Written by: Eleanor Silverberg, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Your home and workplace life can be significantly impacted when there is Alzheimer’s or dementia in the family. Whether you are caring for or supporting a loved one in a big or small way, know you are not alone and know that your unpaid assistance is making a huge contribution to healthcare. According to the American Alzheimer’s Association’s Facts and Figures, caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias in 2021 provided an estimated 16 billion hours of unpaid informal assistance, a contribution to the nation valued at 271.6 billion dollars. This is approximately 49% of the net value of Walmart’s total revenue in fiscal year 2020 (559.2 billion). Given the staggering numbers and an aging population, more families will be affected. Therefore, it is beneficial to be educated about the disease and coping with it.
"My dad has just a little bit of dementia"..."My mother does not have dementia, she has Alzheimer's... Is Alzheimer's the same as dementia?... How can you distinguish between the two? As a dementia specialist, I have frequently been asked these questions and similar ones from several family members over the years when I was a community outreach social worker in dementia care. So, allow me to draw from information obtained from the American Alzheimer’s Association and the Canadian Alzheimer Society to clarify so you can understand the basics of Alzheimer's and dementia, distinguishing between them. Also covered are the benefits of assisting by acknowledging and assessing earlier rather than later in the disease process.
Dementia is not one specific disease; it is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms caused by physical disorders affecting the brain.
Dementia is a neurological condition, a form of cognitive impairment that may include
Memory loss and other impairments such as challenges with communication or finding words, inability of handling complex tasks.
Difficulty with planning and organizing, challenges with coordination and motor functions as well as confusion and disorientation.
Psychological characteristics may include changes in personality, low mood, increased fretting and agitation, loss of impulse control leading to inappropriate behavior, experiencing delusional thinking, hallucinations as well as unusual focus behaviors. A few focus behaviors I recall from making home visits was a woman who was collecting butter tarts, a man who collected balls he picked up in the neighbourhood and another was hoarding toilet paper and hiding it in her room.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of irreversible dementia, irreversible meaning that the symptoms are progressive, treatable but incurable. The disease begins in the early stage with mild symptoms that I hear referred to as “a little bit of dementia”. At this stage minimal assistance is required for daily functioning. In the middle stage, symptoms are more noticeable and more assistance is required. In the late to end of life stage, it progresses to 24-hour assistance required.
There are several other irreversible dementias such as:
Vascular Dementia,
Frontal Lobe Dementia and
Lewy Body Disease.
Presentation can occur differently depending on the type of dementia. For instance, people with Lewy Body Disease, unlike in Alzheimer’s, will experience hallucinations early in the disease process.
If you notice any changes in abilities or behaviours, early detection with a full medical assessment is highly recommended for the following reasons:
You can obtain a diagnosis and rule out other causes of symptoms. Some treatable conditions can produce symptoms similar to irreversible dementia eg. vitamin deficiencies, thyroid or depression.
You can be more actively involved in personal decisions including healthcare
Treatments can be more effective when started early.
You can set priorities on what’s important to you e.g. pursuing new goals, stop working.
You can make empowering choices, making informed legal, financial and care decisions
You can take advantage of available resources on how to live well with dementia.
Your family is better able to support.
You can be in a better position to speak out, advocate, joining others living with dementia
It is beneficial to assist by acknowledging and assessing a healthy lifestyle for people living with dementia. It is also beneficial to self-monitor in order to reduce the risk factors to prevent you from developing dementia from conditions such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
SEEE for Yourself is an acronym term I devised for you to assist to monitor and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It includes Sleep, Exercise, Eating... and Enjoyment. The first three you may have already known of. Enjoyment keeps your mood elevated; social interaction prevents social isolation which is a risk factor. Maintaining healthy habits is important for prevention and for a better quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
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Eleanor Silverberg, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Eleanor Silverberg, founder of Jade Self Development Coaching, is a social worker, author, speaker and grief specialist whose intention is to help adults move forward stronger through diverse life-altering situational losses, applying the innovative 3-A Coping Framework she developed. Her specialty is assisting family caregivers of the chronically ill to cope and prevent burnout. Her mode of practice stands out as she combines existing grief models with conventional and practical strategies, featuring them in her books “Caregiving with Strength” and “Keeping It Together”. She has also created a modified mindfulness program in her book “Mindfulness Exercises for Dementia”. Eleanor holds a BA in Psychology, Master of Social Work, Certification in Bereavement Education, extensive training and practice in Mindfulness and over 20 years of Independent Grief Studies.
