Thursday October 10 is World Mental Health Day, a day to educate, drive awareness and help advocate against social stigmas. Mental illness is something that affects people of any age, including older adults. Common mental illnesses that affect the health of older adults include Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, depression and anxiety. Many older adults are socially isolated or lonely and research indicates that social isolation and loneliness are health risks that can impact their overall health and well-being. Mental health issues can affect physical health, emotional and social well-being, and overall quality of life. Supporting mental health is a critical consideration to the healthy aging process.
Your mental health is an important part of healthy aging
Featured Resources
- Blog Post: Tackling a silent beast : Strategies for reducing loneliness and social isolation
- Blog Post: Cognitive behavioural therapy: Prevent depression before it starts
- Blog Post: Immersive technologies to address social isolation: Is a technological solution feasible and desirable?
- Blog Post: Companion animals: can they alleviate loneliness among older adults?
- Blog Post: Breaking down the walls of solitude
- Blog Post: Depression got you down? Try these 3 self-care strategies
- Blog Post: Combat loneliness and depression by sharing memories: Relive those glory days!
For a full list of mental well-being resources, click here.
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DISCLAIMER: These summaries are provided for informational purposes only. They are not a substitute for advice from your own health care professional. The summaries may be reproduced for not-for-profit educational purposes only. Any other uses must be approved by the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal (info@mcmasteroptimalaging.org).
Many of our Blog Posts were written before the COVID-19 pandemic and thus do not necessarily reflect the latest public health recommendations. While the content of new and old blogs identify activities that support optimal aging, it is important to defer to the most current public health recommendations. Some of the activities suggested within these blogs may need to be modified or avoided altogether to comply with changing public health recommendations. To view the latest updates from the Public Health Agency of Canada, please visit their website.
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Support for the Portal is largely provided by the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative. AGE-WELL is a contributing partner. Help us to continue to provide direct and easy access to evidence-based information on health and social conditions to help you stay healthy, active and engaged as you grow older. Donate Today.
