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Mental Health
Kirti Bhati March 29th, 2022 · 5min read

10 Mental Health Resources For Seniors

In today’s day and age nobody can escape from a mental health condition if you do not take care of yourself. In Fact according to the World Health Organization (WHO) almost 20% of seniors develop mental or neurological conditions after crossing 60 years of age.

To help make the lives of seniors easy, this blog will discuss all the important mental health resources for seniors. Ealderly mental health is declining even more because COVID-19 has made them even more lonelier and isolated than they already were.

We need to help older people improve their mental health. Even though they have been seasoned to deal with harsh conditions over the years, old age makes it difficult for them to stand tall against harsh, traumatizing and troubling situations.

Things from little to large can have a huge impact on elderly mental health like;

  • Lack of interaction,
  • Loss of spouse, children, friend,
  • Retired life (Not being able to go to work),
  • Neglect from family members,
  • Transportation challenges, etc.

Mental health conditions in seniors can be reduced, looked after & treated via Therapy, Medications, social support, lifestyle changes, etc. From the many, here are 10 mental health resources for seniors to curb the mental health challenges and struggles faced by them.

List Of 10 Mental Health Resources For Seniors

Let’s begin with some mental health resources for seniors that deal with basic information on mental health conditions. Knowing about your mental health condition is half the battle won. I have been around older adults who have zero knowledge about their mental health condition which has made their lives even miserable.

If you are a senior who wants to know more about your mental health condition or you know someone who does, here are some mental health resources to help you with that;

1. Administration for Community Living (ACL):

Seniors often struggle with behavioral issues and Administration for Community Living (ACL)helps you understand your condition better. It aims at educating seniors with mental health conditions.

Knowing the symptoms can help you with early diagnosis and effective treatment. Administration for Community Living (ACL) helps navigate behavioral health issues especially for seniors.

2. National Council on Aging (NCOA):

NCOA provides information on mental health conditions for seniors through webinars, blog posts and various articles on ealderly mental health Seniors are seen to develop cognitive impairments as they age. Here are some mental health resources to improve mental health of seniors with cognitive disability or impairments;

3.Alzheimers.gov:

it is a government run organization which deals with information on alzhiemers and dementia related conditions in seniors. It includes various resources that will link you to N number of (authentic & latest) agencies/organizations that specializes in mental health conditions with cognitive impairments.

4.Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Symptoms:

this is a subsite of the national institute on aging which provides help and information via articles. It aims at providing complete information and advice for seniors dealing with mental health conditions.

Abuse can have a strong impact on the mental health of senior citizens. Believe it or not, almost 15% of older adults face abuse. Here are some mental health resources for seniors on elder abuse;

5.National Adult Protective Services Association:

this organization aims at providing information on elder abuses and helps in reporting abuse of seniors. If you are a senior or know a senior who is being abused, you can report to the NationalAdult Protective Services Association for help and advice.

6.National Center on Elder Abuse :

this is a similar organization that works towards protecting the seniors from elder abuse. It offers resources like webinars, reports, databases and even podcasts on elder abuse.

Social support can do wonders for seniors dealing with Mental, behavioral and emotional difficulties. Social support is like a magical key that opens the door to senior wellbeing and happiness. Here are some social support resources for seniors to help improve their mental health;

7. Alzheimer’s Association:

seniors who struggle with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other related disorders can benefit a lot from this association. It provides virtual support through an online community. In this socially distant world today, an online Alzheimer’s association support group can help seniors improve their mental health.

8. Mental Health America:

this association aims at providing social support for declining elderly mental health. It does that by organizing various support groups and online discussions on elder mental health topics like stress, grief, depression, loneliness, etc.

There are various hotlines/helplines that work really hard everyday to provide support and help to seniors struggling with mental health issues. Here are some helpline numbers that can help seniors with immediate effect;

9.Crisis Text Hotline:

this hotline is a 24*7 functional service with councellors at the other end to help you deal with a huge range of issues beginning with anxiety to suicidal ideation. All you have to do is text “HOME” to 741-741.

10.Veterans Crisis Hotline:

if you are a senior or know a senior who is dealing with a serious mental health condition you can reach out to this hotline service for help and advice. All you have to do is dial 800-273-8255and press 1 to speak with a counselor.

That’s All Folks!

There are 10 mental health resources for seniors who are struggling with simple to serious mental health conditions. I hope this blog helps you and seniors about you improve their mental health using these mental health resources.

Thanks for reading.

Take care and stay safe!

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