Helping the Alzheimer's Patient to Manage Anxiety and Depression

Regional Director
The Arbors Assisted Living Communities

Despite the losses they experience, most people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia still experience emotions. Because the brain can no longer maintain focus or acquire new information, the patient is left with a feeling of losing control. The result of this overwhelming feeling is anxiety, depression, and sometimes agitation.

The good news is that these patients can still feel joy, and a sense of accomplishment and pride, and most importantly, they recognize love. By reaching the patient through these emotions, it is possible to minimize the negative behaviors that many people with dementia experience.

The goal is to find the best possible supportive environment that will offer the right balance between supervision and opportunities to socialize, pursue hobbies, and maintain physical activity.

Assisting the patient to stay in their own home is ideal only if the environment can be modified to meet their needs. Most often, in the earlier stages of the disease, staying at home is not structured enough and a nursing home is too restrictive. An assisted living community with a specialized environment for memory impairment can offer activities that nurture self esteem and enhance the quality of life. Some assisted living residences are designed within a secure environment that allows the resident to move about safely without the risk of wandering from the facility.

Whatever supportive environment you choose, always inform your physician whenever symptoms of anxiety and depression occur and reassess the present living situation to be sure that the needs of the whole person are being met.