FAQ: Is Depression a Normal Part of Aging?
A fellow caregiver asked...
Is depression a normal part of aging?
Expert Answer
Kenneth Robbins, M.D., is a senior medical editor of Caring.com. He is board certified in psychiatry and internal medicine, has a master's in public health from the University of Michigan, and is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His current clinical practice focuses primarily on geriatrics. He has written and contributed to many articles and is frequently invited to speak on psychiatric topics, such as psychiatry and the law, depression, anxiety, dementia, and suicide risk and prevention.
No, it's not normal to develop depression as one gets older. Depression is all too common, but it's never normal. Depression is an illness.
The risk of depression does increase as one gets older, however, as other illnesses increase or the ability to function independently decreases. And certain depression triggers are more common with age, such as becoming a caregiver, experiencing empty-nest syndrome, losing a job, or having other financial worries. These conditions can trigger depression in people genetically susceptible to this illness.