Alzheimer’s Stages and How to Keep Your Focus on Feelings

Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable illness, which will gradually ravage a patient’s brain functions as they relate to memory, sound judgment, and the ability to effectively communicate and reason. At times, advanced cases of the disease will suffer from hallucinations, extreme anxiety which may lead to physically violent episodes of acting out, as well as extreme suspicion of others. The disease itself is not fast moving. At times the term may be as short as three years, while at other times it may be as long as twenty years.

During this decline in brainpower, the patient will experience a plethora or feelings. At the top of the list are helplessness, anger, and a feeling of extreme worry – “what if” is a term very often uttered by those in the early stages of the illness and as a caregiver, you will most likely have to bear the brunt of these emotions. While it is not always easy to deal with your loved one’s feelings, it is compounded by your own feelings of despair that you may very well experience as you see your vivacious loved one gradually decline.

Here are some common sense suggestions on how to keep your own feelings in check, even if your loved one no longer can.

At the onset of the disease, the effects are extremely mild and may sometimes be mistaken for age related changes. Brief memory lapses, such as a search for the car keys or house keys may give hints to the patient that something is changing in the way they are functioning in their everyday lives. At this point it is not uncommon for some to simply not think about Alzheimer’s disease, while others may wish to discuss it with their families. If your loved one approaches you with such thoughts, it is important to not just negate any veracity of their fears, but instead to hear them out, and support their decisions. This may be a time that your loved one will want to discuss your taking over financial responsibilities for her or him, and while this may make you feel uncomfortable at the beginning, please be assured that this is simply a natural progression in your relationship with your loved one. Overcome your own anxiety with this reassurance and also by reassuring your loved one that you will be there for her or him.

As the disease progresses, so will the memory lapses. It will soon be evident to most that your loved one is suffering from a form of dementia. ...

Read more: Alzheimers Stages and How to Keep Your Focus on Feelings