The feeling of nervousness, fear, and anxiety are common among people of all ages starting from children to adults and older adults. But when these feelings go beyond a certain limit and interfere with your everyday life, it’s a sign that you may have an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorders affect nearly 10 to 20% of older adults. But it is often found that the disorder goes undiagnosed. Anxiety disorder is more common in older adults than depression and cognitive disorders. The most common types of anxiety disorders found in older adults are generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Symptoms of anxiety in seniors
The different types of anxiety disorders as explained above, should not be confused as just a part of the aging process. It is often seen that we overlook various physical, behavioral, and mental problems in seniors considering it to be a part of the aging process. But in reality, the fact may be completely different. The symptoms of anxiety in older adults need special attention as it could be very distressing. Hence to help you easily identify the symptoms of anxiety and find the necessary solution, below mentioned are a few common symptoms of anxiety in older adults.
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Excessive sweating
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Sleepless nights
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Breathing difficulty
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Light-headedness
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Digestion problems
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Headaches
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Irrational and scary thoughts
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Loss of appetite and changes in eating habits
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Substance abuse
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Obsessive thoughts
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Isolating and withdrawal behavior
If you find one or more of the above symptoms in your aging loved ones, it’s a good idea to take the advice of a medical professional. Because, if these symptoms are not dealt with at an early stage, the symptoms may escalate and give rise to further health complications like, a weakened immune system, nervous system fatigue, high blood sugar, muscle tension, cardiovascular problems, breathing difficulty, etc. Besides developing all these symptoms, they may be open to a greater risk of developing other mental health complications like depression and suicidal thoughts. Along with getting proper medical treatment, it’s also necessary that you try to ease some tensions and burdens bothering them.
Ways to cope with anxiety in older adults
If you think your loved senior is experiencing an anxiety disorder, it’s best to seek immediate solutions and address medical experts. The sooner you will identify the problem and look out for a solution the better result you will get. But at the same time, it’s also necessary to add therapy with medication in the anxiety care plan for seniors to get the best result. Besides consulting a doctor it’s also recommended to try the below-mentioned ways to cope with anxiety in older adults.
Social support
People often become less mobile with age. This is one of the reasons that seniors often feel lonely and secluded from society. You may have a senior relative whose ability to get out and meet with their friends and family has reduced due to their physical ailments. This as a result creates a sense of loneliness and isolation in seniors resulting in depression and anxiety.
Thus, in such a situation, if you can arrange for social support for your old-age adult and try to keep them engaged with more people around them, this may eventually help them feel less anxious.
Calming exercise
For older adults who are suffering from moderate anxiety, calming exercise can be of great help to ease the symptoms. Breathing exercises accompanied by yoga and mild physical exercises can help anxiety sufferers by supplying sufficient oxygen to the body and maintaining blood circulation.
Consider professional help
If the symptoms are quite serious and the basic anxiety relief techniques cannot alleviate the symptoms, it’s a good idea to consult a medical professional without any further delay. Anti-anxiety medications can have quick positive results on seniors. But at the same time, these medications may have some side effects and should be avoided when someone is already consuming a range of medicines.
In such a situation, you may consider trying a more natural way to treat anxiety in seniors. This includes the use of essential oils including CBD oil to cure the symptoms of anxiety in seniors. CBD oil doesn’t have any side effects. Yet, it’s always better to learn and gather sufficient knowledge about the same before administering it to your loved ones. A few experts have shared their opinion at https://www.bellevuereporter.com/marketplace/10-best-cbd-oil-for-anxiety/ about the usage and benefits of CBD oil on older adults.