He said younger relatives are frequently disbelieving that their loved one would commit suicide, a form of denial or unawareness also noted by coordinators of support groups for survivors. Even doctors miss the signs. Studies have shown that the majority of older adults who commit suicide had visited their primary care physician within the month before taking their lives. Suicide has a closer link to depression among the elderly than is the case with suicide attempts by younger people, for whom drug addictions or relationship problems may often be factors. The lingering stigma in the older generation about seeking mental health treatment limits the amount of help that might be rendered in the form of medication and counseling to treat their illnesses.
Experts say depression and physical illness often interact and aggravate one another.
Elderly patients tend to focus more on their physical symptoms, however, as do doctors, who frequently lack either time or understanding to assess any mental health issues. By the time they reach old age, baby boomers are expected to be more willing to seek help for depression as improved education helps them recognize that sadness, weight loss, sleeplessness and withdrawal from life aren't natural consequences of aging they're supposed to endure. Loss of identity Part of the theory about elderly men's high suicide rate is that men just don't cope with difficulties in old age as well as women do. John McIntosh, a psychology professor and specialist in elder suicide at Indiana University South Bend, said men defined themselves in large part by their occupations, which carry little meaning after retirement. Women have traditionally identified themselves by their role in their family, which, he said, is still of importance in later years.