Depression and Suicide in Seniors

When asked what population is most at risk of suicide the first response is often teenagers or young adults. In reality, however, adults over the age of 65 have the highest rate of suicide in Canada according the CMHA.  Evelyn Burns-Weinrib is an 80-year-old woman from Toronto who has experienced depression later in life and survived a suicide attempt 3 years ago. She has made her experience of living with mental illness public in hopes of breaking down many of the barriers and stigma associated with depression and aging that often prevent individuals from seeking professional help. "I think that this is something that should be talked about, not brushed under the carpet. I will talk about it whenever and wherever I can … When you get older, you face a lot of losses - the loss of your job due to forced retirement or it just disappears, the loss of family members and friends. You lose your physical health, have less money to live on, and you become more dependent on others. I've learned that these are all factors that can trigger depression in seniors," says Evelyn. In order to further educate older adults about depression and mental illness in later life she has also made a monetary donation to Baycrest in Toronto, Ontario, to develop a website targeted at seniors living depression. To learn more about Evelyn's story of survival and resiliency check out this media release from Baycrest and this video interview from CityNews Toronto.

To access Baycrest's seniors' mental health website visit www.baycrest.org/mentalhealth

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