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Alzheimer’s Avoidance – Blog 11: Alzheimer’s at Christmas

December 17, 2019August 8, 2020James Sweeney

The festive season is upon us! Christmas is one of the busiest and greatest days for most during the year but is a day that no one forgets. This blog is going to talk about Alzheimer’s during the Christmas Season!

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Today’s blog is the 11th blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about Alzheimer’s at Christmas time(can be linked to other holidays as well). We are going to be looking at how Alzheimer’s can affect you as a family. The blog will look at the positive sides as changing the way that we think about certain things, from a negative view to a positive one, can make a very large difference on your view of life!

It may seem quite difficult to think about Alzheimer’s in a positive way around Christmas time but it is something that I would like to take a closer look at. Christmas for me, as it is for many, is all about family and the time in which you spend together. I was speaking to a friend of mine in University last week actually about Christmas with Alzheimer’s, as his grandmother has it as well, and he didn’t seem as excited about Christmas as I had expected.

Whilst talking to him he said, “Christmas will never be the same in my house as my grandmother doesn’t remember my name as much anymore”. I didn’t really know what to reply to that but after a minute I knew what I was going to say. I decided to try and turn his view from a sadder, more negative one into a happier, more positive one. I haven’t really tried to do this when dealing with issues like Alzheimer’s before but soon found out it was very similar to tackling other issues and problems.

The first thing that I asked him was, “Will your grandmother be with you at Christmas”. He replied with yes in a way but her memories are fading. I knew after this response that the way he was looking at it could be changed. One of the things that I talk a lot about when it comes to Alzheimer’s is that you have to try and make a new and better memory to replace each memory that gets stolen by Alzheimer’s. It is a phrase that I like to think helps and is one that I talk through a lot on my Alzheimer’s Awareness page, Don’t Forget Me, http://www.dontforgetme.org.uk.

The way that I handled my friend’s issue was indeed by convincing him that instead of seeing Christmas as a sad time, try to make it better. Talk to your grandmother about the good times you had, share stories and experiences, have a good time and try to cherish it. I said how it is easy to always think about things in a negative light, I often do, but if you just try and see the other side, it doesn’t look as bad as you first thought. After I told him this I gave him a few minutes to think about it and then he seemed a lot more relaxed. A small little conversation see, can make the world of difference.

That is the point that I want to bring home. Alzheimer’s will try to steal all of your memories, why not make new and better memories to replace the ones that are lost? Just because the person suffering from Alzheimer’s doesn’t remember something, doesn’t mean you can’t remind them. Talk about the memory as a story, explain what happened, try and help them understand, it might make you feel a lot better.

As always too patience is key when it comes to Alzheimer’s. I fully understand that Christmas can be very stressful but try extra careful not to lose your cool if the person suffering from the terrible illness can’t remember something, they are trying their best after all!

That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! It’s nice to be back writing a little bit more, haven’t written a blog in over a week now! What do you all think? Are you looking forward to Christmas? The blog today can be applied to every other holiday, I just felt like it was a relevant time to relate it to Christmas!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day! See you in the next blog!

Sweeney’s Blogs

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James

Alzheimer’s Avoidance – Blog 8: Decision Making

November 11, 2019August 8, 2020James Sweeney

Decision Making – It is something that we take advantage of in day to day life but did you know that it can help slow the rate of deterioration in diseases such as Alzheimer’s? that is exactly what we are going to be looking at in today’s blog, Decision making and how it impacts illnesses such as Alzheimer’s.

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Today/s blog is going to be the eighth blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about Decision Making. Although it is an often overlooked thing in life, the ability to make decisions does have a large effect on us and our bodies. In my opinion, this is because it causes the brain to think and plan decisions out before making them.

Mental Stimulation is an entity that we talk a lot about in this series and it is down to the fact that it is one of the largest factors when it comes to Alzheimer’s. Keeping the brain active and going seems like an easy thing to do when in reality, if not executed well, it can become really difficult. It is why I draw so much attention to it in this series. Tasks like puzzle games and indeed making decisions do make a difference, I am not saying that the difference is always huge, but a difference still is a difference.

So the question arises, how do we get someone with Alzheimer’s to practise decision making?

When it comes to decision making, there are a lot of different avenues you can take. there is no right or wrong answer in regards to which route you choose, it is all down to personal preference. One of the things that I find curious is how everyone seems to undervalue the smaller decisions that we make in life. Although the smaller decisions seem small and unimportant at first, when they build up they make quite the difference.

One of the main routes you can take is smaller and more frequent questions/ decisions. Ask regular questions like how are you feeling? Or maybe questions like what did you do yesterday or how did yesterday go? Although the questions seem really basic they do at least gauge some stimulation from the other person which can make the world of difference.

if you go out for a meal then it gives you the perfect chance to practise decision making. if the person you are with has Dementia/Alzheimer’s then really think about how you go about speaking to them.instead of just assuming that they want what they usually get, use the chance to ask questions. Ask them what would you like? or maybe questions more like, would you like the cod or the steak?

What you may start to notice is the actual question you ask is not important. it is the mental stimulation that is generated from asking the question that is the important thing. If you just sit in the same four walls in complete silence then you are increasing your chance of getting illnesses such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Take some time out of your day to really think about how you are going about your day to day life. Make a change sooner rather than later, when you still have time to change.

That is all I want to talk about in today’s blog! Thank you all for reading! What do you all think? Do you think decision making has an effect on someone getting Alzheimer’s? Do you know any tips or tricks to reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer’s? if so please let me know! Feedback is always appreciated – be it negative or positive!

Thanks for reading,

Sweeney’s Blogs

Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!

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James

Alzheimer’s Avoidance – Blog 7: Early Identification

November 5, 2019August 9, 2020James Sweeney

Similar to most illnesses and conditions in life, Early Identification can make the world of difference. AT the end of the day if we do not know that we have something, how are we meant to try and cure/treat it? Today’s blog is going to look at how early identification can be a great thing to do when it comes to Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s Avoidance.

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Today’s blog is the seventh blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about Early Identification. Early Identification is the process of identifying if you do have Alzheimer’s/Dementia, or indeed any other medical condition, at an early stage to ensure that you can plan out your treatment plan carefully and you can take steps to try and reduce the risk of it getting worse.

To many, the concept of knowing that they have Alzheimer’s is a daunting one but is it really a bad thing? I fully understand that learning that you may have a condition such as Alzheimer’s can be absolutely horrifying news but it is still better to identify earlier rather than later. We need to try and flip the negatives we have about identifying it earlier to really see the positives.

selective focus photo of brown and blue hourglass on stones

Firstly if you do unfortunately have a condition then you will be put on the system. I know that being on the system doesn’t always help but it can make a big difference for things such as medication. If you find out that you do have Alzheimer’s then you can talk through possible medication that you can take with your doctor.

I am no medical expert but there are a lot of different types that all do different things. Some are designed to slow the speed that your mind deteriorates whereas others are designed to calm you down and relax your mind before you go into phases such as sundowning. Medication isn’t guaranteed to work or isn’t definitely going to help but isn’t it better to try and see?

As well as the medical positives, early identification can be a massive help to your family and friends. Even though it will be a massive shock for them at first, after they have processed what is happening, they will have more time to try and help you. There are things that family and friends can do to try and slow down the rate in which Alzheimer’s deteriorates and with early identification, they will have more time to try and figure out which methods work and which don’t.

people sitting on seashore while watching golden hour

In regards to what methods family and friends can use to try and reduce the rate in which Alzheimer’s deteriorates, I would advise following some of what the other blogs in this series say. Doing things such as regular exercise and puzzle games aren’t guaranteed to work but it is still better to try them in the chance that they do work.

Now briefly onto how you can identify if you have Alzheimer’s at an early stage. The one thing that I would say here is if you start noticing that you are forgetting things more than usual or your mind is going funny, go and see your doctor. The same goes with family and friends if you see someone you know start to lose their memory and forget things like their names, the date, etc, then advise them to go to the doctor. The doctor can then book them in to do a memory/Alzheimer’s test and appropriate measures can be taken from there based off of the result. If it comes back that you do not have Alzheimer’s then that is an added bonus, it is better to be safe than sorry!

That is all I want to talk about in today’s’ blog! Thank you all for reading! What do you all think? Do you think early identification is important? Do you want this series to keep going or should I end it soon? Let me know what you think to those questions and any other questions you have in the comment section below!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day,

Sweeney’s Blogs

Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!

£5.00

James

Alzheimer’s Avoidance – Blog 3: Puzzle Games

October 7, 2019August 9, 2020James Sweeney

Puzzle Games, some people love them some people hate them but have you ever stopped and thought about how they can be good for you? It is said that if you do puzzle games regularly then you are less likely to get Alzheimer’s/Dementia and that is what we are going to be looking at in today’s blog!

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Today’s blog is going to be the third blog in the Alzheimer’s Avoidance series and is going to be about how puzzle games help lower your risk of getting Alzheimer’s/ Dementia. Puzzle games, as inclined by the name, are usually challenging and do encourage you to think. They encourage you to constantly stimulate your brain to think of the right answer. To most people this is common knowledge but if we stop and think about it the links to how it reduces your chances of getting Alzheimer’s can be quite clear.

An article that I found on LittleThings, https://www.littlethings.com/alzheimers-puzzles-and-games/, helps talk us through the process. A scientific study conducted in 2012 found that people who stay “mentally engaged” through life have lower levels of a protein called beta-amyloid which is found in the brain. Beta-amyloid protein can “clump up to form hardened plaques that destroy memory and thinking skills”. These clumps of beta-amyloid are often found in people who do suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. They do also briefly mention another study which found that people who do complete regular puzzles aren’t affected by Alzheimer’s until later life.

The best thing about these studies os how easy it actually is to find puzzle games to do. If we’re doing them in real life then it is as easy as going to a local shop and picking up a puzzle book. The puzzles could be word searches, crosswords, find the difference, it doesn’t matter. The type of game is irrelevant, it is the fact that you are stimulating your brain is the important part. What I would advise however is to do something that you enjoy. Don’t just do crosswords cos you think it’ll help, do them if you enjoy them.

If you have a phone/ tablet it is even easier. You could type into google puzzle games or you can just browse through the app store. There are millions upon millions of different puzzle games out there and they can be really easy to find. I would say to try and go for the free games but if you do want to pay for you apps that is still completely fine.

I’ll set a challenge on this page. If you don’t do many puzzle games in your free time, I want you to try at least one a day. Even if you just do the crossword in the local paper, one a day os the challenge. Give yourself five to ten minutes to really stimulate your brain. As well as helping reduce the chances of getting Alzheimer’s it does also help you build your mental strength and broaden your knowledge.

That is all I want to talk about in today’s blog! What do you all think? Did you know puzzle games can reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer’s? Are you going to start doing more puzzle games? Do you know any other ways to reduce your chance of getting Alzheimer’s? Let me know what you think in the comments. All feedback is appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a great day,

Sweeney’s Blogs

Any money donated here will be put back into the business. This can be through marketing campaigns, upgrades to plans or for setting up future events!

£5.00

James