Questions Alzheimer's Caregivers Ask Frequently

Why do Alzheimer patients forget how to drive?

Many teenagers age thirteen and fourteen know how to drive. Yet, the states do not license them because they have not developed the judgment required at their young age. With regards to Alzheimer patients, their judgment and the complex operation issue of driving has been impaired. Remember years ago, when you first learned to drive or learned a new skill... It was often difficult at first, but after a few tries, it was a breeze? In this Early Stage of the disease, it is this memory combined with this lack of judgment that causes the patient to refrain from driving. My mom was an Alzheimer Patient. She said, "I couldn't back out of my own driveway. I got hung up in the shrubbery.and my neighbor had to come and get me out. Mom never drove again!

Why do Alzheimer patients wander?

From my extensive readings and observations, I do not believe that Alzheimer patients wander aimlessly. Fifty years ago as a young girl, I observed my great-grandfather 'on Alzheimer'. I noticed that he would always commence his trip in the right direction to reach his destination over 50 miles to the south... However, along this walk, he would get confused. Now, I believe that he generally had a destination in mind. Although the destination was clear only to him.

Alzheimer's patients confuse how to get there? They confuse the city or the location, they confuse the mileage, they confuse the directions-north, south, east and west, or the directions first, second, third, they confuse right and left. No wonder many patients give up driving, cooking, shopping and other activities- IT'S TOO CONFUSING!

Now, I understand that when you are forever confused daily, hourly, minute by minute, you will have extreme mood swings, you will become agitated and unreasonable, you may become DELUSIONAL and really have that steadfast belief that your caregiver is a thief, a robber, and an abuser. To understand Alzheimer, I realized that it is important to have a working knowledge of Delusions and Hallucinations. I understood and accepted the ideas of hallucinations-when the patient sees, hears, tastes or feels something that is not true. However, the concept of delusions-The false belief that the patient believes are real-really upset me. When my mom said, " You are being cruel to me." I was very upset and took it personally, even though all books, leaflets, and brochures on Alzheimer's caution ideal caregivers -Don't Take it Personally. Six months later as I was re-reading The 36 Hour Day, I read that exact learned phrase that many Alzheimer's patients repeat to their caregivers when they are confused, or agitated or stubborn, or unreachable, or want things done their way.

So, I playfully said to the authors, Where were you when I needed you most? My answer to caregivers, I am here when you need me most. Where were you when my mom screamed this sentence to me? Seriously though, during my five years of caring for my mom, I began to realize how Alzheimer's caregivers feel.. and of course, they will tell you loudly and clearly. More importantly, I am beginning to understand how the patient feels...They will tell you loudly but not clearly. My goal is to understand what they can not say clearly. With this brain disease, the ability to communicate goes first. So, even though they are adults, they communicate on a two- three age level at times.- at the times- at the locations where their brain cells are diseased, or tangled or twisted. So, we know about 'the terrible two's and how they physically throw, hit and kick to communicate their agitation or to express their feelings when they don't get what they want. Toddlers can be taught better responses because that section of the brain has not been completely formed. Unfortunately, Alzheimer's patients can not recover this section of the brain that is diseased, or that is malfunctioning, or that is not acting properly... So, they kick, throw, and hit to communicate their feelings especially when they do not agree with the caregiver.Or maybe, they don't understand the caregiver, or maybe, they don't understand the requests. Alzheimer's Literature suggests that caregivers make requests a game of what to do instead of what not to do? Something like 'Simon Says.'

For example, My mom would often bring in the mail and throw it to me. Sometimes, I would be taking a nap or reading and throwing the mail would startle me. So, I would say," Don't throw the mail. Well, that didn't work. Finally, I remembered one of the tips in the support group leaflet. TELL THEM WHAT TO DO instead of What not to do. So, I began saying, "Place the mail on the kitchen counter."

...and my mom never threw the mail at me again.

So, what can caregivers do?

My answer today is based on caregivers suggestions, my readings, my visits to Alzheimer's conferences, my personal experiences- being an Alzheimer caregiver for eight years- five with my mom, and especially my valuable support from the Alzheimer Support Group.

My short answer is Read, Read, Read

1. Look at Alzheimer as a disease-- as an injury make all requests simple.

Once we look at Alzheimer as an injury- an injury to the brain- we can treat it as we treat our other injuries that are slow to heal -treatable but incurable.

2. Practice calming behavior-- a calm voice.

Many times a loud voice is upsetting - but a LOUD MAD VOICE- OH NO!

3. Try introducing calming activities- music, modeling clay

4. Become interested and Listen to the patient's stories-over and over and over...

5. Divert the patient's interest or focus towards more calming conversations.

Did you notice the keyword today is CALM?

In my first article, I discussed" Understanding Alzheimer's Patients" and I emphasized that ATTITUDE IS THE KEY.

..."Attitude will make or break a company,..a church...a home."

Once we enter the patient's home, our attitude takes center focus. Alzheimer's patients may be confused and forgetful, but they are smart. They feel that calming personality and they tend to cooperate with that calm, loving person who is their caregiver.

..." The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.

Annie Kate Gaskins Laws
Exposing Alzheimer's

http://www.outskirtspress.net/bookstore

Original article

Bound By Behavior

Traveling to office, an auto driver hits your car, your dearly beloved car is damaged, you feel something churning inside you, ready to burst out; what happens next needs no mention.

You love her to bits; she walks towards you, looks at you with those beautiful eyes, and says, "its over! Its never gonna work out between us", you are left alone by yourself and the thought process tumbles down to a restart of unhappy thoughts and threats.

You fall down, he sees you, comes rushing to help you, buys a bandage for the wound and then helps you walk to where you can sit so that he can get you a glass of water, you watch him walk towards the water cooler, something lightens your heart, you feel warm, and his presence starts making you feel nice about yourself.

Anger, depression, love are just some of the emotions that humans feel without controlling them. Other than feelings there are certain characteristics in us that we always fall prey to, but somehow we control ourselves and fit into the societal norms in one way or the other. In normal circumstances, most people can handle these emotions. But not so is the case with the people who suffer with behavioral disorders. Things are more magnified and unmanageable for them.

OCPD

Take the case of a person suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Suppose a person named X has OCPD then he will be very disturbed and even angry if you put his red mug before the black one and he keeps it the other way round. Just like you cannot help being angry with the auto driver who scratched your new car, X cannot control his anxiety when you misplace his things.

Reason behind this, you could say is that, X is an extreme case of perfectionism, orderliness and has the need to control his environment. This does not mean that anyone who likes to have things a certain way and want things clean is an OCPD patient. We are talking of extreme cases here. The intensity to which orderliness matters and otherwise affects the individual must be really high to be said that he is suffering from OCPD.

It is usually difficult for X to maintain relationships because of his inability to understand and accept others who might not be like him. The demands from spouse, children or friends are very high and rigid. They have to have things their own way.

BIPOLAR DISORDER

Y has not gone out with her friends for over two weeks now. She mostly stays in her room, does not feel like meeting people. She feels low and anxious. She feels fatigued and sleeps a lot. She has lost considerable amount of weight in the past month.

But after a few days Y has become overtly active and worked up. Her attention span is very less. She bursts out into sprouts of anger and is so impatient and irrational that something seems to be abnormal about her to others around. Almost every second day she goes to party and has more than one sexual partner.

If we study Bipolar disorder we will know that first Y had a depressive episode and later a manic episode. These are the two episodes that occur for certain time spans to individuals who suffer from this disorder.

Sometimes these episodes can happen simultaneously, known as the mixed episode. The person might start crying during a manic episode or have racing thoughts during depression. These times are extremely frustrating and most dangerous for the patient. During which, they might even try to commit suicide.

Bipolar disorder is divided in three types according to its episodes. The mildest one is Cyclothymia: With hypomanic episode (less intense than manic episode) and mild depressive episodes.

Then Bipolar II is has hypomanic and depressive episodes. Last and most intense of all in Bipolar I where the individual has full-blown manic and depressive episodes.

BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

Suppose we took the story further of the girl who fell down, mentioned in the beginning. She falls in love with this man and starts idealizing him completely immediately after he has got a glass of water for her. She tells him about her love and he rejects her proposal, as he was only being polite in helping and had no romantic interest. Thereafter she starts hating him. She goes to the extent of slitting her hand in order to express herself.

This girl can be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. In this disorder person live is two extremes of either idealizing a person or demonizing a person.

There are various types of behavioral disorders. One cannot even hope to understand what they go through, we can only understand that they cannot control their behavior the way normal humans can. Which is the reason why they usually find it extremely hard to adjust in the society. And the society also finds it hard to accept them as they hardly ever can stick to the norms of the society, which creates a stigma about them thereby making it even harder for them to live normally; hence victimizing them to a vicious cycle.

Anger, depression, love are just some of the emotions that humans feel without controlling them. Other than feelings there are certain characteristics in us that we always fall prey to, but somehow we control ourselves and fit into the societal norms in one way or the other. In normal circumstances, most people can handle these emotions. But not so is the case with the people who suffer with behavioral disorders. Things are more magnified and unmanageable for them.

Satya Shourie

Writer, Researcher and Web Content manager

Original article

Stop Panic Attacks, Recognise the Condition, Overcome the Symptoms With These Techniques

If you suffer panic attacks, you will be keenly aware of them. But the problem of self-diagnosis if at the very beginning, when the sufferer is unsure that they have a genuine health scare, or an anxiety attack, as both can seem very similar. There are a broad range of symptoms in panic attacks. Here are some of them:

- heart racing

- feeling dizzy

- tingling in the hands or feet

- chest pain or discomfort

- feelings of disorientation

- sweating

- faintness

- trembling

- shortness of breath

These symptoms are disturbing, and when eventually the sufferer realises that he or she is suffering panic or anxiety attacks, they often begin to hide their concern of being discovered in the embarrassment and shame of the attack by withdrawing from some roles or social groups. Others may see this behaviour in itself as rude if they do not know the person has the condition.

It is when the suffering has become a problem which threatens the individual's behaviour, lifestyle, job and income through this kind of withdrawal that taking action is absolutely vital, unless the person is to suffer further anguish and other problems because of their covering up. If we can catch the problem before this stage, then so much the better.

Countless numbers of people out there are desperate to stop panic attacks ruining their lives. Many are still hiding their condition.The feeling of losing control can be terrifying, and the symptoms can feel as devastating as any physical condition. The good news is that with consideration and the help of practical techniques panic and anxiety attacks can be brought under control and managed by the sufferer. Before we progress to look at some of these techniques to stop panic attacks, we must remember to be careful and not confuse panic attacks with other physical conditions. If you even partially suspect you are suffering something like a heart attack, you must always err on the side of caution and contact a physician. That said, here are some of the techniques we can use to overcome panic.

- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and drugs which can stimulate panic attacks.

- Take like deep breathing,yoga and meditation, on a regular basis, as these can really help.

- As with meditation, First, relax and become conscious of any tension that you may be feeling.

- Then, think about and feel and move the muscles in your legs, arms and hands and feet, body part by body part. This will help move your focus from concentrating on the panic.

- Slow down your breathing, lengthen the breath to longer than an average breath, and do so calmly.

- Talk to somebody during the attack. If you can talk, you can breathe.

But remember, if there is another condition in the sufferer's history alongside panic attacks, the sufferer should talk with a medical professional. We must not confuse panic attacks with something potentially life threatening, such as a heart condition.

There are many ways to help stop panic attacks from ruining people's lives, from these basic techniques to progressive personal programs, to individual counselling.

John Paul Williams
Great Leap - information, motivation, inspiration

http://www.stoppanicattacksq.com/

Original article