Aging With Anxiety | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA

Anxiety is having a moment. It only takes a few minutes of scrolling through the headlines about geopolitical events, economic hardships, the climate crisis and social division to feel the pangs of unease and apprehension. As research on chronic anxiety accumulates, it presents a rather grim picture of how severe, sustained anxiety is related to compromised immune, cardiovascular, and cognitive health.

It’s enough to make you anxious about anxiety.

Interestingly, we hear fewer alarms about older adults experiencing anxiety. It can lead people to mistakenly assume that it doesn’t exist in this age group or that it’s not as bad compared to the anxiety-ridden Generation Z.

Anxiety certainly exists for older adults and many in this age group will tell you how derailing it can be. But spotting it in the first place can be a challenge for some. Many older adults I encounter in my clinical practice wonder: Is my anxiety normal? How do I know when I have a problem?

Let’s clear up a few things about anxiety and maybe even try to repair its bad reputation. The main job of this emotion is to anticipate possible future threats and mobilize ourselves to avoid them or find a way to deal with them. This remains the case in old age. It makes us think and behave in ways that keep us safe in our golden years. You do this instinctively and effectively, and for proof, look no further than your living, breathing self.

Anxiety is the emotion that pushes you to call your doctor when that suspicious mole on your arm starts to look bigger. It also encourages you to stop driving when your vision is declining or to make sure you have enough money to pay for medical care and related expenses as you age.

If this all sounds normal, it’s because this is how most older adults experience anxiety. It’s like a well-meaning party guest telling you to take the crispy appetizers out of the oven before your party lights a bonfire.

However, a subset of older adults experiences more frequent and overwhelming anxiety that can lead to the diagnosis of an illness. anxiety disorder. Anxiety becomes disordered when it begins to take up more of your daily life: worry becomes incessant, focusing on other things can be a challenge, sleep may be disrupted, it is difficult to relax or calm down, and important experiences are avoided or overridden. . much harder to enjoy due to anxiety. In this case, anxiety is the party guest who talks too loudly, too much, and sees everything as a threat.

Interestingly, prevalence rates of anxiety disorders tend to decrease as people age. It’s part of a broader trend that suggests mental health improves in old age, to some extent. That being said, it is not insignificant that approximately 10% of adults over the age of 60 suffer from an anxiety disorder. This figure increases to nearly 30% among older adults facing multiple chronic or acute medical problems, or those residing in personal care homes.

Although older adults with anxiety disorders share many of the same symptoms as their younger counterparts, the nature of the worries may be somewhat different. They are less likely to report feeling anxious about their career or parenting and more likely to be worried about their health and family stressors.

But here’s some good news. There are effective treatments for anxiety in old age, many of which are non-pharmacological. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a leading evidence-based psychological treatment for late-life anxiety. In case you are wary of therapy or cannot afford it, there are also self-help options. If you’re worried you have an anxiety problem, talking to a medical or mental health professional is a great place to start.

As someone whose full-time job is helping people reduce their anxiety, I am often reminded of the very human tendency to worry about the unknown and assume that things will be worse than they really could be. I have also observed that when anxiety is translated into useful forms of preparedness and risk mitigation, we can let go of imagined catastrophes and get back to living our lives. When we can work with it, anxiety can be part of living a great, full and rewarding life. Age does not matter.