Managing dementia symptoms: How families can cope with difficult behavior

Bob and Jo have been together for 48 years and in this YouTube video, Jo shares how her love for Bob remains after all these years. But she admits things have become different now.

Video Source: YouTube.com

"We still have a cuddle," Jo said. "But when I am cross and tired I pull back and I am find it's quite necessary sometimes to distance myself because Bob is more like a child now and not my husband."

Like Bob, one in every nine people aged 65 and older has Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common form of dementia, according to Alzheimer's Association. Once diagnosed, its effects are drastic and irreversible, and could definitely take a toll on relationships.

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Common signs and symptoms include struggle to recall recent events, anxiety, and depression. There is also a tendency to display unusual behavior. As a result, care for the person becomes increasingly challenging.

Family members of persons with dementia, especially children, may show feelings like grief, anxiety, and irritation and embarrassment at unusual behavior displayed by the person. It is therefore important to gently encourage children to talk through it and help them realize people with dementia need extra love, care, and understanding.

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As for husbands and wives like Jo, making an extra effort to concern and affection is key to managing the situation. Jo admits it has come to a point where she had to get a room of her own, but the last thing she makes sure of every night is to read with Bob, a gentle gesture to show nothing much has changed.

For now, Bob knows he must help himself as well, and he's working on it. "I know I can't cure it", he said, "but I shall make sure that, you know, I'm not going to give in."  

Dementia is one among the illnesses commonly affecting the elderly. Dr. Evelyn Rosen specializes on this and other psychiatric conditions that come with old age. Visit this Facebook page to know how to manage dementia and other similar conditions.

Young legislation: The Positive Aging Act

Mental health among the United States’ late-life demographic has been a recent, but not weak, concern. The facts could speak of a country that may have neglected its elderly: substance abuse, depression, dementia, and anxiety are growing afflictions of Americans over the age of 65. In a country where nursing homes and associations and government bodies in support of the elderly are common, there are many areas of improvement in terms of anticipating the most life-changing needs of the elderly.

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Now that care problems have surfaced, solutions and general attitudes are being given teeth by the Positive Aging Act, S. 1119, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and reintroduced in the Senate June last year. The provisions of the act standardize primary care services in communities and extend the scope of these to unreached elderly populations.

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Of particular focus are mental health services needing integration into primary care services. The coordination is largely seen as a multi-disciplinary effort combining the contributions of geriatric psychiatrists and bureaus that are specifically mandated to address crucial dimensions of mental health such as substance abuse. The latter has been a growing scourge among the elderly and is widely recognized as one of the main focuses of projects that the Positive Aging Act could set in motion.

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Mental health professionals will also be interfacing with other medical professionals and providers of health and social services to close the circle of meted overall care. The elderly and their families, too, are expected to be key players in the identification of other gaps and potential projects of a national scale.

Geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Evelyn Rosen is part of a pool of mental health professionals calling for the expansion of care services for the elderly. Visit this Facebook page to know more about Dr. Rosen’s practice and issues that affect the elderly in America.