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For: Karina Monsalve
Every day the numbers of elderly Venezuelans who live alone increase more, who are institutionalized and therefore show symptoms associated with depression due to loneliness. A few days ago Luis Francisco Cabezas, Director of Convite, (a civil association that works for the social rights of older adults in our country), showed the alarming number of more than 700,000 older adults living alone and 3 million pensioners at risk of death. These figures add to the social problems of this pandemic and migratory era.
Loneliness is generally characterized by an emotional discomfort that is generated when an individual feels misunderstood and rejected by another, or when they lack company to carry out those activities they want, whether physical, intellectual or emotional.
Loneliness in the elderly should not be directly or naturally related to depression, since it is mediated by other variables. However, in the case of older adults living in a precarious situation in Venezuela, this is a variable that is repeated and becomes inherent to depression, because the latter is a problem that has gained enormous importance due to its high incidence due to the cases of thousands of migrants who have left their parents or grandparents alone.
Social isolation, lack of social networks and marginalization may be associated with “being alone”but the true loneliness associated with “feeling alone” involves the feeling of nostalgia, sadness and longing, even if you are physically accompanied by other people.
Studies have shown that an elderly person who has ceased to be active, and who is socially isolated, will end up suffering in most cases a functional and physical deterioration.ultimately manifested by cognitive decline and general health.
Depression experienced at this stage of life can be particularly disabling by virtue of factors that amplify it, such as declining reserve capacity, little or no financial resources, and comorbidity with physical illnesses, all of which affect social relations and accelerate disease and aging processes. In addition to being associated in the most extreme cases with suicide.
There are different aspects in the life of the elderly where loneliness and grief might be perceived, such as illnesses, sleep disturbances, the absence of a family member, the lack of responsibilities that were previously in their charge, the death of some family and, especially, the death of the spouse with whom he has shared a large part of his life.
That is why loneliness is a potentially stressful phenomenon, due to emotional, social and physical deficiencies, whether real or not, which will influence the physical and psychological health of the elderly. Growing old is inevitable, however, living this stage of life with dignity in this country seems to be just a privilege, because it will depend a lot on the personal resources that the older adult has to face events, even if accompanied and, therefore, your assumption, of the material resources and the governmental or institutional support that might support it.
KARINA MONSALVE , TW @karinakarinammq IG @psic.ka.monsalve
Clinical psychologist at the La Trinidad Teaching Medical Center.
El Pitazo is not responsible for and does not endorse the opinions expressed in this article.
Karina MonsalveOpinion
