Mental Health Archive

If you are noticing problems in yourself or a loved one, here's where to turn for help and support.

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You're talking with a friend about a movie you saw recently, but can't remember the actor's name. Last week you found yourself upstairs, but couldn't remember what you came up to look for. Your keys are always missing. You worry: are these normal memory lapses or early signs of Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia?

"Because there has been so much attention paid lately to the aging baby boomer population, I think Alzheimer's disease is getting a lot of attention, which is leading a lot of people to believe they may have the condition," says Dr. Suzanne Salamon, associate chief of the gerontology division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Research suggests a regular meditation practice could protect against heart disease. Here's how to begin one.

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What's good for the mind also tends to be good for the heart.

The mind-calming practice of meditation may play a role in reducing your risk of heart disease, according to a scientific statement published in the Sept. 28, 2017, Journal of the American Heart Association.

You may no longer play the role of breadwinner and family man, but there are still ways to stay engaged with life.

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For most of their adult lives, men are defined by what they do and how they do it, from their chosen career to their role in the family. However, as you age, you can lose your once-defined sense of purpose — the desire to pursue goals, feel life is worth living, and have a general enthusiasm for living.

You retire, the nest empties out, and you may have accomplished most of your personal and professional goals. "What do I do for the rest of my life?" becomes a nagging question.

In the journals

Some antidepressants may not offer much relief for people who battle both depression and a chronic disease, according to research in the Nov. 21, 2017, Journal of the American Medical Association.

Nearly half of Americans live with a chronic condition, according to the CDC, and many also suffer from depression, including more than half of Parkinson's disease patients, 41% of cancer patients, and more than 25% of those with diabetes.

Feeling afraid about life issues is common as you age, but if it takes over your life, you may have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

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Everyone feels afraid or worried at times, but if these feelings begin to take over your life, then you may have crossed over into generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is the most common anxiety disorder among older adults, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).

"The issue with many older men is they often just endure the discomfort of GAD, or think it's normal, and do not talk about the problem," says Dr. David Mischoulon, director of the Depression Clinical and Research Program at -Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. "However, left alone to manifest, GAD may lead to serious health problems, such as high blood pressure, depression, and addictive behavior like excessive drinking."

In the journals

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If you have persistent trouble detecting or identifying odors, that may be an early sign of dementia, according to a study in the Sept. 25, 2017, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Almost 3,000 older adults, ages 57 to 85, who did not have dementia were asked to detect and identify five common odors like peppermint, fish, orange, rose, and leather. Five years later, the researchers found that almost half of those who performed poorly on the smell test (were either unable to detect the odors or unable to identify what the smells were) had been diagnosed with dementia. In comparison, 79% of those who scored high on the smell test did not have dementia.

The results only show an association between poor sense of smell and dementia, but the researchers noted that a smell test could be a simple way to identify high-risk people. It isn't clear how sense of smell and dementia may be linked, but the researchers speculated that underlying causes of dementia, like amyloid plaque buildup and tau tangles in the brain, also may affect the olfactory (sense of smell) system.