Its victims are the family members who live and grieve the shocking loss of someone they loved and lost to such an unexpected event. The suicide rate among the elderly might well be higher due to the covert nature of death. The depression can become more severe and more difficult to treat due to coexisting medical problems such as heart disease or arthritis. Although depression is not a normal part of aging, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated in the elderly because of the unique characteristics of it in the elderly. Depression in the elderly differs from that of younger people due to various critical losses typically experienced more often after age 60.
Isolation causes people to believe that no body cares and that their life is useless.
These beliefs lead to a poor attitude and more neglect, which leads to loneliness and a cycle is created. Eventually the person becomes so depressed that suicide seems to be the only alternative. As mentioned earlier, men are at higher risk of committing suicide in late life than women although women have a higher reported rate of depression than do men. Some slowing of the five senses is expected and so we are not surprised when an elderly person loses their appetite or sleeps later in the day. Stress is another factor involved in the choice of suicide.