Older Adults

With that in mind, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has developed this cue card for recognizing the signs of depression in older adult.

When speaking with an older adult in crisis it may be helpful to ask them if they feel:

• Nervous or empty
• guilty or worthless
• very tired and slowed down
• you don’t enjoy things the way you used to
• restless or irritable
• like no one loves you
• like life is not worth living

Or if they are:

• sleeping more or less than usual
• eating more or less than usual
• having persistent headaches, stomachaches or chronic pain

These may be symptoms of depression, a treatable medical illness. But your doctor can only treat you if you say how you are really feeling.