When a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease shows up, it changes everything. For you, for a loved one; whomever the cognitive decline may have struck, nothing’s the same when the mind begins to retreat and leave us struggling to deal with increasingly simple things that turn tough and complicated to navigate.
As much as Alzheimer’s is a disease of the mind, like all medical issues it can carry emotional costs as well. In the case of cognitive decline, these emotional burdens can become sharp and painful. It’s scary to feel your mind beginning to leave you unable to handle routine tasks, to force you to rely upon others just to get through one day at a time. That can create hostile feelings of anger, or lethargic sensations of depression when you realize it’s happening to you. Or even if it’s happening to someone you love.
Modern medicine continues to take strides towards a better understanding of Alzheimer’s, but research is ongoing and there’s no magic cure yet. For patients waiting and hoping for good news, support groups can step in to help not just them, but their loved ones as well, shoulder the sometimes crushing burden of the disease without breaking. Counseling can get you through the initial stages, and help you handle the advancing cognitive changes without turning into a person even further from who you use to be than you’re comfortable with.
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease has medical ramifications, but a host of emotional ones as well. #HealthStatus
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Key Points:
- 1It’s perfectly normal to experience depression, anger, denial and fear when you first learn that you have Alzheimer’s disease.
- 2When someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it’s important to seek out trusted family and friends to discuss the feelings they are experiencing.
- 3For some, learning more about Alzheimer’s Disease makes them feel more empowered about their treatment and long-term care plans.
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