Depression

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Basic Facts

Depression is a mood disorder. It affects your daily life. If you have depression, take it seriously and get treatment right away. Depression can cause:

  • Sleep problems
  • Long-term sadness
  • Anger and frustration
  • Feelings of hopelessness or loss
  • Low energy
  • Problems with work, relationships, and social life
  • Suicide

Common Types of Depression

Depression ranges from mild, short periods of sadness to severe depression that lasts a long time and makes daily life hard. The most common types of depression are:

Major depression

Major or “clinical” depression is the most severe type. It lasts a long time. It happens every day for at least 2 weeks. Many older adults have major depression for a long time before they know something is wrong and look for help. 

If you have signs of major depression, call your healthcare provider right away. Call if you have: 

  • Frequent crying spells for little or no reason
  • Depression is harming your work or family life
  • Thoughts of suicide or harming yourself
Three types of major depression are common in older adults.
  1. Depression linked to physical illness.  People with serious illness have a higher risk of depression. Medicines used to treat these illnesses can cause side effects that lead to depression. Symptoms of physical illness can look like depression. So when symptoms are severe, people need treatment.
  2. Depression linked to the death of family or friends.  As people age they are likely to lose family and friends. So the risk of depression goes up. Major depression can happen when grief is very strong or lasts a long time. This type of grief needs treatment from a healthcare provider.
  3. Seasonal depression. People who get depressed in winter may have seasonal depression. This is also called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. This type of depression usually goes away after winter ends. If it happens again for at least two years in a row, a healthcare provider may diagnose SAD.

Psychotic depression

People with severe depression may have hallucinations, delusions, or paranoia.  

  • Hallucinations happen when a person sees or hears things that are not really there. 
  • Delusions happen when a person has trouble knowing what is real. 
  • Paranoia happens when a person feels very suspicious. For example, they may worry that other people want to harm them. They may believe someone is trying to poison them. 

Psychotic depression is most common in severe depression and near the end of life.

Minor (sub-clinical) depression

When a person has repeated, short, or few symptoms of depression, it is called minor depression.  This type of depression can cause problems such as:

  • Poor health
  • More visits to the doctor
  • Problems with daily activities
  • Decreased social activity
  • Early death

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder (once called “manic-depressive disorder”) involves periods of major depression that switch with manic periods. During manic periods, a person may:

  • Be very upbeat, talkative, and active for a week or more
  • Feel overly confident or important, have an inflated sense of self-worth, and have a higher sex drive
  • Sleep less than normal
  • Spend money wildly
  • Have racing thoughts or false beliefs (paranoid delusions)

Older adults may seem irritable or restless instead of upbeat and overconfident.

Suicide

If you have thoughts of suicide, a plan for suicide, or thoughts of harming yourself, call 911 right away. You can also call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. 

The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free and private. It is open to everyone.

Risks for suicide include:

  • Previous attempts at suicide, suicidal thoughts, or a wish to be dead
  • Recent losses and hopelessness
  • Not following treatment recommendations (ie, untreated depression)
  • Impulsive behaviors
  • Substance use disorder
  • Feeling of being a burden to family or others
  • Loneliness
  • Uncontrolled long term pain

Two screening questions are used for depression and suicide risk. If a person answers yes to either of these questions, get help right away.

  1. Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?
  2. Over the past 2 weeks, have you had thoughts of hurting or killing yourself?

How Common is Depression?

Up to two percent of older adults have major depression. More women than men report feeling depressed. Up to 15 percent of older adults have a milder form of depression. 

About 75 percent of older adults who died by suicide likely had depression. Widowed men age 70 or older have the highest risk of depression and suicide.

Many older adults do not admit, or even realize, that they are depressed. So they do not get the treatment they need. People of color are less likely than White people to use mental health services.

 

Last Reviewed and Updated: October 2026 
By: AGS/HiAF Public Education Committee, HealthinAging.org Content Reviewers 

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