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Attempting to Prevent Dementia

Attempting-Prevent-Dementia

The anger and frustration of dementia, marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning, is real. A term used to define a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in the ability to remember, communicate, or perform normal daily functions; a 2015 study has linked dementia to depression and type-2 diabetes – two easily controllable, and in many cases, treatable diagnoses. A study of 2.4 million people age 50 and older, over a six year period, found more than 26 percent of those who developed dementia had previously been diagnosed with depression and those with a history of depression and type-2 diabetes had an even higher risk of developing symptoms of dementia. They also found, “Depressed older adults were more than twice as likely to develop vascular dementia and 65 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than similarly aged people who weren’t depressed.”

Thousands of people have type-2 diabetes and many others experience depression and memory loss – this does not mean they are automatically poised to develop dementia. However, quoting Meryl Butters, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, “We think depression is toxic to the brain, and if you’re walking around with some mild brain damage, it will add to the degenerative process.” Although studies and their findings might not apply directly to you or those you care about the most, signs of depression in children, adolescents, adults, and seniors should not be ignored. Improving Lives Counseling Services’ team of professional therapists and counselors can diagnosis, treat, and for many, cure the symptoms and low-lying issues associated with depression.

Like many other diagnoses, depression affects the hormones of the brain, particularly those related to stress response and memory. Studies linking depression and dementia are not new, particularly in our senior population. Over the years, clinical research and medical studies have found depression to be a proposed risk factor, as well as a set of symptoms, related to dementia. The release of cortisol and reduced brain volume are theories in the relationship between depression and dementia.

Improving Lives Counseling Services clinicians can treats mild, clinical, and major depressive disorders, many of which are covered by Medicare, SoonerCare, and individual health insurance plans. Depression comes in different forms and affects large portions of the population. Despite having treatable mental and behavioral disorders, the stigma of mental illness persists, particularly in the senior population. Living with depression is not living the life you were meant to live, or the life you could be living.

Individual, couple, family, and group sessions are available now. Call us.

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