Hooked on a Feeling - Emotions & Alzheimer's Patients

Text Size: A A

posted by Ted Ryan on February 03, 2015

A caregiver’s impact on the life of someone with Alzheimer’s is profound and wide ranging. Thanks to a recent study, we now know that a caregiver’s influence includes emotions – even after the actions that caused them are forgotten.

Researchers at the University of Iowa played sad and happy movie clips for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and found that even after forgetting the movie clips, the Alzheimer’s patients experienced sustained states of sadness or happiness.

This is significant for family caregivers and those of us in the home care field because it confirms that a caregiver’s impact goes beyond just safety and assistance with activities of daily living. It underlines the importance of using techniques to improve the emotional well-being and minimize the suffering of those with Alzheimer’s disease. Though a parent, client or loved one may not have the memory of a recent visit or interaction, the associated feelings linger.

At SHC, we help seniors, including those with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss, achieve the highest quality of life. We offer a vast array of services to promote a client’s health and safety, while keeping in mind that to truly provide quality care, you must also attend to their emotional needs.

Caregiving can be emotionally grueling and trying to do it singlehanded can have a detrimental effect on everyone involved. If you are caring for a loved one and find yourself needing respite, we are here to help. Please contact us to discuss your situation.

If you would like to learn caregiving techniques that have made SHC a leading home care company in the Greater St. Louis area, check out Seniors Home Care University, our free community caregiver training class. Click here for more information.
 

« Good News for St. Louis Alzheimer's Disease Research Overwhelmed? Stressed? Managing Caregiver Burnout. »

Post Tags

Alzheimer's and Dementia
  1. Ron

    Ron

    February 04, 2015

    Very interesting. Thank you.

  2. Ryan Whittington

    Ryan Whittington

    February 04, 2015

    Ron, thank you for your comment. For more tips on senior related topics, visit our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SeniorsHomeCare?ref=ts&fref=ts
    @Ron:

Join the Discussion

Seniors Home Care reserves the right to remove anything deemed inappropriate, off-topic or otherwise questionable; however, we have no responsibility to do so.