Have you are ever searched for a something say a car key that you are holding in your hands? That sounds like a familiar scenario but actually, it is a memory disorder known as memory slip. There are so many other memory-related diseases that affect the way the brain functions. These memory disorders are caused by a number of physical, social and biological factors. Dementia is an expression used to define an extensive variety of symptoms caused by the disorder of the brain functioning and this affects the memory of an individual (Hinle, 2016). This essay discusses on dementia as a mental disorder and the psychological effects it has on an individual. The mental disorders are medical conditions that should be treated with priority like any other medical disease.
Types of Dementia
Dementia disorder has existed for so long and a lot of research on the condition has been done and published. The research works have found out that there are various types of dementia. The most common type of Dementia is Alzheimer's disease which accounts for nearly seventy percent of all dementia diagnoses all over the world (Biundo, 2015). The other types include Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, brain injury related dementia, vascular, and alcohol-related dementia, dementia due to Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementias such as Pick's disease and Lewy Bodies. The various types of dementia affect the memory of the individual and cause dysfunctions.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Alzheimer's disease
The Alzheimer's disease being the most common type of Dementia I chose to discuss a few issues about it. The most discouraging fact about this disease is that it has no cure yet as we speak. The Alzheimer's disease is also a progressive disease that develops with time. The brain of an individual with the disease loses cells and the brain tissues shrink melodramatically and affect nearly all the functions of the brain memory included (Tan, 2015). The people suffering from Alzheimer's disease will have a brain with fewer nerve cells and neuron networks compared to normal healthy individuals.
We don't simply become more forgetful as we grow older but our brains impartial don't work efficiently or properly as they used to the period we were young. This is a common scenario but it does not necessarily imply that we have Alzheimer's disease or any type of dementia. Alzheimer's is a common dementia disorder and it has been frequently been confused with other dementia-related disorders and even other non-related memory disorders.
How Dementia Affects People
The way dementia affects people varies from one individual to another depending on the type of dementia. The different types of dementia have a different effect on the brain of the individual although they may cause similar symptoms. The most common symptoms of dementia to an affected people is reduced ability to think clearly, loss of memory and reduced ability to reason effectively (Engstrom, 2014). Dementia affected individual will have difficulties in remembering conversations and events including the most recent ones. The individual may sometimes behave inappropriately due to lack of the ability to think clearly. The effects of dementia range from one individual to another and there are several interrelated factors that determine the severity of the effect.
Dementia affects the cognitive ability of the individual and this may result in a number of scenarios. The memory and learning of the individual will be reduced drastically and their attention and concentration will be greatly affected. The victim will have difficulty in calculating distance, quantity and time and this will create a barrier between them and their surrounding environment. The geographic orientation of the individual will be affected, for instance, it will be difficult for the individual to recognize where they are and this will rise to cases of the individual getting lost often if left without any supervision. Dementia's cognitive effect and psychological effects on the individual makes the individual unable to solve problems facing them even those involving simple decisions.
Dementia victims may have difficulty in carrying out normal day to day activities. They may even lose interest in activities they previously enjoyed. In the late development of the disease, the individual may also forget names of common objects or even names of the closest family members (Biundo, 2015). This loss of memory is very dreadful and greatly affects the life of the individual and those close to him/her. The effects of dementia can make the individual feel isolated or stigmatized and they may feel shame. Whatever is happening to the individual may really lead to intense confusion and confusion to them.
The Effects of Dementia on a Person's Life
Dementia is a progressive disease and therefore the loss of memory does not happen abruptly to the individual. The type of dementia and the extent of the progression determine the quality of life the individual will live. The individual's ability is slightly affected at early development stages of the disease. They are usually able to carry out their day to day activities such as dressing themselves, feed and bathe (Junge, 2o15). They can also have normal conversations even though patience has to be observed considering the fact that the first casualties of dementia include memory and language. Therefore, the conversation with the individual can be infuriating and strenuous to both parties.
A person with dementia will not be able to learn new things as the condition progresses and they will lose their memory. Concentrating on familiar activities or those which the individual was healthy is therefore very important. Routine familiarity should be observed such as structures, buildings and minimize changes as much as possible.
The individual then is gradual to do certain activities. Driving, ironing, and other activities become very risky for the individuals and need to be monitored closely. The memory becomes gradually impaired as dementia disease progresses. The individual becomes confused and may wander around or even get lost in familiar places.
Psychological Effects of Dementia on an Individual
Dementia changes the personality of an individual. The memory distortion makes the individual lose focus on who they really are. All the principles and beliefs they had are completely erased and they become a completely different person (Junge, 2o15). They are unable to do activities they really liked to do and they even become unable to carry on with their professions. The once loving father, mother, sister, uncle or brother becomes detached from the family and they cannot even remember the names of their close relatives.
Anxiety is another psychological effect of dementia to the individual. Research has shown that anxiety was very high among people with dementia. Loss of memory brings about confusion and the person's ability to control anxiety reduces drastically. The individual also may lose motivation. Loss of memory makes the individual forget all the plans and targets they had set for themselves and this drastically decrease their motivation (Engstrom, 2014). The victim becomes depressed due to the barrier increasing between them and their immediate environment. The isolation and loss of familiarity with their routine environment contribute to causing depression to the individual.
Irritability is also a psychological effect of dementia. The individual becomes irritated because they cannot do basic activities they used to do when they were healthy. Frustration, mood swings and anger with self and others have also been manifested among dementia patients. The loss of memory psychologically creates confusion and disorientation of the individual making them vulnerable to psychological conditions.
Although individuals with dementia cannot perform certain activities there several other activities they can do as long as the condition has not progressed to the advanced stage. The activities they can do include laughing and retaining the sense of humor; enjoy listening to music, show affection, and use a stationary bicycle and doing simple tasks around the home such as sweeping.
Conclusion
Dementia is a memory disorder that is classified into various types. Alzheimer's disease is the common type of dementia and it accounts for over 70 percent of all diagnosed memory disorders. Dementia is a progressive disease and its effects on the individuals differ depending on the type of dementia and the individual. Dementia has psychological effects, behavioral effects, functional effects and cognitive effects on the individual. The psychological effects dementia has on the individual include irritability, anxiety, depression, loss of motivation and frustration and anger with self and others. Dementia causes very serious memory loss as the condition progresses and this affects the quality of life the individual in different ways. The ability to do normal activities is reduced with time. Dementia has no cure so far but there some interventions put in place to slow down the progression of the disease.
References
Biundo, I. D. (2015). Interaction of ApoE3 and ApoE4 isoforms with an ITM2b mutation linked to Alzheimer disease-like Danish dementia. New Delhi: Neurobiology of learning and memory.
Donnellan, W. B. (2015). What are the factors that facilitate or hinder resilience in older spousal dementia cariers? A qualitative study. New York: Aging & Mental Health.
Engstrom, N. &. (2014). Animal-assisted intervention in dementia: effects on quality of life. London: Clinical Nursing Research.
Hinle, J. H. (2016). The effects of cognitive reserve and lyfestyle on cognition and dementia in Parkinson's disease- a longitudinal study. New York: International journal of gariatric psychiary.
Junge, C. (2o15). Psychology of dementia praecox. New Jersy: Princeton University Press.
Tan, M. Y. (2015). Efficacy and adverse effects of biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hong Khong: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
