NEW YouGov research from Age UK reveals nearly half of adults nationally – numbering around 7.7 million, aged 55 and over – say they have experienced depression and almost the same number have suffered with anxiety.

The death of loved ones, personal ill health and financial worries are the most common triggers for mental health problems, yet worryingly more than a third say they did not know where to go for help and support.

The news comes as NHS England has published new guidance, ‘Mental health in older people’, to help GPs spot the tell-tale signs of anxiety and depression, and identify a range of mental health problems including those which specifically affect older people.

One-in-four older people said they felt it was more difficult for them to discuss mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, compared to younger people.

The barriers were that when older people were growing up, society didn’t recognise depression or anxiety as a health condition; depression and anxiety used to be seen as a weakness, so it is not something the older generation are comfortable discussing; the older generation were taught to approach life with a “stiff upper lip”.

Age UK Surrey’s chief executive officer Sue Zirps said: “Depression and anxiety affect so many older people, but can often go unnoticed and untreated. Older people should not miss out on help and treatment because they don’t know where to go for help or because of a stiff upper lip approach to dealing with problems.”

Age UK Surrey runs a range of services to help support older people with mental health problems and to help reduce loneliness and isolation, ranging from ‘Making Connections’ to a dedicated counselling service.

The charity revealed 94 per cent of people who have had counselling from them in the last nine months said it had made a difference to their lives. The number of people over 85 continues to grow in Surrey:–

• There has been a 25 per cent rise since 2001

• There were 32,300 people aged over 85 (2014)

• Nearly 214,000 people were aged over 65 in 2014

• Statistics show people in Surrey generally live longer than the national average

• In 2012, there were 15,456 people in the county living with dementia, predicted to rise to 19,000 by 2020.