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Non-pharmacological methods of treating depression in the elderly are effective and not toxic: a minireview
Affiliations- Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszów, Poland
open access
Abstract
Psychological depression is a frequent disorder still underdiagnosed and untreated in the elderly. It is treated like something that belongs to the last phase of life. Depression is known to compromise the quality of life near death. Pharmacological therapy is not always possible in this group because of frequent adverse effects and interactions with other drugs used and limited time until death. Besides pharmacological therapy, there are many non-toxic non-pharmacological therapies, more suitable for this population. These therapies, like cognitive behavioural therapy or mindfulness meditation therapy as well as many others, are confirmed to be effective and safe in this population. Some of these therapies are suitable for cognitively impaired patients.
Abstract
Psychological depression is a frequent disorder still underdiagnosed and untreated in the elderly. It is treated like something that belongs to the last phase of life. Depression is known to compromise the quality of life near death. Pharmacological therapy is not always possible in this group because of frequent adverse effects and interactions with other drugs used and limited time until death. Besides pharmacological therapy, there are many non-toxic non-pharmacological therapies, more suitable for this population. These therapies, like cognitive behavioural therapy or mindfulness meditation therapy as well as many others, are confirmed to be effective and safe in this population. Some of these therapies are suitable for cognitively impaired patients.
Keywords
psychologic depression, treatment, non-pharmacologic, cognitive behaviour therapy, psychotherapy, mindfulness meditation
About this articleTitle
Non-pharmacological methods of treating depression in the elderly are effective and not toxic: a minireview
Journal
Palliative Medicine in Practice
Issue
Article type
Review paper
Pages
38-42
Published online
2023-07-12
Page views
348
Article views/downloads
726
DOI
Bibliographic record
Palliat Med Pract 2024;18(1):38-42.
Keywords
psychologic depression
treatment
non-pharmacologic
cognitive behaviour therapy
psychotherapy
mindfulness meditation
Authors
Mateusz Kalita
Zbigniew Żylicz
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