Salinas, CA The Elderly Need To Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive And Eliminate The Negative To Avoid Depression

by Richard Kuehn on 09/03/12

Many of the elderly suffer from depression, particularly those which have lost a spouse or many of their friends.  But recent research gives physicians new tools to deal with the depression.   Scientists have found that seniors tend to process negative information less deeply than positive information and they also focus on things which can give them immediate pleasure rather than worry about the long-term.  And why not?  There's no time like the present.  But those who feel like they are reaching the ending phase of their life without achieving all of their goals can suffer deep emotional problems.  "It seems to be essential for our emotional well-being to not look back in anger and to focus on the positive when we are older," Stefanie Brassen, a researcher at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, told the Wall Street Journal.  About 15% of those over 65 suffer from depression but researchers are now developing new tools to get the elderly to focus on what they have reached in life and the resources and abilities that they still have which can give them a healthier and happier outlook.  We can learn lessons from the research as well as the song written by Harold Arlen with the music written by Johhny Mercer, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive."  It was performed by many artists over the years from Bette Midler and Bing Crosby to Aretha Franklin.  Links to their Youtube videos are below, so click on the links and eliminate the negative and latch onto the affirmative but don't mess with Mr. in between.

 

Johnny Mercer:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3jdbFOidds

 

Bette Midler and Bing Crosby:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z45EB4TiYz4

 

Aretha Franklin:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IP9h40z0sk