An Overview of Alzheimer's Disease

Make no doubt about it: caring for Alzheimer's type dementia patients is an emotional, financial and even social burden as well as a challenge. Today, an estimated five million Americans live with the disease and millions more worldwide. Many caregivers typically feel inadequate in the daunting task of caring for their loved ones. Caregivers however have found that it is easier to care for an Alzheimer's patient when they are able to tap into a wide variety of resources, which are not only medically and financially related. Role models have made it much more possible for caregivers to seek support and resources than ever before.

Alzheimer's type dementia is one of the most debilitating ugliest mental diseases. It robs a person of his or her personality and his/her true identity. From the very beginning stages of the disease, a person slowly looses his or her ability to perform basic functions like holding a fork or getting dressed and then slowly other things like memories. For the caretaker or caregiver of a loved one with Alzheimer's type dementia, this is particularly a stressful period. The initial hardship for a caregiver is understanding that Alzheimer's is a progressively degenerating disease.

In addition to identifying key resources such as medical, support/social services, and governmental programs, caregivers can offer their support in other more creative and personal outlets, which have long terms meaningful outcomes in terms of relaying memory lapses. Types of these caregiver support include: playing a parent's favorite music or telling about a significant memory. Appealing to the olfactory senses also have implications for strengthening memory as a sense of smell is a great contingent for strengthening memory. Alzheimer's program which help stimulate the patient's mind such as painting, listening to music, laughing help reconnect the patient to that pleasurable sensation or trigger off an emotional reaction.

Multi-tasking and other work related stresses have led workers to take on more tasks than they can usually handle causing many to feel overwhelmed, some even to forget blaming it on an early stage of Alzheimer's. While there is no conclusive medical research on multitasking, researchers have supported the fact that multitasking adversely affects the brain's ability to process information as it works against the brain's natural ability to learn. For caregivers, this implies strengthening an Alzheimer's patient ability to process information preferably as early on in the stages of Alzheimers as possible.

Ever since Ronald Regan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, people became more sensitized to the importance of seeking out resources to get help. While people were amused by the thought that a former US president wanted to play "horsie" with his medical attendants, many caregivers seriously began to use the side of humor as therapy for their own stresses and for caring for their loved ones. Laughter and yoga are two special elements people have been joined laughter clubs to feel more comfortable with their own inhibitions about dealing with caregiving support.

Perhaps the most famous Alzheimer's patient was Ronald Regan who created enough media attention to issues of caregiving and research for Alzheimers so much so that caregivers decided to seek more resources by "coming out of the closet."He created the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute, in coordination with the Alzheimer's Association, to research the possible causes treatment, especially focusing on early detection.

One way caregivers can come out of the closet and seek professional help is through sharing their own personal stories. While some of these stories might at first, seem unrelentingly sad and grim, they offer a more than one sided view at endearment with struggle that has now offered caregivers a way out by using words to solidify the voices to share their pain and grief as the emotional ingredients of caregiving and its survival.

Alzheimer's has developed with people as young as their early thirties.This early degeneration known as "Young-onset Alzheimers" is now extant with 500,000 Americans, and this number is constantly growing. Caregiving in this respect, takes a news role and concept as caregivers seek resources such as groups, with similar issues. But the most crucial question that offers more haunting facts than calming answers is: can the memory of these young people (many of whom are already in the middle stages of Alzheimers) at the prime of their years be saved?