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A Guide to Mental Wellness in Older
Age: Recognizing and Overcoming Depression
How to Use This Depression Recovery Tool Kit
The Geriatric
Mental Health Foundation is pleased to provide
you with this depression recovery tool kit,
A Guide to Mental Wellness in Older Age: Recognizing
and Overcoming Depression. The purpose of this kit
is to help consumers, in partnership with their
health care providers, identify and treat late-life
depression.
The
message is simple: late-life depression is treatable
and recovery is possible. The first challenge in treating
depression is identifying the illness and seeking help.
You are not alone. Many people experience depressed
moods at some point in their lives. When these experiences
become severe or last over a period of time, you may
be suffering from a depressive illness. Some people
won’t tell anyone what they are experiencing;
they are afraid that others may not understand, will
not take them seriously, or will blame them.
But, the
first step to recovery is to tell someone what you
are feeling. That person could be a long-time
friend, family member, health care provider, or spiritual
advisor. They can help you get the assistance you need
to feel better. Get treatment now—before it gets
worse.
If you are a health care consumer (patient or
family member), we urge you to take this material
to your
health care provider so you can discuss your symptoms
and receive the best treatment.
If you are a health
care provider, we encourage you to use these materials
in your patient education efforts.
You may want to give the entire kit to your patient
and his or her family member when your patient is
first diagnosed. Or you may want to provide different
fact
sheets as treatment progresses and the patient and
their family members require additional information
about the illness.
This recovery kit contains a series
of fact sheets and resource material to help you
get better. The materials
include:
To order a copy of this material, please visit the
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry’s
online bookstore at www.AAGPonline.org
We
welcome your feedback. The Geriatric Mental
Health Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated
to
educating the public about late-life mental illness.
Please contact us for further information. Our consumer information is located
on our website at www.GMHFonline.org, which also includes information on how
to reach a geriatric psychiatrist in your area. You may also call us at (301)
654-7850 or e-mail info@GMHFonline.org.
A Guide to Mental Wellness in Older Age:
Recognizing and Overcoming Depression
© Geriatric Mental Health Foundation 2004
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1050
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
301.654.7850
info@GMHFonline.org
www.GMHFonline.org
Expert
assistance was provided by Lissy F. Jarvik, M.D., Professor
Emerita of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral
Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles,
School of Medicine; Susan Lieff, M.D., M.Ed., Assistant Professor, Department
of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; and Stephen J. Bartels, M.D., M.S., Associate
Professor of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School.
The Geriatric Mental Health
Foundation grants permission to print, photocopy,
and distribute this material. Please cite the Foundation,
including the address,
phone and website.
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