Alzheimer's Disease Support Group
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration with declining activities of daily living and neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. An early symptom is memory loss (amnesia), usually manifesting as minor forgetfulness that becomes pronounced with illness progression, with relative...
I feel a bit like a leopard about to change its spots! But are we unjustly underestimating peoples awareness of our condition, maybe they do realize just how devastating the illness is but they just close their eyes to the reality as not affecting them at that moment in time and only start to find out more about the illness on a need to know bases which can be the same case with many illnesses, but lets just reflect on Alzheimers and Dementia and some of the reasons why none sufferers might be so reluctant to talk about it and openly acknowledge that the problem exists.
Is it a Fear Factor of the illness which as many sufferers know is furtive since it creeps up on you from behind and overtakes your mind without any warning, one moment your feeling at one with the world and life in general only to find that over a period of time you start questioning your own abilities and asking yourself what the hell am I doing and whats happening to my sense of rationality.
In past years the illness was always associated with old age and maybe as part and parcel of the natural aging process but this is not the case as even people in their midd 40s can fall foul of the illness which must cause a Fear Factor within them.
Unfortunately to many people still think of Alzheimers and Dementia as being just a condition of forgetfulness like: Where did I put my car keys, I cant remember that persons name, whats the news paper doing in the fridge, and forgetting the normal day to day things that once we would have done automatically without thinking but now a Fear Factor and panic set in.
Although there is a lot of media information about Alzheimers and Dementia it always seems to cover the latter stages of the illness which causes people a lot of anxiety even though it is the reality of the condition, again its a Fear Factor whereby people decide its best to steer clear of us, there needs to be far more media coverage of the illness from its early onset and then progressively through the illness otherwise its like only reading the end of a book without understanding the opening chapters thus the story becomes confusing and distorted.
Are people just scared of acknowledging all the problems associated with the illness again causing them a Fear Factor so they dont want to talk or listen about our problems such as: The terrible Nightmares, hallucinations, incontinence, depression, fears, loneliness, psychosis, disorientations, wandering, agitation, temperament tantrums, aggression, apathy, crude innuendos and verbal aggression, obsessions, delusions, insomnia, eating and swallowing problems, the slow lose of ability to do anything for ourselves, as in; Cleaning our teeth, washing, shaving, washing and brushing the hair, bathing, changing clothes in fact even knowing what clothes to wear with the right session, and for some theres the Fear Factor of unacceptable social behaviour this is just some of the many problems that a sufferer and family might have to contend with each day and can become progressively worse from early onset to the latter stages.
Maybe its also due to the way society values youthfulness and the abilities of the younger generation, whereas with Alzheimers and Dementia we can be deemed to be useless to society again a Fear Factor
There is also the Fear Factor that since the illness manifests itself so slowly that by the time a person has been given a confirmed diagnoses many of their once abilities have already started to deteriorate drastically.
Even if you are fortunate enough to get an early diagnoses which most people arent it doesnt necessarily mean you will get the best medication immediately without having to pay a high cost for it so yet again a Fear Factor sets in as to Can I afford the medication costs to maintain a longer quality in life
Such can be the scenario for sufferers of Alzheimers and Dementia and Im sure that their must be many none sufferers whos daily life have in some way been touched by this illness, but isnt it just human nature to close our eyes to what we dont want to see or acknowledge maybe that Fear Factor is within us all casting a shadow from behind us until such time that it becomes the reality of dementia.
Barry
http://www.simplesite.com/BarrysAlzheimers
Is it a Fear Factor of the illness which as many sufferers know is furtive since it creeps up on you from behind and overtakes your mind without any warning, one moment your feeling at one with the world and life in general only to find that over a period of time you start questioning your own abilities and asking yourself what the hell am I doing and whats happening to my sense of rationality.
In past years the illness was always associated with old age and maybe as part and parcel of the natural aging process but this is not the case as even people in their midd 40s can fall foul of the illness which must cause a Fear Factor within them.
Unfortunately to many people still think of Alzheimers and Dementia as being just a condition of forgetfulness like: Where did I put my car keys, I cant remember that persons name, whats the news paper doing in the fridge, and forgetting the normal day to day things that once we would have done automatically without thinking but now a Fear Factor and panic set in.
Although there is a lot of media information about Alzheimers and Dementia it always seems to cover the latter stages of the illness which causes people a lot of anxiety even though it is the reality of the condition, again its a Fear Factor whereby people decide its best to steer clear of us, there needs to be far more media coverage of the illness from its early onset and then progressively through the illness otherwise its like only reading the end of a book without understanding the opening chapters thus the story becomes confusing and distorted.
Are people just scared of acknowledging all the problems associated with the illness again causing them a Fear Factor so they dont want to talk or listen about our problems such as: The terrible Nightmares, hallucinations, incontinence, depression, fears, loneliness, psychosis, disorientations, wandering, agitation, temperament tantrums, aggression, apathy, crude innuendos and verbal aggression, obsessions, delusions, insomnia, eating and swallowing problems, the slow lose of ability to do anything for ourselves, as in; Cleaning our teeth, washing, shaving, washing and brushing the hair, bathing, changing clothes in fact even knowing what clothes to wear with the right session, and for some theres the Fear Factor of unacceptable social behaviour this is just some of the many problems that a sufferer and family might have to contend with each day and can become progressively worse from early onset to the latter stages.
Maybe its also due to the way society values youthfulness and the abilities of the younger generation, whereas with Alzheimers and Dementia we can be deemed to be useless to society again a Fear Factor
There is also the Fear Factor that since the illness manifests itself so slowly that by the time a person has been given a confirmed diagnoses many of their once abilities have already started to deteriorate drastically.
Even if you are fortunate enough to get an early diagnoses which most people arent it doesnt necessarily mean you will get the best medication immediately without having to pay a high cost for it so yet again a Fear Factor sets in as to Can I afford the medication costs to maintain a longer quality in life
Such can be the scenario for sufferers of Alzheimers and Dementia and Im sure that their must be many none sufferers whos daily life have in some way been touched by this illness, but isnt it just human nature to close our eyes to what we dont want to see or acknowledge maybe that Fear Factor is within us all casting a shadow from behind us until such time that it becomes the reality of dementia.
Barry
http://www.simplesite.com/BarrysAlzheimers
My husband's doctor advises me NOT to talk to him about ALZ unless he brings it up. he believes his patients do KNOW what is going even if they can't express it and it causes them stress to be reminded of it.
I don't discuss my Husbands AD with him anymore. I don't even tell him I am going to Support Group meetings. It is very hard for him. There is no use in making him feel worse than he already does.