By MidLyfe Editor: Thankfully, the UK population is ageing rapidly. This means there’s more of us and the more of us there are, the more we are seen the valuable consumers we are. In that environment, more products and services will be targeted at the lives we lead. We can expect all manner of goodies that our parent’s generation can’t find on that iPad you gave them. Everything from apparel to Apps (my dad, bless him at nearly 91, keeps asking what an App is) – things are so much different and as the years roll by, this targeting will increasingly make our lives easier.

However, with all the upsides of ageing well, there’s a downside for some. With the number of people aged 65 and over growing by nearly half in the past 30 years – definitely a cause for celebration, older people are more vulnerable to mental health problems. And we should be cautious about this as we make our approach to it.

Society has broadly defined ‘later life’ as starting at 50 years. I guess, if you expect to live into your 80s or 90s, then this seems a fair description – even if we don’t feel it – which of course, we don’t.

Research from the Mental Health Foundation acknowledges that many people do not consider themselves ‘old’ when they get to the age of 50. However – they have included 50-year-olds as part of later life due to several critical factors. Many people will begin to experience physical decline or deterioration in their 50s, and many begin to seriously plan for their retirement, take early retirement or find it difficult to secure employment.

• Since 1974, the number and proportion of older people in the UK population (aged 65 and older) has grown by 47%, making up nearly 18% of the total population in 2014.
• The number of people aged 75 and over has increased by 89% over this period and now makes up 8% of the population.
• Depression affects around 22% of men and 28% of women aged 65 years and over, yet it is estimated that 85% of older people with depression receive no help at all from the NHS.
• It is estimated that the number of people living with dementia worldwide was 44 million, and this was predicted to double by 2030.
• It has been estimated that the total cost of dementia in the UK is £26.3 billion, with an average cost of £32,250 per person.

 

There are five key factors that affect the mental health and wellbeing of people over the age of 50. They are;

• Participation in meaningful activities
• Relationships
• Poverty
• Physical health
• Discrimination

It is fairly obvious that the deterioration of any one of these factors could affect anyone no matter how bulletproof they think they are.

Being engaged in something that you enjoy, like a home business or hobby, being with people who light up your day and being active are just as key as the awful consequences of poverty and discrimination. Keeping fit in your 50s is now known to also be a key factor in staving off conditions such as dementia.

We should also be aware, especially these days, with the challenging world that we live in today that mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with 7.8% of people meeting the criteria for diagnosis and 4-10% of people in England experiencing depression sometime in their lifetime.

If you are concerned that you are developing a mental health problem you should seek the advice and support of your GP as a matter of priority. There is more information HERE