my mom

last month my mom having a symptom that what i called a depression disorder. i don't know what kind of depression she had but the sympthom is just like she feel guilty about something happens in our family..

apart of that she become moody, quiet person, always crying and cannot sleep at night.

as a son, i feel worry about her situation. my question is, what is actually happens to her and what kind of treatment which is best for her and how is that best way to deal with this

thanks for your time and i hope you can answer me clearly

Dear left handed !

I think your are right to consider a depressive disorder. But to make a clear diagnosis you should advice her to go to a local GP and / or psychiatrist for a further evaluation.

The marked change of mood and activity and the insomnia symptoms are rather typical symptoms of depression in elderly people. The thought disturbances with feelings of guilt or worthlessness are also frequently seen in depressive disorders. A patient might think that he or she is responsible for all bad events in life, has not more money to make his living or will cause further problems for the whole family. Sometimes this can be caused by psychotic / paranoid symptoms secondary to depression. But it could also be related to anxiety symptoms. This should be evaluated by a doctor.

Treatment will consider a pharmacological approach with an antidepressant (e.g. SSRI = Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor). To get a quick relief of the depressive symptoms some doctors will recommend an anxiolytic medication at the beginning (using benzodiazepines) for about 2-3 weeks until the antidepressant medication will reach its full effects.

If the symptoms cause severe impairments of daily activities (including eating or drinking) it might be necessary to look for an impatient treatment. But usually this will be done with a regular follow-up by your local doctors.

hi there,

thanks for the information and advices you gave to me. it is a great advice and i promise to follow that advices and take a good care of my mom..

i have another question for you regarding this topic. if this depression things is not cure for a long time, it is possible that my mom become insane or crazy?

another thing is, it is true that this depression can be inherited? my mom said to me that our great grandfather also end up his life with a condition of being crazy.so, she assumed that her condition right now is just because she was inherited from our grand father.

if its true, i am also worry about this things. it possible that i am also can inherit this types of sympthom?

thanks martin

Dear left hand !

There are only very few disorders that end up in such a condition. I think the most relevant disorder of elderly people with a marked impariment of their memory and behaviour would be a kind or dementia. This is a condition with some genetic traits, but we all are more or less prone to a loss of our cognitive functions.

A usual depression would not cause a condition you would call crazy! Most depressive disorders will stop after a longer time even without treamtent. Modern treatment options give a good chance of relief within a reasonable time. Without treatment there is a special condition called pseudodementia with impariments similar to a dementia. But with a treatment the symptoms will be gone. So there is no reason to consider such a worse outcome. Psychotic symptoms might be more difficult, but we have different options for treatment. A start of a chronic psychotic disorder in late life is possible, but a rather rare condition.

Depression is a disorder which can be inherited (at least to a certain extent). But even if you have the genes for a psychiatric disorder it is very unlikely that you have first symptoms of a disorder after 25 -40 years.

hello there...
i just meet my mother a few days ago..her condition seems very well but she sometimes talking something that not important or should i say 'insane'...she asked me either i love her or not..for me it is something that she should not asked for...of course i do love her..

i just want to ask you a few techniques that i can used to convince her to go to hospital and meet doctor..when i asked her to go to hospital she saoid she ok but i think she not very ok..

thanks

Your mother needs you to tell her that you love and appreciate her more often. Give her small tokens of your affection if you want to make her happy.

Why not make an appointment with a doctor and accompany her? That way you get to tell the doctor about your worries and at the same time learn what she should do in order to get better.