Why does ageism matter? Six ways ageism impacts older people’s mental health

The harms of ageism are widespread, leaving a negative impact on the individual, society and the national economy. One impact of ageism that is little understood and little discussed, is the negative, limiting and lasting effect it can have on mental health.

In this blog I want to highlight some of the ways that this can happen.

Ageist attitudes can cause significant impact to older people’s mental health and self-esteem

The way that society treats older people, and how they are portrayed in the media, can have a significant impact on how older people see themselves and their mental health. Self-directed ageism occurs when a person internalises ageism due to repeated exposure to ageist messages and, as a result, modifies their own thinking and behaviour.

There is evidence to show that constant negative messaging about ageing in society can lead people to believe that it inevitably means reduced physical and mental functioning, often much earlier than the statistics show. This inhibits people from seeking the help that would benefit them and can result in unnecessary suffering, pain and emotional distress. For some there may be a tendency to engage in unhealthy behaviours such as smoking or drinking while others may consider that engaging in physical activity will not have the benefits to counter what is perceived as unavoidable decline.

The perception of ageing is crucial. A study has even showed that older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of ageing lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of ageing, even after accounting for age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness, and functional health.

Ageism can mean older people are not offered the same support for mental health as younger people  
 
Ageism in healthcare can mean that decisions about care and treatment for older people is based on their age and not an objective assessment of health needs or evidence of effectiveness. For example, older people with mental health problems are more likely to be prescribed antidepressants and less likely to be referred for talking therapies than younger adults.  

Signs of depression and anxiety are often overlooked and assumed to be a normal and common result of getting older, a sweeping and damaging stereotype resulting in unwarranted levels of distress. Stereotypes ascribed to older people by healthcare professionals can include both negative (inflexible, lonely, boring) and apparently positive (friendly and likeable) perceptions, and both can lead to older people receiving treatment based on ageist assumptions rather than individual circumstance and need.

Working in an ageist workplace can damage older people’s mental health

Working at an organisation which does not recognise the value that older workers bring can be extremely damaging for the mental health of older employees.

Many older employees are given the impression from their employers they are considered too old to progress at work or too old to be offered training to develop new skills. This may even force some into retiring earlier than planned. Surveys also indicate how the quality of work among people in their 50s and 60s has significantly declined over the last 20 years. The proportion of older workers who feel unsatisfied in their work has grown over the last 20 years from 22% to 35% alongside significant increases in the number who think their work is excessively demanding and feel a lack of control over their work.

Research has shown that these experiences in the workplace, working in a discriminatory workplace and enduring poor quality work are associated with worse physical and mental health. This is one of the important reasons why The Centre for Ageing Better’s launched the nationwide Age-friendly Employer Pledge programme in November which supports employers to recognise the importance and value of older workers and to help them recruit the talent and expertise that they very much need in these times of skills shortages.

The mental health impact of being out of work later in life

As the Centre for Ageing Better’s new Elevate project which supports older people facing redundancy makes clear, losing your job later on in your career, particularly if at the end of long years of service with the same employer, can come as a significant shock and a blow to self-esteem. It can leave many older workers overwhelmed as they attempt to grapple with a mixture of emotions, new options and changing needs. It can also be an abrupt end to the daily social interaction and support from work colleagues.

Being out-of-work as an older person can also be extremely stressful and damaging for mental health with understandable concerns about age bias in recruitment. One in three people aged 50-64 have reported feeling disadvantaged in the recruitment process due to their age. There is also the consequent financial stress caused by not working and worrying about saving sufficiently for a looming retirement.

An Ageing Better survey in 2021 revealed workers in their 50s and 60s felt going through recruitment processes at their age was “soul-destroying” and placed them at a disadvantage compared to younger candidates. Among older workers who had experienced age discrimination more than two thirds (68%) said it had affected their confidence, and almost half (43%) said it had affected their health and wellbeing.

Living in poor quality housing can lead to poor quality mental health

More than 2 million people over the age of 55 live in homes which do not meet basic standards of decency. Poor quality homes can have a significant impact on physical health in a number of ways including respiratory and other illnesses brought on from excessive cold, damp or mould and injuries from falls in the home caused by poor accessibility, uneven flooring, trip hazards or general deterioration and disrepair of ageing properties. But Centre for Ageing Better research also shows that such problems can have just as much impact emotionally as they do physically. Cold and damp can make people feel miserable, embarrassed or helpless in their own homes while accessibility failings within a property can also be a source of mental health problems, increasing anxiety about moving around their home for people with mobility issues.

We desperately need a commitment at central and local government level to improve the quality of people’s homes. Otherwise increasingly more older people will be destined to living in substandard homes which threaten their physical and mental wellbeing and creates a huge demand on health and social services. To ignore this is an expression of ageism by omission.

Living in a community which does not meet your needs can be isolating

Experiencing loneliness and social isolation can have serious impact on people's mental health. Older people are at particular risk of being isolated in their own communities because of mobility issues, bereavement and many other reasons.

Feeling connected to our community can combat isolation, however widespread ageism means that, all too often, community infrastructure such as transport, social and volunteering opportunities are not designed with older people in mind. And this means some older people struggle to participate fully in their communities.

However, across the UK communities are adopting the Age-friendly Community approach to ensure older people are considered and their voice heard within the development of community plans and projects. And by creating opportunities for social engagement and reducing the likelihood of loneliness and isolation, this approach has knock-on benefits for older people’s mental health.

During this mental health awareness week, it is important to think about everyone, young, and old, when we consider how best to reduce the distress that millions of people are enduring day on day. We know that ageism, particularly when combined with poverty and deprivation or other forms of discrimination, is particularly damaging as we grow older. There is much we can do much to prevent it but first we must acknowledge its existence and the harm it can cause.