Everyone occasionally feels blue or sad, but these feelings are usually fleeting and pass within a couple of days. When a person has a depressive disorder, it interferes with daily life, normal functioning, and causes pain for both the person with the disorder and those who care about him or her. Depression is a common but serious illness, and most who experience it need treatment to get better.Looking Out For Depression in Older AdultsDepression is an illness that affects many older people. It generally affects their physical as well as their mental well-being. Fortunately, it is a highly treatable illness. Complete, or at least partial improvement, can be obtained in eighty to ninety percent of cases.The Tell Tale Signs of DepressionNot every depressed person experiences all of the signs of depression. But the presence of a whole cluster of these signs should arouse concern, and should lead to having the person evaluated by a physician or mental health professional. The most common signs of depression are:a sad, discouraged, moodblue, or emptypersistent pessimism about the present, the future, and the pastloss of interest in work, hobbies, social life, and sexdifficulty in making decisionslack of energy, and feeling slowed downthoughts of suiciderestlessness, irritabilityloss of appetite and loss of weightdisturbed sleep, especially early morning awakeningdepressive, gloomy, or desolate dreamsTreatment of DepressionThere are three main forms of treatment for depression: (1) counseling and/or psychotherapy; (2) antidepressant medications; and (3) electroconvulsive therapy or ECT.Psychotherapy:- Psychotherapy can be used when the individual who is depressed is still able to interact with a counselor or therapist, and when a specific loss can be identified about which the depressed person can talk with a therapist.Antidepressant:- Antidepressantt medication can be used when the depression comes on "out of the blue," or when the individual can no longer respond to verbal support, explanations, or other psychological interactions.ECT:- ECT is used only rarely, in the most severe cases, when the patient does not respond to these other forms of therapy, or when medications cannot be used due to specific medical reasons.Pandemics can be stressful:-The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a new disease and what could happen can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Coping with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.Stress during an infectious disease outbreak can sometimes cause the following:Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones, your financial situation or job, or loss of support services you rely on.Changes in sleep or eating patterns.Difficulty sleeping or concentrating.Worsening of chronic health problems.Worsening of mental health conditions.Increased use of tobacco, and/or alcohol and other substances.Everyone reacts differently to stressful situationsHow you respond to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic can depend on your background, your social support from family or friends, your financial situation, your health and emotional background, the community you live in, and many other factors. The changes that can happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways we try to contain the spread of the virus can affect anyone.People who may respond more strongly to the stress of a crisis include:People who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 (for example, older people, and people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions).Children and teens.People caring for family members or loved ones.Frontline workers such as health care providers and first responders,Essential workers who work in the food industry.People who have existing mental health conditions.People who use substances or have a substance use disorder.People who have lost their jobs, had their work hours reduced, or had other major changes to their employment.People who have disabilities or developmental delay.People who are socially isolated from others, including people who live alone, and people in rural or frontier areas.People in some racial and ethnic minority groups.People who do not have access to information in their primary language.People experiencing homelessness.People who live in congregate (group) settings.Healthy ways to cope with stressKnow what to do if you are sick and are concerned about COVID-19. Contact a health professional before you start any self-treatment for COVID-19.Know where and how to get treatment and other support services and resources, including counseling or therapy (in person or through telehealth services).Take care of your emotional health. Taking care of your emotional health will help you think clearly and react to the urgent needs to protect yourself and your family.Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.Take care of your body.Take deep breaths, stretch, or  meditateexternal icon.Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals.Exercise regularly.Get plenty of sleep.Avoid excessive alcohol and drug use.Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.Connect with your community- or faith-based organizations. While social distancing measures are in place, consider connecting online, through social media, or by phone or mail.Recovering from COVID-19 or ending home isolationIt can be stressful to be separated from others if you have or were exposed to COVID-19. Each person ending a period of home isolation may feel differently about it.Emotional reactions may include:Mixed emotions, including relief.Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones.Stress from the experience of having COVID-19 and monitoring yourself, or being monitored by others.Sadness, anger, or frustration because friends or loved ones have fears of getting the disease from you, even though you are cleared to be around others.Guilt about not being able to perform normal work or parenting duties while you had COVID-19.Worry about getting re-infected or sick again even though you’ve already had COVID-19.Other emotional or mental health changes.Children may also feel upset or have other strong emotions if they, or someone they know, has COVID-19, even if they are now better and able to be around others again.“Courage is not having the strength to go on. It is going on when you don’t have the strength.” –Theodore Roosevelt