Alzheimer's Imagine All The People

When people reach this stage of their life and the person is no longer able to remain in our reality. They often live in a world much more difficult than ours. Imagine getting old and one by one you give up your pleasures and the control of your own life. Then add Alzheimer's too.

You know that your physical ability is diminishing and you can no longer take care of yourself. On top of that your mental function is declining and your memories are almost impossible to recall. Your ability to understand what you see and hear is on the retreat.

The world that you live in becomes smaller and smaller. The sights, sounds, smells and the touch of a soft breeze that have brought you joy so many times no longer come to visit.

The food looks and smells good but your taste in food has changed and you don't like the taste of most foods so it's hard to please you. You don't enjoy eating most of the time. Even if something tastes good at first a few spoonfuls later you don't like it and don't want to eat any more.

Now take away your social skills and manners. Leave behind everything you have ever learned about etiquette. You struggle to remember the most basic vocabulary and how to use it.

You spend most of the day in a state of confusion. Recognizing those around you but not knowing who they are. Not knowing if you belong where you are. Are the people around you your family or friends or may they be people you should fear. Do you risk interaction with them. Often for no reason you become overwhelmed with fear and can't escape it.

You become frustrated because no one seems to hear your questions and when they do talk to you it doesn't make sense. You feel you are a burden and don't belong here because of the facial expressions you see and the tone of the voices you hear.

Nobody talks to you any more they talk at you. They talk as if you aren't even there. As if you aren't even here. You don't understand what that means but you know how it feels. How alone one must feel.

You can't tell those taking care of you that you are not comfortable or don't feel good. You're in constant pain and you can't do anything about it. You ate something earlier you thought was food but now you feel like you might have poisoned yourself. The shoes they have you wear make your feet hurt.

Your eyesight is getting worse and you will probably never see clearly again because you can't tell the optometrist which setting makes your vision clear. Don't forget the dentist. That's just some of it. Imagine all the people that are going through this.

Many times they may show signs of clarity and reason for short bursts. Like fireflies in the night. A flash, a flicker, a little streak of light in a void of blackness. As a caregiver it is important to look for those little streaks of light. When they happen don't waste one second of it.

It makes me wonder if these random re-connections can occur why can't we find a way to increase there number or duration. Why can't we bring them back to full function. If it's happening randomly there must be something that causes it. I know they study the progression of Alzheimer's disease and trying to find better ways to diagnose it. But is any one trying to study how the random access to previously blocked memory occurs.

I just want to say that I don't feel they are doing an acceptable job researching any diseases. I think they have gotten fat and lazy. I don't think they have any incentive to work any harder or smarter. They don't need to show true results to earn money for this. All they do is go out and beg and lie for more money with no accountability. A never ending source of money.

From watching closely it seems to me that the person is often still aware but when trying to express themselves their speech and movement becomes scrambled. They know what they what to express and in their head it sounds right to them but to us that listen it becomes a mixed up jumble of babble.

They make up there own language using words that sound almost right but aren't really words. At least to us. They become repetitive and you have no answers to put their questions to rest.

Other times it seems like the mind and body are on autopilot and what made them who they are is no longer there. Almost as if they are not present in the body when they are at their worst. As if they re-enter their body and are more of what you recognize is there when at their best.

When a person with Alzheimer's like symptoms is repetitive they may be asking or saying something again because they forget they did it already. It may be there is something wrong and what you are hearing is an attempt to express that. I might mean nothing more than they are stuck in a loop.

If there is a problem like a urinary tract infection they may feel extreme discomfort. Since they can't express that as we would they say something and keep repeating it because the pain continues. What they say becomes attached to the discomfort and they repeat.

It's a primal response like when you have a tooth abscess. When the pain becomes intense enough people have a tendency to moan and begin a rocking motion. This response is a release. It helps break the focus on the pain.

When I see or hear something repetitive I like to check things out just to make sure there isn't something physically wrong triggering it. If there doesn't appear to be a physical issue I use some of the techniques I use to break there focus on it that are in other posts.

It may be their way of saying they need some one to make them feel loved or cared about. Not just cared for. They may need reassurance they fit in and are safe and that you know they are there. They feel doing annoying things gets them noticed faster than doing what you which they would do.

How many times does a child do annoying or disobedient action and gets negative attention rather than seeking out positive actions and getting positive attention. This is most certain because negative actions always attracts more attention and often positive actions return no attention at all.

Maybe when a child is doing what we don't want them to and we think they are doing it on purpose they are not. At least not in a conscious way. Maybe these actions in the person with Alzheimer's disease or Alzheimer's like symptoms originates from the same process that triggers this type of behavior in children.

Remember that Alzheimer's disease and the Alzheimer's like symptoms of dementia and senility are all very complex disease processes to cope with. The diagnosis of this is very traumatic to the person and may cause issues. When you get told you have it you know it's a life sentence and your on you way out of this world.

This is usually a long unforgiving journey that nobody would sign up for. It's one of those milestones that make you face your mortality. Make sure you address the persons concerns. Don't let them feel they will be going through this alone. Talk about everything and leave no stones unturned.

Their mental and emotional state will play a big roll in getting through this ordeal. It's very important that every body involved has their head in the right place. That goes for the person that has been diagnosed, the family and the caregiver(s).

When a person has Alzheimer's they tend to remember things from long ago. If they aren't looking in a mirror they may even think they are a young child. I can't count the number of times my dear mother has called me daddy. They make act out of character for their age. They may often think they are young. They may act and do things you would expect of a child.

Sometimes I think we allow ourselves to be bothered because we are so close to the person we take care of. It's hard to see and accept that a person we knew so well has been reduced to this terrible condition. Maybe when we look at that person they become our mirror. Is this my future and is this what my existence is destined to become.

All I ask is that when the person you are taking care of starts to drive you crazy remember who the driver is. It's you not them. You allow and choose to let their actions influence you. You choose to regard them as the stimuli that drives you crazy.

This is not the case. This is the difference of going for the ride or tapping into your higher self and choosing to be a compassionate being. When you view something as negative it causes the negativity in you to grow. The person that is driving you crazy is not doing it on purpose. They have had their ability to choose stolen away from them.

So don't punish the spirit because the vessel has become damaged. When you start feeling like ignoring the person or start viewing them as an annoyance or you just want to scream and yell. Have a talk with yourself.

Look at yourself in a mirror and tell yourself you are not going to respond to this insanity with insanity. That you allow your higher self to take a dominant role in the way your react to the physical world and the other beings that share it with you. In time all things pass.

The majority of us have a similar fate awaiting us in not to many years as long as our life isn't cut short by choice, accident or disease. The longer we live the closer the chance of being a victim of Alzheimer's disease, senility or dementia gets. The statistics of avoiding it aren't in our favor.

It doesn't matter who you are, what you have done or how much money you have. It doesn't matter what color your skin is, the language(S) you speak or where in the world you live. It doesn't matter if your religious, spiritual, agnostic or atheist. It doesn't matter if you never went to school or have multiple advanced degrees. There are no magic pills to take, no doors to lock, no secret hiding place or sanctuary to take refuge.

Even if the person you take care of wasn't one of your favorite people take care of them as you would want some one to take care of you. Do unto to others as you would have others do unto you.