topic Getting Through Tough Times in Leave a Health Tip

Getting Through Tough Times

AARPMaggie — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 17:20:56 GMT

Life throws curveballs, such as health crises, natural disasters, and even a global pandemic. It can also mean dealing with a job loss, sickness, or loss of a close friend. Read this blog to learn how building mental resilience can help change your attitude and thought patterns and make it easier to bounce back from life's setbacks. Visit AARP® Staying Sharp® for more brain health information.

Re: Getting Through Tough Times

GailL1 — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 19:12:40 GMT

WHAT ???

Are your surveys better than actual (scientific) reporting? Evidently, you think so - but that isn't backed up by what science says

From the blog post

Many older adults, who have lived through difficult times, have built up mental resilience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, surveys found that those ages 65 and older reported less anxiety and depression than those ages 18 to 24.

That survey result does not chive with the evidence. 😕

People over the age of 60 take the most anti-depressive meds and have been for a much longer time. That's one of the reasons that Medicare Part D plans finally had to start covering them - in fact, today, they are one of the 6 protected classes of medications under the Medicare Prescription Drug program, meaning that insurers have to cover ALL of them in some plan for ease of access. Even Benzodiazepines that were not covered in 2006 when the Medicare Part D plans started but they were added to the Medicare drug class in 2013.

From the CDC:

The percentage of antidepressant use increased with age, from

7.9% among adults aged 18–39 to
14.4% for those aged 40–59 to
19.0% for those aged 60 and over.
use was highest among women aged 60 and over (24.3%)
A similar increase in the use of antidepressant medications by age was observed for men and women.CDC Antidepressant Use Among Adults: United States, 2015–2018

Re: Getting Through Tough Times

AARPMaggie — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 15:43:40 GMT

Gail, Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We recognize that maintaining good mental health is important for people of all ages, and we’re glad to hear about the positive changes to Medicare Part D. We appreciate your input. Maggie