Depression and Dementia

[Piper]

Is it possible for depression to trigger dementia as a person ages? My mother became severely depressed after my grandfather passed away. Shortly after she began having hallucinations and was diagnosed with dementia. There is no history of dementia or Alzheimers in our family. So, I have always wondered if losing my grandfather and becoming so depressed could have somehow caused her dementia to develop.

 

[Androlo]

I don't think there is any real general consensus on whether depression can lead to dementia or not. However, symptoms of dementia can certainly be experienced by people who suffer with depression and it's known that depression can ultimately lead to other illnesses, so I do personally think that it's possible. Seeing as depression is an illness which causes the mind to wander and causes people who suffer with it to sometimes become lost in their thoughts, I do think that there could be a very strong link. The mind is an incredibly powerful thing which we are a long way from understanding properly.

 

[gracer]

Hi Piper! I'm not so sure either whether the depression that your mother had was the one that caused the dementia but it could have triggered its occurrence somehow. Depression could indeed affect one's mind extensively that sometimes even the ability to think constructively is affected. It is a psychological problem and the presence of it could have made your mom more vulnerable to other psychological problems.

 

[janemariesayed]

In the Medical News Today newsletter, it says that people who have dementia also suffer from depression. It also says that those people who suffer from depression can develop dementia at a later stage. I tend to agree as I have suffered from depression for years and my memory is very bad. My doctor tells me that I have nothing wrong with me though, at least not physically.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/193951.php

 

[Concernedgal]

Yes. It definitely is. When you suffer from anxiety and depression and are constantly stressed, your body produces a stress releasing hormone called" cortisol"
. Cortisol is a very harmful hormone that damages your body . More information to come.

 

[Concernedgal]

you see in small doses it's helpful for your body but, in large doses however it can become harmful to your body. It's like alot of things. ... Too much of it is usually a bad thing.

 

[Concernedgal]

kes ,here's a little more information on it.

 

[Concernedgal]

This is the next thing i'm going to consider on my journey of finding the cause for my anxiety. Maybe if it is my cortisol levels then I can take steps to get that under control then I can get my anxiety under control without medication.