Ep26 - Old People Get Depressed, Too

With the exception of a few, most of the people we’ve interviewed on Anxious Faith so far are between the ages of 20 and 40. It seems a natural place to look for stories of mental health challenges; after all, we’re the age group that seem to be dealing with them—or at least, talking about them—most.

But would it surprise you to know that some of the biggest sufferers of mental health challenges are people aged over 65? Conversations around rising mental health challenges usually focus on the statistics around working age adults, and leave out a huge percentage of our population. Older people, it turns out, can struggle with their mental health just as much—if not more—than younger generations.

So today we’re talking with Ben, an Aged-Care Chaplain here in Australia, who meets with people in care homes every day and sees the shockingly high number of those who are dealing with a mental health condition. Most of us would know someone in the later stage of their life, whether that’s a parent, grandparent, or even one of those nice old people from church.

Through today’s chat with Ben, we want to learn more of what mental ill-health looks like for the older members of our society, and what we—as individuals, and the broader church—can be doing to better love, care, and support them.

So let’s hear from Ben, and learn more together.