Depression, Anxiety and Older People

What is depression and anxiety?

Depression and anxiety are mental health conditions that can affect how you think, feel and act. They can make daily life harder and cause emotional distress.

Depression often feels like constant sadness or losing interest in things you usually enjoy, most of the day.

Anxiety is when you feel strong worry, fear, or nervousness about things that feel more threatening or serious than they actually are. These feelings can be hard to manage or control.

These conditions can happen to anyone at any time of their life. As we get older, changes in our health, losing loved one, or feeling lonely can leave us feeling sad or anxious. However, feeling down or anxious for many weeks is not a normal part of ageing.

What choices do I have?

There are many ways to manage depression and anxiety. It can take time to find what works best for you. You can make changes to your day-to-day living, get support from health professionals or take medicines (like antidepressants).

Making decisions 

There is a lot to consider when you are planning to start, continue with or stop a medicine. These conversations should happen between you, your carer (if you have one) and your health professional. A shared decision-making tool can help you with this. The tool can be in all different formats – like a factsheet, webpage or video. It will: 

• Give you up to date evidence and information
• Present all possible options (including doing nothing)
• Present all possible outcomes 
• Explain risks, benefits and side effects 
• Help you, or someone you care for, express personal priorities and values. 

These shared decision-making tools can help you have a conversation and plan with your health professional: 

Do I Still Need My Antidepressant – 5 Questions 
A resource to help you have clear and helpful conversations with your healthcare professional about whether your antidepressant is still right for you. 

My Antidepressant Deprescribing Plan 
A tool to use with your healthcare professional. It helps you make a safe, step-by-step plan to reducing or stopping your antidepressant, tailored to your needs. 

Starting Antidepressants 

When deciding if you want to take antidepressants, it’s important to talk with your healthcare professional about what works best for you. This includes looking at: 

• how well the medicine works,
• any side effects,
• your overall health, and
• how easy it is to stop the medicine if needed.

Managing antidepressants in later life can feel challenging, but small steps can make a difference. It’s helpful to: 

• Monitor how you’re feeling regularly. 
• Keep track of any side effects or changes.
• Talk openly with your healthcare professional about your concerns.

Hear from consumers about why they chose to start taking antidepressants and what it was like to use them.  

When should I stop taking antidepressants? 

There are many reasons why someone might want to stop taking their antidepressant. Over time, your healthcare professional may also suggest reviewing your medication to see if it’s still the right option for you. This process of reducing or stopping is called deprescribing.  

Deprescribing is something that you (or your carer) plan together with your health professional. It usually happens slowly over time. Some of the reasons deprescribing can happen are: 

• Your condition has changed and you don’t need the medicine anymore 
• You are experiencing side effects or risks (that outweigh the benefits)
• Your treatment goals, priorities or lifestyle have changed
• You have started taking other medicines that don’t interact well  
• The medicine isn’t working anymore  
• You are taking a lot of medicines (more than 5)

It’s important to do this safely, with support from your healthcare professional. Stopping suddenly can lead to withdrawal symptoms or your original symptoms returning. 

Hear from consumers and GP Caroline West about what it is like to stop taking antidepressants