Facing & Fighting Mental Illness in Retirement with Dr. Clifford Singer

EP 008: On today’s episode of the Retirement Success in Maine Podcast, we are thrilled to be joined by Clifford Milo Singer, MD, DFAPA, AGSF, Chief, Geriatric Mental Health and Neuropsychiatry at Northern Light Acadia Hospital to have an in-depth conversation about mood/emotional and cognitive disorders that aging individuals may face. Some of the questions we ask Dr. Singer in this episode include:

*With many of our client conversations, our clients seem to have a lot of concern of developing mental illnesses as they age. How founded is that concern with the general population in aging? Are there higher risks based on certain factors?

*Are there certain behaviors or concerns that are more unique living in the Northeast, or specifically Maine?

*Can you describe each of the conditions, how they’re developed, and how the symptoms become apparent to yourself or your loved ones? If someone is noticing those symptoms, what’s the best way to address it with your loved one? It seems like that would be a hard topic for a family member to address. How early can some of these aging diseases be detected? How does early detection change how someone lives with the disease? 

What You'll Learn In This Podcast Episode:

• Introduction of Dr. Cliff Singer and his background. [2:20]
• A conversation about the program that Dr. Singer launched at Acadia Hospital [8:54]
• Discussion about the overall concern(s) about developing mood/emotional and cognitive disorders and how founded those concerns are. [18:40]
• How do I know if I’m developing mood/emotional or cognitive disorders? If so, what's next? [23:16]
• Is it tough for people to admit vulnerabilities like facing their own mortality? [27:44]
• When developing cognitive (decline) disorders, like dementia, are there warning signs? How does it progress? Can anything be done to delay the decline? [37:30]
• What does the Geriatric Mental Health and Neuropsychiatry field look like over the next 30 years? [54:03]
• What is Dr. Singer’s idea of Retirement Success?[57:57]