While anxiety disorders occur throughout the life time but the anxiety occurring in older people is quite different.
Interestingly, most anxiety disorders are somewhat less common and often less severe in persons over 65 years of age; for example social phobia, agoraphobia, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and the more severe forms of obsessive compulsive disorder.
Nonetheless, about 20% of all elderly persons report some symptoms of anxiety. In addition, anxiety symptoms arising from physical problems or medication side effects are more frequent among the elderly. For example breathing problems, irregular heart beats and tremors can give rise to the symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety can occur along with other psychiatric problems too; over half of elderly persons with severe depression also can be said to be suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.
As an increasing section of our population ages, mental health problems among older adults are getting more and more attention. Unfortunately, much of the existing research so far has focused predominantly on young or middle aged adults. Studies have shown that among older adults, anxiety disorders occur two to seven times more often than depression problems such as major depressive disorder. This suggests that anxiety disorders are a very real and relatively common problem among older adults experiencing mental health problems.
There are many reasons which result in the anxiety for the senior people. The everyday activities of the people put stress on their minds giving rise to their anxiety. Many elderly people must deal with significant changes, with threats to their independent functioning and with major losses at a time in their lives when they are often least equipped to deal with them. All this definitely leads to anxiety. Among the elderly, anxiety symptoms can also be associated with real problems such as physical health problems, medical problems, challenges to living independently, and cognitive impairment. An anxiety disorder is only diagnosed if the anxiety symptoms are excessive, uncontrollable, create significant distress to the individual and/or interfere with daily living.
The high degree of overlap between anxiety and medical problems can make correct diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders particularly challenging among older or elderly adults. For example, muscle tension, sleep disturbance, and feeling agitated can be symptoms of both anxiety disorders and medical conditions. In addition, some medical problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease, hyperthyroidism) can lead to symptoms that feel like symptoms of anxiety. For this reason it is important that both mental and physical health symptoms are reviewed thoroughly with older or elderly individuals who have anxiety-like symptoms.
Fortunately, there are many good treatments for anxiety disorders. These may include the use of relaxation techniques, psychotherapy and medications. Frequently with effective treatment, the person can then handle the challenges of his life.