Golden Years, Gritty Fears: Understanding Anxiety in Seniors

Golden years, gritty fears: understanding anxiety in seniors is a way to care for them.

Regardless, why do we fear aging? Right now, dementia is a possibility that that could be happening to you. What about the decline of mobility and eyesite?

Although, for some elders, it’s the fear of the anxiety in their life. That sounds like an oxymoron. Anxiety disorder in older adults is on the rise as of all over the world.

As you go from adult to senior age, you have anxiety about aging. Hence, all the things that go along with aging are not all nice.

I just wonder where my middle ages went? It went by with a blur and here I am now fearing what my senior life will look like.

I’m 52 right now, but I worry about my future because of Parkinson’s. I’m not going to have my “golden years” if it keeps progressing. So, here’s to anxiety!

Why Does Anxiety Increase In the Elderly?

My Anxiety is Getting Worse as I Get Older

Overall, I feel as I get older, my anxiety is becoming worse. Everyday, in and out, it’s there in my head. I can’t escape it.

Maybe, is it the fear of death…the unknown. Some people have said they have had near death experiences, but were they real. I believe some of them were.

The unkown of what happens after death can make any person anxious. But, for some of us dealing with anxiety on a higher level, it’s ten times worse.

Because we constantly worry about everything, even things that don’t happen. I guess it might be comforting if we really knew that anxiety ends at the departure of our bodies.

Causes of Anxiety in Older Adults

Golden years, gritty fears: understanding anxiety in seniors is to understand the root cause. Anxiety in older adults can have many causes, including:

Stressful events: Consequently, the death of a loved one, or other traumatic or stressful events, can cause anxiety.
Medical conditions: Chronic health conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or COPD can cause anxiety.
Physical limitations: Also, loss of independence or physical impairment can cause anxiety and isolation.
Sleep disturbances: Insomnia and other sleep issues can cause anxiety.
Dementia: Anxiety can be a symptom of dementia.
PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after a traumatic event, and symptoms can emerge years later.
Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused anxiety for older adults due to social isolation, financial stressors, and other factors.

elderly woman sitting on park bench in istanbul

What Vitamin Deficiency Causes Anxiety?

A number of vitamin and mineral deficiencies can contribute to anxiety, including:

Vitamin B12

A deficiency in vitamin B12 can cause anxiety, depression, and other neuropsychiatric symptoms. Other symptoms include apathy, agitation, insomnia, and hallucinations.

Vitamin D

Low levels of vitamin D can cause anxiety and other symptoms similar to depression, such as mood changes, fatigue, and hopelessness.

Vitamin B1

A deficiency in vitamin B1 can cause anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. The brain uses vitamin B1 to convert glucose into energy, so a deficiency can prevent the brain from functioning normally.

Magnesium

A deficiency in magnesium can lead to anxiety. Henceforth, clinical trials have shown that magnesium supplements can help alleviate anxiety symptoms.

Symptoms of Panic Attacks in Elderly

Symptoms of panic attacks in the elderly can include:

Physical symptoms: For example, a racing heart, chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling, nausea, dizziness, or lightheadedness
Mental symptoms: Fear of losing control, fear of dying, or fear of a heart attack
Other symptoms: A choking feeling, numbness or tingling sensations, or hot flashes

Golden years, gritty fears: understanding anxiety in seniors is to signify their symptoms.

Even more, other signs of anxiety in the elderly include: Changes in daily routine or habits, social withdrawal or reluctance to participate in activities, and excessive worry about health.

Anxiety can be an important warning sign that something is wrong, but when it’s misaligned to stressors and disrupts quality of life, it can become a serious disorder.

What is One of the Behavioral Symptoms of Anxiety in Older Adults?

One behavioral symptom of anxiety in older adults is avoiding social situations

Avoiding social situations: People with anxiety may avoid activities they enjoy, such as socializing.
Avoiding routine activities: People with anxiety may refuse to do routine activities or be overly preoccupied with them.
Checking and rechecking for safety: By the same token, people with anxiety may be overly concerned about safety.

Other behavioral symptoms of anxiety in older adults include: Irrational and excessive worry or fear and intrusive thoughts.

Also, restlessness and trouble focusing, easily alarmed, and hoarding/collecting.

Anxiety can be a normal response to stressful situations, but when it’s overstated to stressors, it can become a serious disorder.

Anxiety and depression often occur together in older adults.

Management of Anxiety in Elderly

Best Medication for Older Adults With Anxiety

Golden years, gritty fears: understanding anxiety in seniors is not to put them on meds with horrific side effects.

Anxiety among older adults is a common health concern, but there are medications that may help to ease the symptoms.

Specifically, these can include duloxetine, escitalopram, buspirone, venlafaxine, and sertraline. Here are a few of the dosages and side effects of some of the meds.

Cymbalta	Duloxetine	30–60 mg/day	• nausea • dry mouth • appetite loss • drowsiness • constipation • excessive sweating
Buspar	Buspirone	15–60 mg/dayTrusted Source	• dizziness • nausea • headache • nervousness • lightheadedness
Effexor	Venlafaxine	37.5–225 mg/day to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD) 75 mg/day to treat social anxiety disorder (SAD)	• nausea • drowsiness • dry mouth • sweating • abnormal ejaculation • constipation • erectile dysfunction • decreased libido • appetite loss

I don’t know about you, but by the time I’m a senior , the doctor will have me on 50 million pills to take everyday. That’s why I’m going holistic.

I’m signing up for a course to become a holistic practitioner. More and more people are turning to natural remedies largely due to cost of meds nowadays. Plus, you don’t get all those nasty side effects.

Separation Anxiety in Elderly

Golden years, gritty fears: understanding anxiety in seniors is to truely understand their separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety in elderly is so sad but prevalent especially like the post I did on Loneliness in the Elderly.

So many families just “dump” their elders into a nursing home and forget about them. I’m not saying everyone, but there are some.

That’s when separation anxiety begins to stir-up. Symptoms include:

Physical symptoms when separated
Excessive anxiety when separated from a loved one
Persistent worry about the loved one’s safety
Reluctance to leave the loved one’s side
Difficulty sleeping without the loved one nearby
Being that, nightmares about separation

Is Anxiety a Symptom of Dementia?

Yes, anxiety is a common symptom of dementia:

Causes

Anxiety can be caused by a number of factors, including the emotional impact of a dementia diagnosis, social isolation, and worsening dementia symptoms.

Signs

Signs of anxiety in people with dementia include restlessness, pacing, fidgeting, and clinging to others.

emotive black and white portrait in milwaukee

Impact

Anxiety can make it more difficult to think clearly and remember things. I’m starting to loose my memory (or what I have of it) because of Parkinson’s.

So, I can feel what you go through when going into senior life. It’s very annoying to say the least. I can’t remember what I did yesterday and I misspell simple words in these posts.

Risk Factor

Anxiety may be a risk factor for developing dementia, especially as people age.

Subsequently, anxiety can be more apparent in the early stages of dementia as people begin to recognize their losses and the seriousness of the disease.

That’s the same way with Parkinson’s. I could accept the little movements and forgetfulness. But know it’s noticeable tremors and chunks of memory missing.

It’s kind of scary how I’ll be if I don’t try to either stop it or slow it down.How to Calm an Adult With Anxiety?

How do Older Adults Cope With Anxiety?

Existential therapy for coping with thoughts of getting old and the purpose of life

Golden years, gritty fears: understanding anxiety in seniors through existential therapy.

Existential therapy can be an effective approach for you if you are struggling with fear of ageing.

It focuses on exploring your own unique experience of being in the world and finding meaning and purpose in life.

Due to existential therapy, it recognizes that the experience of ageing is a universal human condition, and helps you to confront and accept your own mortality.

Therefore, this approach can help you to find ways to live a meaningful and fulfilling life, even in the face of the uncertainty and limitations that come with ageing.

Sum It All Up

Golden years, gritty fears: understanding anxiety in seniors is to feel their fear of death. I’m worried about the future and I’m in my early 50s.

But I have specific reason’s why. If I didn’t, I believe I would still worry because of the anxiety.

So, if you’re an elder and were predisposed to anxiety early on in life, what are your worries about your future? Are you afraid of loneliness? Do you fear about dementia?

What were the images conjured up in your youth about how your senior life would pan out? I’m trying to steer mine in a different direction. Time will only tell.

Sometimes, what the future holds comes as a surprise to us. You can’t predict it (although some of us think we can) , but you necessarilly have to go with the flow.

A simple tweak here can change it’s path to a different avenue. So that’s what I intend to do, give my future a little tweak. Until next time…

Articles About Anxiety In The Elderly

-How Caregivers Can Help Reduce Elderly Anxiety at Night

https://www.visitingangels.com/articles/how-caregivers-can-help-reduce-elderly-anxiety-at-night/388

-Anxiety and dementia

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/anxiety-dementia#:~:text=Anxiety%20is%20common%20in%20people,and%20awareness%20of%20their%20condition.

-Separation Anxiety for Those Living with Dementia

https://hometostayhc.com/separation-anxiety-for-those-living-with-dementia/

Have a Good One,

Cindee Murphy
“One Voice Scared About My Anxiety Older Self”

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. Therefore, no need to be anybody but oneself.” —Virginia Woolf

“Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important.” —Natalie Goldberg

“I just give myself permission to suck…I find this hugely liberating.” —John Green

“Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” —Arthur Somers Roche

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” —Deepak Chopra