Symptoms in older persons may differ somewhat from symptoms in other populations. Depression in older people is often characterized by memory problems, confusion, social withdrawal, loss of appetite, inability to sleep, irritability, and, in some cases, delusions and hallucinations. Older depressed individuals often have severe feelings of sadness, but these feelings are not acknowledged or openly shown. Thinking that depression is an inevitable sign of aging, many older individuals ignore or deny their symptoms. The commonly believed myth that depression comes naturally with old age is not true .
Clinical depression is an illness that needs medical attention just like any other illness.
It's natural to feel grief in the face of major life changes like those so many older people experience, such as leaving a home of many years or losing a loved one. Sadness and grief are perfectly normal temporary reactions to the inevitable losses and hardships of life. Unlike normal sadness, however, clinical depression doesn't go away by itself. It needs to be treated professionally. Any unresolved depression can affect the immune system, which makes the depressed individual more susceptible to other illnesses.