A novel study has found that face-to-face contact can help lessen severity of depression among elderly. Other ways of communication, including texts, emails and phone calls, were not found to be effective when it came to improving mental-well being of old people.

Study’s lead researcher Dr. Alan Teo said that study participants who regularly met with their friends and family were having less chances of reporting symptoms of depression when compared with participants who used methods of communication including email or phone.

The researchers said that benefits of face-to-face communication have continued even after years. Study researchers said that people who have not indulged into in-person social contact with their children, other family, and friends for every few months were having more chance of facing clinical depression within two years.

Teo said the findings show that face to face chat is quite a beneficial solution for depression prevention. “We found that all forms of socialization aren't equal. Phone calls and digital communication, with friends or family members, do not have the same power as face-to-face social interactions in helping to stave off depression”, affirmed Teo.

Common symptoms of depression include- feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, loss of interest in daily activity, appetite or weight change, sleep change, anger, irritation, loss of energy and self-loathing.

Nowadays, not only depression, but anxiety has also become a concern whose symptoms include prolonged feeling of sadness, excessive anxiety, panic, isolation or no more interest in taking part in regular daily activities, thoughts of self-harm or suicide, change in personal hygiene and excessive use of alcohol and other drugs.

“We know that stress can be a trigger of psychological conditions, especially in the context of unpredictability and uncontrollability. This seems to be inherent in the transition to college,” says Lisa Smith, director of BU’s Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders and a College of Arts & Sciences clinical associate professor of psychological and brain sciences. “

“Often it is more important to manage your emotional reaction to stress than to try to change the stressful situation, which may not be fully under your control,” she says. “I often think that if students were given an Emotions 101 course in high school or college, they would be much better equipped to know how emotions work well versus what emotional coping strategies only serve to heighten anxiety and depression. It’s often surprisingly counterintuitive.”