Alzheimers Disease

This article was submitted by Jill Davey - Counsellors and Practitioners of Reconnective Healing and The Reconnection

Extracts taken from Abnormal Psychology [8th Edition] by Gerald C Davison and John M Neale

Alzheimer's Disease

This is when the brain tissue irreversibly deteriorates and death usually occurs ten or twelve years after the onset of symptoms.  The person may at first have difficulties only in concentration and in memory for newly learned material, and may appear absentminded and irritable, shortcomings that may be overlooked for several years but that eventually interfere with daily living.  As the disease develops, the person often blames others for personal failings and may have delusions of being persecuted.  Memory continues to deteriorate and the individual becomes increasingly disoriented and agitated.  Depression is common, occurring in up to 30 percent of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The main physiological change in the brain is an atrophy [wasting away] of the cerebral cortex.   Alzheimers patients do not appear to have anything physically wrong with them until late in the disease process.  In short encounters strangers may not notice anything amiss. 

The cognitive limitations of persons with dementia should always be treated with gentleness.  Others should not consider them nonbeings, talking about their disabilities in their presence, making fun of their occasional antics and forgetfulness, discounting their paranoid suspicions about others.

It may be less stressful to adopt a fatalistic attitude toward the patient’s behaviour – "Theres nothing I can do to change the situation, so let me just resign myself to it and make the necessary adjustments” rather than “How can I get Mom to remember to put her coat on before leaving the house?”

A caregiver may become impatient unless he or she understands that this impairment is to be expected because of the underlying brain damage.

Labels on drawers, appliances and rooms may help orient some early stage patients.  Automatic dialer on a telephone may also help.

Caregivers should understand that patients do not always recognize their limitations and may attempt to engage in activities beyond their abilities, dangerously so.  Although it is not advisable to coddle patients, it is important to set limits in light of their obliviousness to their own problems and impairments.  Caregivers are urged not to impose their standards and taste on patients.  For example, they should understand that the patient’s ability to dress herself / himself and to take responsibility for her / his clothes is more important than adherence to conventional appearance.

Family caregivers and friends, faced with taxing demands on their time, energies, and emotions, can become depressed. Caregivers need support and encouragement and opportunities to vent their feelings of guilt and resentment.  Some may need permission to take time off or to feel that they will be able to should the pressure become too great.  Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease has been shown to be extremely stressful.