How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Affect The Mind?

We came across a great article by livescience.com titled, “Alzheimer’s Muddles Memory of How Things Work”, where it describes the disease’s affects on the brain and the individual’s reactions.

The most significant trait of this disease is that it ruins the mind’s ability to think and reason.  Some people may not be able to recognize objects and their functions, and they may even forget what they were doing five minutes ago.  You might find your loved one with Alzheimer’s disease acting strangely, such as putting oranges in the oven or not recognizing two shoes that belong in the same pair.

The most difficult is many people with Alzheimer’s disease forget familiar faces and places.  As the article states, “the most obvious trait of the mind-ruining disease is memory loss, with patients forgetting once-familiar people, places and experiences.” Your loved one with Alzheimer’s disease might not remember that they live in a care home, or might not recognize who you are.  They may start acting as if you are a stranger or they might keep asking to go home, as they don’t know where they are.

This article writes of an experiment that shows that a person with Alzheimer’s disease may also have trouble distinguishing between sizes, because their semantic memory is affected,“which is bigger, a key or an ant? That question might be easy for you to answer quickly, but it could be a little more confusing for a person with Alzheimer’s.”

In these stages, it is best not to sweat the small stuff.  If your loved one is having trouble with their memory; take your cue from them and their ability and do your best to keep them feeling good about themselves, no matter what their answer may be.