Older people and mental health

7-minute read

If you need to talk to someone about your mental health, call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Key facts

Mental health affects how you are feeling and how you cope in everyday life.
You should seek help if your mood or behaviours affect your everyday life.
Older people can have mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.
Grief, loss or illness commonly affect the mental health of older people.
Eating well, getting enough sleep and staying physically active can help improve your mental health.

What is mental health?

Mental health is a state of wellbeing. Getting older can bring its share of challenges, such as loss of independence or grief. These can affect your mental health and increase the risk of depression, anxiety and suicide.

If feelings like sadness or worry are preventing you from getting the most out of life, help and support is available.

Why is mental health important?

Your mental health is a central part of your overall wellbeing. If you don't have good mental health, you may be less physically well. You might also have poor self-esteem or feel less confident in your ability to face life and its challenges.

Keeping mentally healthy is important for your own day-to-day functioning, as well as for maintaining healthy relationships with others and enjoying life to the full. If you feel that your mental health is not as good as it could be, it’s a good idea to seek support.

What can cause mental health issues for older people?

Many older people have mental health issues at some point. This may be due to:

illness
frailty and loss of independence
grief and loss
financial stress
changing living arrangements
increasing social isolation
brain injury

CHECK YOUR SYMPTOMS — Use the Symptom Checker and find out if you need to seek medical help.

When should I see my doctor?

It is important to reach out for support or speak to your doctor if you feel like your mood negatively impacts your day-to-day life.

If your doctor thinks that other health professionals should be involved, they can refer you to the right professional who can help. This could include a psychologist or psychiatrist who specialises in treating older people.

If you, or someone you know, is having suicidal thoughts and is in immediate danger, call triple zero (000). To talk to someone now, call Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

FIND A HEALTH SERVICE — The Service Finder can help you find doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and other health services.

How can I improve my wellbeing?

There are plenty of things you can do to improve your mental health and wellbeing:

Eat well.
Get enough sleep.
Exercise regularly.
Spend time with friends and family.
Share feelings and stay in touch with others.
Take part in enjoyable and relaxing activities.
Volunteer and help others.

Get more tips to improve your mental health.

Remember that if you are struggling, there is plenty of help available.

ASK YOUR DOCTOR — Preparing for an appointment? Use the Question Builder for general tips on what to ask your GP or specialist.

Resources and support

Speaking to your doctor about your mental health is a good first step — if needed they can refer you to mental health support services that best suit your needs.

There are also several excellent organisations that older people can contact for help. They include:

My Aged Care — aged care services provided by the Australian government call 1800 200 422.
Open Arms — online mental health support for veterans, ADF personnel and their family members.
Head to Health — for advice and to get connected to local mental health services, you can call 1800 595 212. Check the operating times.
Beyond Blue — for people feeling depressed or anxious, call 1300 22 4636 or chat online.
SANE Australia — people living with a mental illness, call 1800 187 263
Black Dog Institute — online help for people affected by mood disorders.
Lifeline — for anyone having a personal crisis, call 13 11 14 or chat online.
Suicide Call Back Service — 24/7 counselling for anyone thinking about suicide, call 1300 659 467.

If you need support or advice about brain injuries, call Synapse Australia’s Brain Injury Organisation on 1800 673 074.

Do you have a speech or hearing impairment?

Call Deaf Connect on 1300 773 803 for Sign Language Interpreting Services.
You can call the National Relay Service on 1800 555 660 if you need hearing or speech impairment support.

Other languages

Do you speak a language other than English?

You can get translating and interpreting support for My Aged Care by calling Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 and ask for 1800 200 422.
Transcultural Mental Health Centre has many resources about wellbeing and mental health in different languages.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

My Aged Care provides help and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Call on 1800 200 422 and ask for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interpreter.
Head to Health has mental health support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
Wellmob has more mental health information and resources Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
13YARN provide 24/7 crisis support over the phone on 13 92 76.