Thursday,
April 12, 2001
DEPRESSION
IN THE AGING SOMETIMES MAY BE CAUSED BY REPRESSED MEMORIES
MANHATTAN
-- Repressed memories of past life experience can lead to depression
in the aging population, according to a professor at Kansas State
University.
Leon
Rappaport, professor of psychology at K-State, said sometimes, in
later life, a memory of a person or event from years earlier can
trigger feelings of guilt, remorse or anxiety and lead to depression.
"Memories
come back from occasions when the person may have done something
they regret or have reasons for feelings of guilt," Rappaport
said. "Frequently, this sort of things may occur when people
recall remote events or they are reminded of times when they may
have behaved badly."
The
recollection of repressed memories from years past is, according
to Rappaport, caused by the deterioration of brain function as a
result of the loss of neurons in the brain. This causes a shift
in the ability to remember.
"Things
that happened recently are easily forgotten and confused, but there
are vivid images and memories of things that may have happened 50
or 60 years earlier," Rappaport said. "Cognitive control
tends to deteriorate somewhat, and the consequence is that you don't
get as much effective repression as earlier on."
Most
often, Rappaport said these memories come in the form of a dream.
Their causes, however, can vary greatly according to the individual.
"Sometimes
it is brought on by them seeing someone that reminds them of someone
else they knew long ago," Rappaport said. "Very frequently,
it's family related."
Rappaport
said the confusion of present with past events, or confabulation,
often can trigger the recollection of repressed memories. Even this,
however, can take different forms.
"Sometimes,
an older person may meet someone new and confuse that person with
someone they knew 50 years ago or they may see a film with actors
who have been dead for a long time," Rappaport said. "Sometimes,
anything that comes along like that can trigger recollection."
These
conditions can be prevented and remedied through a number of different
treatments. One way is through encouragement counseling.
"It
is typically done to encourage the person to, not exactly relive,
but to review their experiences," Rappaport said. "Just
by talking about it, you reduce the feelings of guilt or anxiety
and help them accept that nobody's perfect and everyone makes mistakes
in life. They can forgive themselves."
Another
way Rappaport said depression brought on by recollection of repressed
memories can be averted is through adherence to the old adage of
"use it or lose it." This includes keeping the mind sharp
in abilities like mathematics and language, which help to maintain
fit mental condition in later life.
"People
who don't use certain kinds of cognitive skills and abilities just
lose that skill that they had," Rappaport said. "Whereas
if they keep up with whatever it is that they do with the abilities
that they have, then those abilities tend to remain in pretty good
shape."
Another
way this type of cognitive maintenance can be achieved is through
new technology. Rappaport said e-mail offers many older people an
avenue for new knowledge, challenges and communication with others.
"E-mail
becomes a type of social stimulation, so there's a lot of effort
in that direction," Rappaport said. "That gives people
new knowledge and stuff to talk about and new content to communicate,
and that encourages this sense of remaining up with the contemporary
culture."
-30-
Prepared
by Jeff Caldwell. For more information contact Rappaport at 785-532-0616
or e-mail at rappo@k-state.edu.
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