The Impacts of Alzheimers Disease - Research Paper Example

? Bereavement Responses to Alzheimer's disease Bereavement Responses to Alzheimer's disease Introduction With the current aging population, researchers and other psychological thinkers have projected that, in the near future, the number of individuals and professionals dealing with Alzheimer’s diseases and other related dementia would be overwhelming. In addition, Alzheimer’s takes a very long process and several steps before having severe impact on individual health. Each stage has an impact to the infected patient and the entire family (Bass, Bowman& Noelker, 2011). The impacts of Alzheimer’s disease have a deliberating effect to the family members and concerned caregivers thus forcing them to grieve while offering the required social and health support. Researchers have as well affirmed that, the manner in which family members manages their grief in the pre-death period determines the caring outcomes as well as their reaction in the bereavement period. Bereavement is a period of grief and mourning that results from the death of either a member of a family or a close friend (Aneshensel, Pearlin, Mullen, Zarit, & Whitlach, 2005). Bereavement is not only a stressing moment but also a period where an individual encounters complex emotional and psychological experiences. Different people react different to the illness and death of a friend or a member of a family. People’s reaction to demise of Alzheimer’s patients is influenced by various factors including religious beliefs, ethical factors, the promptness of the death, traditional believes, personal and family believes, the existing relationship between the mourner and the deceased, the cause of the death, the age of the deceased as well as the role of the deceased in the family. As a result of emotional complexity, psychologists and counsellors advises the affected members of the family to belief in their own feeling regarding bereavement and grieve in a most helpful way (Lattanzi-Licht, & Doka, 2003). With reference to the existing research findings, grieve reduces permanent complications that are caused by the loss of a friend or a member of the family. Considering the significant of bereavement management to individual’s mental and physical health, the essay seeks to establish the manner in which family caregivers of individuals infected with Alzheimer’s diseases manifest their grief. The essay will explain how healthcare professionals and other practitioners in health sector intervene in supporting grief management. The writing will as well describe various bereavement intervention models for family members of patients who are infected with Alzheimer’s diseases. Literature Review Alzheimer’s is described as a degenerative and progressive diseases that affects one’s brains leading to increasingly impairments of one’s behaviours, thinking capacity, reasoning capacity, and memory. Alzheimer’s main risk factor is age. Although, Alzheimer’s can also affect young people, the disease commonly infects old people at the age of 65 years and above. Other risks factors that are associated with Alzheimer’s include serious injury or illness, family history, stress, inadequate social and physical activities, race and poor diet. A research that was conducted in United States of America in 2010 indicated that risk of Alzheimer’s was high in African America and Hispanics section of the population compared to Euro- Americans. Studies have as well indicated that, the average length of diagnosis to the death of Alzheimer’s diseases is between four to eight years (Bowles, Larry, James, Diane, et al., 2012). Despite affecting the health condition of the patient, Alzheimer’s diseases have a debilitating impact to the entire family members. As the affected people live through the disease process, family members experience multitude of upsets and losses in the entire process of taking care of the Alzheimer’s diseases patient (Gottlieb& Wolfe, 2002). Bereavement is described as reaction to various kinds of significant losses including loss of a family member or a friend. Although, there are adequate information and researches on the most effective means of dealing with bereavement that is caused by Alzheimer’s diseases, most of the identified strategies do not facilitate total participation of family members. Healthcare practitioners offer health and social support to the infected persons without involving their contribution. Instead of addressing possible psychological complications that is linked to living Alzheimer’s diseases victim, healthcare practitioners and psychologists assess emerging stress and depression. Researchers have as well confirmed that, healthcare professionals do not have the skills that are essential in dealing with death issues. The level at which family members cope with demise of a loved one is influenced by the manner in which caregivers manage their grief during the Alzheimer’s diseases diagnosis process. Despite affecting the care-giving outcome, the manner in which family members manage their grief in pre-death losses as well affects subsequent adjustment after the death of Alzheimer’s diseases patient (Kasl-Godley, 2003). Alzheimer’s disease takes place in three main stages, early stage, middle stage, and late stage. Each stage takes a specific period. All these stages are associated with specific loss and dysfunction to the family members and the patient. Due to the identified losses in every stage, family members and caregivers react different to deaths depending on the impact of the identified symptoms to patients’ health. Bereavement results to emergence of symptoms such as frustration and anger, weight loss, sadness, change in sleeping pattern, as well as focus and concentration problem. In an attempt to promote security and safety, the affected family seeks moral support from society members, psychosocial professionals and healthcare professionals. Feeling of grief and loss emerges when one security and safety is threatened either by the loss of a loved one or other factors that threaten one’s life. Researchers have asserted that, grief reaction among family members and caregivers are elevated by social stigma that is associated with Alzheimer’s diseases process as well as societal view that Alzheimer’s diseases results to inevitable death (Bowles, Larry, James, Diane, et al., 2012). Attention and researches on bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases started to develop in the mid 1990’s. In their initial studies, psychologists observed that, grief that results from Alzheimer’s diseases emerges due to changes in care-giving situation such as physical declines, mental and cognitive dysfunction as well placement in long-term care facilities. The emotional response of family members that have Alzheimer’s diseases victims is in most cases are similar to those experienced by people who have losses their beloved ones due to other healthcare complications. Researchers have as well associated grief that is experienced by family members and caregivers Alzheimer’s diseases patients with overwhelming sense of loss that they experience on daily basis. Family members therefore, experience variety of losses including loss of social interaction, loss of the existing relationship between family members and the patient, loss of closure on variety of relationship issues, loss of accompany institutionalisation as well as loss that is linked to caregivers mental and physical health (Boise, Camicioli, Morgan, Rose, & Congelton, 2009). Researchers have as well identified various emotional reactions in response to the loss of Alzheimer’s diseases patient. Family member develop intense sadness that last for a considerable period. Researchers have associated the feeling of sadness with factors such as loss of recognition that were established between family members and the deceased. Other feelings that are linked to loss of a family member due to Alzheimer’s diseases entail anger, guilty, and sadness. The post-death briefs are as well linked to the amount of stress that individual experience after taking care of Alzheimer’s diseases patient for a long period. Family members and caregivers stress and depression are essential predictors for bereavement strains and grief. In addition, the support of family members to the deceased person has a very strong impact on the caregiver post-death grief reactions. In addition, professional interventions have a very critical role in influencing the impact of bereavement outcomes. The time that caregivers and family members spent in taking care of Alzheimer’s diseases patient, also determine the nature of bereavement responses to Alzheimer's disease death. In most instances, emotion reaction is especially high immediately after diagnosis process. Over time, caregivers and other family members develop an increasing level of understanding and patience. Bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases is characterised by frustrations and sadness depending symptoms that are exhibited by Alzheimer’s diseases patient. The level of intimacy that exists between the infected person and the caregiver has a critical role in determining the bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases. Psychologists have as well asserted that, grief that results from Alzheimer’s diseases increases as the duration of care-giving activities proceeds. However, grief decline as the death of the person infected with Alzheimer’s diseases approaches. In addition, grief experienced by caregivers and family members is directly linked to the location of care. Caregivers at nursing home experiences high level of sadness and guilt while caregivers at home experience anger and frustration (Neimeyer, 2004). The manner in which different people react to loss of their loved due to Alzheimer’s diseases have as well received considerable level of attention from various scholars and psychological professionals. In most situations, bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases is defined by individual age and gender. Women bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases is characterised by death anxiety, loss of control, anger, greater despair, and somatisation. Men’s bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases is specifically associated with denial. Based on the available research findings, most men deny the feelings that are linked to the love of Alzheimer’s diseases patient. In nuclear family settings, wives experience a sense of guilty, sadness, and anxiety after losing their husbands, while husband experiences frustration and anger. In addition, in the second stage of Alzheimer’s diseases, adult children experience raw feelings that is characterised by anger, guilty, empathy, and wishing the death of their infected parent. Spousal caregivers develop a sense of empathy, sadness, and their focus is directed towards maintaining relational ties with the infected member of the family. In the final stage of Alzheimer’s diseases, adult children express loneliness, uncertainty, grief of a loss relationship with their parents as well as loss of an opportunity to provide care-giving responsibilities and role of their parents. Spouses on the other hand bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases in the third stage is characterised by loss of couple identity, loneliness, sadness, and uncertainty (Prigerson., Shear, Frank, Beery, Silberman, Prigerson& Reynolds, 2007). Critical Analysis Bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases resulted to endless researches and study among professionals and scholars. Researchers have claimed that different people react different to Alzheimer’s diseases loses. On the other hand, emotions are as well different at different stages of Alzheimer’s diseases. By referring to the available literature, family members demonstrate high level of frustration and sadness during the diagnosis stage and death. Therefore, by referring to the impact of Alzheimer’s diseases to the infected personal, caregivers, and family members, adequate counselling and psychological support is very essential and critical and all stages of Alzheimer’s diseases. Psychological theorists have as well identified various models that can be helpful in dealing with emotional challenges encountered by family members of the affected families and caregivers. According to psychological scholars, “Worden’s Task Model” is one of the most effective means of assisting the affected families and caregivers to respond effectively to Alzheimer’s diseases. In this model, family members are expected to accept the reality of the loss, adjust to the environment, experience the grief pain in a more realistic manner, and adopt effective means of moving on with life despite the identified loss. This model has as well proved to be effective in intuitive grievers. Some scholars have as well asserted that, different people have distinctive ways of responding to the loss of a loved one due to Alzheimer’s diseases. As a result, bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases is classified into two groups, instrumental and intuitive. Different people adopt different ways of managing grief, maladaptive and adaptive. Intuitive grievers experience their grief as a wave of effect while instrumental grievers express their feeling in form of frustration. Instrumental grievers therefore set support mechanisms to deal with the situation. Intuitive grievers express their feeling while seeking psychological and social support from professionals and other family members. Instrumental grievers on the other hand deals with their anger and frustration by engaging in other useful activities and process. In general, therefore intuitive grievers experience the grief while instrumental grievers do the grief. Family members who are intuitive grievers demonstrate the grief symptoms overtly as feelings. They demonstrate internal helplessness, pain, loneliness and hopelessness. In most cases, intuitive grievers do not express their feelings through shedding tears or by any other form of physical reactions. Intuitive grievers as well experience myriad symptoms that include a sense of guilty, inability to concentrate, anxiety, irritability, pining for loss of a loved one, sadness, and a sense of regret. In death cases, instrumental grievers solve their frustration and disappointment by joining families, friend, and other organisations in the society. Since death related losses are linked to dealing with psychological and ambiguous loss, family members come together to collectively deal with their emotions. Expressing emotion by shedding tears is as well an effective means of dealing with feelings that are associated with the loss of a family member due to Alzheimer’s diseases. In most cases, deep emotions are not entirely associated with danger of losing a family member, but they are as well associated with loss of attachment figures. Bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases can as well be linked to the reaction on the release of heavy burden of taking care of Alzheimer’s diseases patient for a specific time. This is specifically the case at advanced stage of the disease when symptoms such as aggression, toileting, and mobility turn out to be very difficult to handle. Some family members express their frustration through verbal means while other isolates themselves from family members by engaging in leisure activities such as taking alcohol. Offering psychological and social support to the affected family members is one of the most effective mean of helping individuals who are undergoing bereavement responses to Alzheimer’s diseases. Various institutions and psychological professionals have proposed various strategies that can holistically address emotional challenges that result from the loss of Alzheimer’s diseases patients. In most cases, family members react to Alzheimer’s diseases by denial. Therefore, health care professionals intervene to offer effective mental and psychological support to the infected patient, caregivers, and family members. Researchers have as well found out that, healthcare professionals are always frustrated with family expectations. Despite offering medical and clinical support, family members expect healthcare systems to offer other services including psychological and counselling assistance. Healthcare professionals lack the required skills of managing stress and feelings among the family members of Alzheimer’s diseases patients. Based on the available research findings, the most effective mean of addressing emotions that are brought about by the loss of a loved one due to Alzheimer’s diseases is through receiving psychosocial intervention. Psychosocial intervention plays a very critical role in dealing with grief, anxiety, anger, and frustration by offering effective coping mechanism. The three A model (Acknowledging loss, Assessing and Assisting) is as well critical in assisting family members to deal with frustrations that are accompanied by bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases. Acknowledging the loss entails accepting the death of a Alzheimer’s diseases patient. Denial plays a very severe role in elevating frustration and anger that is developed by Alzheimer’s diseases. Psychologists, family members, social workers and other professionals have responsibility of assisting the affected people to accept the loss of loved one in the family. Accepting helps in the identification of effective means of dealing with Alzheimer’s diseases side effects. Assessment has to do with identifying and acknowledging different grieving styles. In most instances, family members and grievers demonstrate both instrumental and intuitive grieving styles. Therefore, professionals who have the responsibility of assisting the affected family should identify those individuals who demonstrate the two types of grief styles and identify the most effective intervention measures. After identifying the expressed symptoms, the practitioner should identify an effective intervention measure that could assist the affected family members and care givers to deal with demonstrated feelings. In most instances, support professionals embark on offering social and emotional support. By referring to the available research findings, adopting the most effective guidance and counselling models is very essential in helping family members to cope with losses that results to Alzheimer’s diseases. Giving the affected family members a chance to demonstrate their feelings is as well an effective means of dealing with psychological trauma and frustrations that result from Alzheimer’s diseases. Therefore, developing a productive rapport with family members is a very helpful in assuring full involvement of the entire family members. Timing is as well very essential in enhancing effective support intervention. To realise the required outcome, family members should also be wiling and committed toward working with practitioners. It is as well the responsibilities of the involved practitioners to ensure that, the involved family members understand the objective of the intervention measures. Empathic care has over years, proved a very effective mean of helping the affected family members and caregivers to cope with Alzheimer’s diseases losses. Empathic care helps in the creation of effective rapport between the practitioner and family members. As defined, empathy is the capacity of being sensitive and aware of experiences, feeling, and thought of the client. Psychological professionals should therefore, be trained on the most effective means of expressing empathy while offering psychosocial support (Adams & Sanders, 2004). Summary In light of the above analysis, it is clear that, different people have diverse ways of responding to Alzheimer’s diseases loses. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive health complication that takes place in three distinctive positions. In every stage, there are certain loss that is encountered by the involved family members and caregivers. In addition, Alzheimer’s diseases involve loss of concentration and memory. Alzheimer’s disease is a health condition of old people although there are some reported cases that involve people who are at the age of between 30-40 years. Bereavement response to Alzheimer’s diseases is also characterised by various symptoms including anger, frustration, stress, depression, anxiety, disappointment, loss of appetite and weight, headache, low energy level, and loss of interests to sex. Due to severe impacts of Alzheimer’s diseases symptoms to patient and family members, many people have identified various coping mechanisms. There are people who engage in leisure activities while other seeks intervention from healthcare professional and psychologists. To counter the impact of Alzheimer’s diseases health and psychological challenges, researchers have identified various models and intervention measures that are directed to immediate family members and Alzheimer’s diseases victims. The indentified intervention measures aims at addressing Alzheimer’s diseases psychological and social challenges. However, there exists very limited literature on the most effective means of dealing with individual who deny the impacts of Alzheimer’s diseases to their physical and social health. There is therefore need for comprehensive research to identify the most effective means of addressing caregivers and family members who express denial to impacts of Alzheimer’s diseases. References Adams, K. & Sanders, S (2004). Alzheimer’s caregiver differences in experience of loss, grief reactions and depressive symptoms across stage of disease, Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 3 (2), 195-210. 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