The Director of the Department of Communication, Public Relations and Health Awareness at the Mental Health Hospital in Jeddah, Prof. Haneen Al-Ghamdi notes that although older people are more likely to fall into depression, the good news is that this mental illness can be prevented through a number of methods. They include prevention through training, physical exercise, group support, memories or flashbacks, and social activities.
Al-Ghamdi indicated that prevention by training is a method of cognitive training, also known as brain training, which is a non-pharmacological approach that includes following a series of regular mental activities designed to help maintain or even increase a person’s cognitive (thinking) abilities, such as puzzle games and memorization activities, as this helps to improve Cognitive abilities Cognitive training is based on the idea that the brain of older people can change for the better. Educational or cognitive training among the elderly helps prevent depression by enabling them to participate in the activities that occur within the community. When the elderly learn something new, their brain produces new cells and builds a new connection that helps prevent them from depression. Studies show that the elderly prefer Non-formal learning activities Therefore, it is important for the elderly to undergo non-formal educational training.
Al-Ghamdi went on to talk about effective methods of prevention, including the method of prevention through physical exercises. Physical exercise should be a priority for all seniors. Continuous physical exercise interventions through components that operate on several levels are broadly seen as personal such as biological, psychological, and social traits such as family, affiliation groups, and the workplace. All of these factors can influence older adults to develop depression. There are many methods that can be used to help the elderly undergo physical activities. The best way to achieve this is to promote community health programs such as raising awareness and encouraging the elderly to do physical activities.
Regular physical exercises can also help prevent the formation of depression by eliminating fears so that someone can forget the negative thoughts that cause anxiety and depression. Moreover, regular exercise is associated with emotional and psychological benefits. Some of these benefits include handling life in a healthy way, having more social interactions and having more confidence
Public health organizations can collaborate with many community facilities such as schools, mosques, companies, policy departments, and health care centers to influence the plan, promote and unite efforts to increase physical training activities. In this plan, public health agencies should ensure that ways to reduce health inequalities among older adults in physical activity are implemented, and providers of programs for older adults should routinely monitor and evaluate activity to make it effective.
We cannot neglect the importance of the role of society towards the elderly, and one of the ways to prevent is the way to support groups.
Collective interventions for prevention are interventions that are resolved by a group of people, not individual interventions; It is used worldwide in healthcare settings for mental health problems and to prevent depression. Teamwork is considered when the essence is to prevent depression rather than as a treatment for depression. The group intervention will act as an enabler helping group members to discuss and come up with required program activities. Group interventions will help members improve their personal development and prevent depression. Group therapy is being evaluated as a preventive psychosocial treatment method for preventing depression among the elderly. The group therapist should be an active member of the group and will help the elderly members understand their own personal problems as well as personal problems affecting them. Group members also hold meetings to discuss current affairs affecting them and focus on jointly the same person and others. The group intervention focuses on reducing and preventing depression and poor motivation, as well as improving the mental health of older adults. Hence, we can highlight the importance of the prevention method by retrieving memories. Reminiscence is viewed as the process of thinking about a person’s personal and scientific background about past memories that are personally important to them. As suggested by Arenson (2009), assessing one’s life is a fundamental task associated with aging. Therefore, memories have been mainly applied to the elderly as a therapeutic method to promote and improve self-acceptance and mental health of aging in society. The memory prevention method can be used to enhance cognitive ability in older adults by allowing them to share life stories and recall past memories. This intervention helps prevent depression among the elderly. Memories can have different forms such as simple therapy such as recalling and revisiting life situations that can help prevent depression among the elderly. Also, one of the most important preventive methods is social activities. One study reported that depression is a common side effect of aging among people in the United States and one of the main causes of depression in the elderly is isolation and being left alone in society (Blackburn, Wilkins & Weiss, 2017). However, being associated with each other in social activities can have a positive effect on the cognitive abilities of older adults, and can help them stay safe from depression. Social activities can help prevent depression by improving their cognitive function, improving immune health, and increasing longevity. Because it will increase your circle of friends which is vital to staying happy and preventing depression. To help get older people to participate in social activities, we need to encourage them through educational and awareness programs, display the identity of the groups established and remove the barrier to participation, foster a sense that the activity is important and tell them that it is relevant to their age and invite them to participate in the activity.