Causes and types of senile psychosis

Old age is a difficult period of a person’s life, when not only his physiological functions, but also major mental changes.

A person narrows the social circle, deteriorates health, weakens cognitive abilities.

It is during this period that people are most susceptible to mental illness, a large group of which are senile psychosis.

Personality characteristics of the elderly

According to WHO classification, old age begins in people after 60 years, this age period is divided into: advanced age (60-70, senile (70-90) and age of long-liver (after 90 years).

The main problems of the psyche elderly

1. Narrowing social circle. A person does not go to work, children live on their own and rarely attend it, many of their friends have already died.
2. Deficiency cognitive abilities. The elderly person's memory, attention, and perception deteriorate. According to one theory, this is due to a decrease in the possibilities of external perception, on the other - due to the lack of use of intelligence. That is, the functions die as unnecessary.

Main question - as the person himself refers to this period and the changes taking place. Here the role is played by his personal experiences, state of health and social status.

If a person is in demand in society, then it is much easier to survive all the problems. Also a healthy, cheerful person will not feel old age.

The psychological problems of an elderly person are a reflection of social relations in old age. It may be positive and negative.

With positive At first glance, there is custody of the elderly, respect for their life experience and wisdom. Negative expressed in a dismissive attitude towards the elderly, the perception of their experience as unnecessary and unnecessary.

Psychologists distinguish the following types of attitudes of people towards their old age:

1. Regression, or return to a childish behavior pattern. The old people require increased attention, show offense, capriciousness.
2. Apathy. The old people stop communicating with others, become isolated, withdraw into themselves, show passivity.
3. The desire to join the social lifein spite of age and illness.

Thus, an elderly person will behave in old age in accordance with his past life, attitudes, acquired values.

Senile mental illness

With increasing age increases the likelihood of mental illness. Psychiatrists say that 15% of old people acquire various mental illnesses. The following types of diseases are characteristic of old age:

1. Dementia. This is a cognitive impairment caused by the death of brain neurons. They are characterized by an inconspicuous beginning, latent current and irreversibility. The old man gradually decreases his memory and perception, he loses his self-service skills and becomes helpless. In the end, a person dies due to the inability to eat.



2. Pick's disease. This is also dementia, but it is not cognitive changes that come to the forefront, but personality degeneration. Someone falls into childhood, others go into themselves, show complete indifference. This disease is difficult to diagnose, since its symptoms do not differ from the signs of most other mental illnesses.
3. Parkinson's disease. The patient begins extrapyramidal disorders. First, there are neurological symptoms in the form of tremor, muscle weakness, etc. Then the psyche is involved in the process.

   Old people feel their inferiority, suffer greatly, fall into depression. Often there are suicidal thoughts.

4. Alzheimer's disease. It belongs to the category of dementia. It is characterized by a disorder of the cognitive sphere. It also begins imperceptibly, in the absence of treatment, it progresses rapidly. It leads to a complete loss of self-service skills.

Psychoses

In medicine, psychosis is understood as a gross mental disorder in which behavioral and mental reactions do not correspond to the real state of affairs.

Senile (senile) psychosis first occur after 65 years.

They account for approximately 20% of all cases of mental illness.

The main cause of senile psychosis, doctors call the natural aging of the body.

Provoking factors are:

1. Belonging to the female. Among the diseased women occupy a large part.
2. Heredity. Most often, psychosis is diagnosed in people whose relatives suffered from mental disorders.
3. Somatic diseases. Some diseases provoke and aggravate the course of mental illness.

WHO in 1958 developed classification of psychosis based on the syndromological principle. The following types are distinguished:

1. Affective disorder. This includes mania and depression.
2. Paraphrenia. The main manifestations are delusions, hallucinations.
3. State of confusion. The disorder is based on confusion.
4. Somatogenic psychosis. Develop on the background of somatic diseases, occur in an acute form.

Symptoms

The clinical picture depends on the type of disease, as well as the severity of the stage.

Symptoms of acute psychosis:

• violation of orientation in space;
• motor excitations;
• anxiety;
• hallucinatory conditions;
• the emergence of delusions.

Acute psychosis lasts from several days to a month. It directly depends on the severity of somatic illness.

Postoperative psychosis refers to acute mental disorders that occur within a week after surgery. Signs are:

• delusions, hallucinations;
• violation of orientation in space and time;
• confusion;
• motor agitation.

This state can last continuously or be combined with periods of enlightenment.

Signs of chronic depression:

• lethargy, apathy;
• a sense of meaninglessness of existence;
• anxiety;
• suicidal mood.

Lasts quite a long time, while the patient retains all cognitive functions.

Symptoms of paranoia:

• the nonsense directed towards relatives;
• constant waiting trick by others. It seems to the patient that they want to poison him, kill him, rob him, etc .;
• restriction of communication due to fear of being offended.

However, the patient maintains self-care and socialization skills.

Hallucinosis. In this condition, the patient has various hallucinations: verbal, visual tactile. He hears voices, sees non-existent characters, feels touches.

The patient can communicate with these characters or try to get rid of them, for example, build barricades, wash and clean their home.

Paraphrenia. Fantastic confabulations come out on top. The patient talks about his connections with famous personalities, ascribes to himself non-existent merits. Also characterized by megalomania, high spirits.

Diagnostics

Treatment

Treatment of senile psychosis combines drug and psychotherapeutic methods. The choice depends on the severity of the condition, the type of disorder, the presence of somatic diseases. Patients are prescribed the following groups of drugs:

1. Neuroleptics (Aminozin, Sonapaks, Eglonil). Reduce excessive transmission of nerve impulses, reduce the severity of symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, depression.
2. Antidepressants (Melipramine, Amitriptyline, Fluoxetine). The drugs are used to treat depression, increase adrenaline, improve mood. Apply with psychosis with severe depressive syndrome.



3. Hypnotic (Fenozepam, Phenobarbital, Melatonin). Apply to facilitate falling asleep, ensuring long and deep sleep.

The doctor selects a combination of drugs in accordance with the type of psychosis.

Also in parallel it is necessary to treat somatic disease, if it appeared the cause of the disorder.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapeutic exercises are an excellent tool for the correction of psychosis in the elderly. In combination with drug therapy, they give positive results.

Doctors use mainly group lessons. Old people, studying in groups, acquire a new circle of contacts with common interests. A person can begin to talk openly about his problems, fears, thereby getting rid of them.

Most effective psychotherapy:

1. Labor Therapy After retirement, a person feels unclaimed, so feasible physical or intellectual work calms him and distracts from thoughts.
2. Discussion method. The most painful issues of older age, relationships in society are discussed.
3. Art therapy. Patients in the classroom draw, make crafts. It brings people together, gives the opportunity for self-expression.
4. Color therapy. The effect of light on the human psyche has long been proven. Red excites, green - soothes.
5. Therapy reading. The doctor selects the appropriate books, the patient reads them, makes notes. Then there is a joint analysis and discussion of the read.

Senile psychosis - This is a problem not only for the patient, but also for his relatives. With timely and correct treatment, the prognosis of senile psychosis is favorable. Even with severe symptoms, it is possible to achieve stable remission. Chronic psychoses, especially those associated with depression, are worse treated.

The patient's family must be patient, take care and care. Mental disorder is a consequence of the aging of the body, so no person is immune from it.

Senile psychosis. Recommendations:

Watch the video: Dementia: Symptoms, Causes & Diagnosis Psychiatry. Lecturio (May 2024).