealing with either grief or depression, talk to her doctor about what you can do for her.  There may be medications or other types of treatment, such as talking to a counselor, that your elderly family member is willing to try.  But ignoring the issue won’t help at all.

Whether your elderly family member is experiencing grief or depression, make sure that life is simple for her now.  Consider hiring elderly care providers to take over some of the tasks that are becoming difficult for her.

 

If you or a loved-one are considering home care services in Springfield, VA, please contact the caring staff at Quality Health Services LLC. Call today 703-910-7081.

 

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Ivo Ngosong, RN, Owner

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