Mental disorders and illnesses in old age are not an inescapable fate, particularly if physicians can look beyond the medical aspects of an illness to the potential interpersonal, familial, and social influences. Indeed, the different factors involved in the genesis of mental disorder intertwine to form an intricate network, from which it is very difficult to isolate single components. Moreover, the importance of the components that trigger an acute mental disorder and shape the course and diversity of the symptomatology can continue to change. The interweaving of different pathogenic factors contributes further to the diversity and ambiguity of the clinical symptomatology.