Dealing with Alzheimer"s Disease
Dealing with Alzheimer's disease is never easy. This goes for the person afflicted with the disease and those that care and love for them. Watching someone's memory deteriorate day after day is tortuous. This does not mean you should sit and wallow in misery about this. Taking action is a good way to make the situation slightly better by giving you a small feeling of control.
Letting your afflicted loved one exercise is a good way to slow down the spread of the disease. Studies have shown that our brains' chemistry improves when we exercise on a regular basis. While there is no cure for Alzheimer's it has been shown that exercise can prevent and slow the growth of Alzheimer's. Exercise is important for mental health in those not afflicted with Alzheimer's as well, thus making this a good way to relieve the stress that comes with caring for an ill loved one.
Encourage your elderly loved ones to be creative. Like exercise, using the creative portions of our brains is an up lifter. Creativity encourages us to think hard, and thus use our brains at a higher level. There is no indication that this can help with the organic nature of Alzheimer's, but it does help to gain mastery over the situation in brief bouts. Creativity helps to soothe the frustration that is a common accompaniment of dementia.
There are other methods of dealing with this disease. You should always be prepared for an emergency. People with Alzheimer's tend to wander and forget where they are, so having some sort of identification on their person is a must. This could be a medical bracelet or necklace that has their name, address, and any pertinent medical information on it. This truly can save their life in the event that they do get lost. Don't wait until their condition deteriorates too much, but rather be proactive and discuss the bracelet with them. If you do this early enough in their illness, they will be more reasonable with you because they will better understand the necessity of this measure.
Finally, always have an open dialogue with your afflicted relative. Discussing what is happening to them and listening to their worries and concerns can actually do wonders for them. The more they understand about what is going on, the better equipped they will be to handle it. This doesn't necessarily make the process any easier or any better, but it does give them a sense of what to expect. Always listen with an open heart if your relative has something to say. This will become increasingly difficult as the illness progresses, but it will help to calm and soothe them in a way that cannot be replicated.
Letting your afflicted loved one exercise is a good way to slow down the spread of the disease. Studies have shown that our brains' chemistry improves when we exercise on a regular basis. While there is no cure for Alzheimer's it has been shown that exercise can prevent and slow the growth of Alzheimer's. Exercise is important for mental health in those not afflicted with Alzheimer's as well, thus making this a good way to relieve the stress that comes with caring for an ill loved one.
Encourage your elderly loved ones to be creative. Like exercise, using the creative portions of our brains is an up lifter. Creativity encourages us to think hard, and thus use our brains at a higher level. There is no indication that this can help with the organic nature of Alzheimer's, but it does help to gain mastery over the situation in brief bouts. Creativity helps to soothe the frustration that is a common accompaniment of dementia.
There are other methods of dealing with this disease. You should always be prepared for an emergency. People with Alzheimer's tend to wander and forget where they are, so having some sort of identification on their person is a must. This could be a medical bracelet or necklace that has their name, address, and any pertinent medical information on it. This truly can save their life in the event that they do get lost. Don't wait until their condition deteriorates too much, but rather be proactive and discuss the bracelet with them. If you do this early enough in their illness, they will be more reasonable with you because they will better understand the necessity of this measure.
Finally, always have an open dialogue with your afflicted relative. Discussing what is happening to them and listening to their worries and concerns can actually do wonders for them. The more they understand about what is going on, the better equipped they will be to handle it. This doesn't necessarily make the process any easier or any better, but it does give them a sense of what to expect. Always listen with an open heart if your relative has something to say. This will become increasingly difficult as the illness progresses, but it will help to calm and soothe them in a way that cannot be replicated.
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