alzheimers a family disease
Alzheimer's Disease does not kill instantly; it destroys the individual bit by bit, tearing away at their person-hood and self-identity. Most victims suffer for 9 to 15 years after onset of the illness. It is the most common type of dementia in the United States and Canada and after age 40, the risk of developing it doubles with aging every 5.1 years during adults' life. A form of dementia, the DSM-IV-R's (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) criteria for diagnosing dementia include: impairment in short- and long-term memory, at least one of the following: impairment in abstract thinking, impaired judgement, other disturbances of higher cortical functioning, personality change, significant interference with work, social activities, or relationships, in addition, symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of delirium; and specific etiologic organic factor is evidenced or can be presumed. For an individual with this terrible disease, living with memory loss and its associated disabilities are very frightening. Alzheimer's includes behavioral characteristics that extend beyond its cognitive explanations. These behaviors require study because of the influence on both the patient and caregiver. Treatment often look
Adult male children are as likely as women are to assist their parents, but the men appeared to have the ability to distance themselves from the aging parent. Part of the struggle in this stage is to maintain the adult identity of the victim while managing their child-like needs. Alzheimer's disease creates new demands on the family, who have to adopt numerous roles. Behaviors may include night wandering, night shouting, and nocturnal micturition (night- time urination). The obvious lack of information concerning the symptoms and results of the disease show the necessity for incorporation of education and support into intervention strategies for caregivers. The number of individuals who report negative feelings greatly outweigh those of acceptance. Deterioration of mental and physical processes is inevitable, but varies between individuals- the cause for this variance has only been looked at hypothetically. The spouse is usually the primary caregiver of the patient, but when unable to provide the care necessary, an adult child is the most likely candidate. When the spouse is the primary caregiver (in comparison with adult children or others), care is more complete, and less stress, conflict, and ambivalence are observed. He/she eventually becomes extremely weak, incontinent, non-ambulatory and bedridden. For example, rather than confronting a patient or assigning blame when an object is lost, the caregiver replaces the item the patient claimed "stolen". Future Research There is an evident need for publicly funded support for Alzheimer's disease victims and their families. Experiences such as early retirement and anticipated changes in the responsibilities of daily life are never realized. Family members are usually not aware of one-another's viewpoints; they do not understand that they are not all seeing the victim the same way. Forgetful Phase Implications for the Individual The patient experiences degeneration of short-term memory, which often results in misplacement of objects and forgetting the names of familiar people.
Common topics in this essay:
Implications Individual,
Response Family,
Alzheimer's Forgetful,
Statistical Manual,
Future Research,
Alzheimer's Disease,
Post-mortem Relatives,
Individual Short-term,
Lisa Gwyther,
Metaphorically Alzheimer's,
social support,
alzheimer's disease,
family response,
primary caregiver,
implications individual,
forgetful phase,
patient caregiver,
support social,
social support social,
adult children,
support social support,
caregiver family,
phase implications individual,
implications individual patient,
involved social support,
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Acceptance Essays
