Due to parts of the brain wasting away other important functions that we take for granted in every day life, such as communicating, learning, thinking may all become very difficult for the sufferer. Also due to the tissue degeneration of the brain, important symptoms of alzheimers pateints can include:
- Finding difficulty planning and completing everyday tasks such as shopping. They may loose track when cooking and preparing a meal, making a teleophone call or even going to the toliet.
- Their langauage may alter dramatically, mainly due to their memory loss, their speech may become that of a 5 year olds (in severe cases). They wil often forget simple everyday words like tooth brush and so may ask the question “wheres the thing that goes in my mouth”.
- They may become lost in their own environment. They may become lost on their ‘normal’ walk to town.
- Another common syptom is poor judgement, often misjudgement of ‘normal’ day to day judgements. For example you need to judge how far away you need to drive past a car not to hit it, you need to judge what clothes to put on for a warm or a cold day and we need to judge at what time it will get dark (due to the season) as to when we need to be home by. All these simple judgements may become a lot harder for an alzheimer sufferer.
- Most alzheimers behavour is thought of as a bit strange but this problem that a lot of dementia sufferers encounter is that of misplacing items, but not just forgetting where you last out your keys or your purse, but actually putting certain items in places where they think is correct but to the ‘normal’ eye is very strange. For example they may put the iron in the freezer or their wrist watch in the sugar bowl.
- Other strange and noticble behavour of that of someone with demetia can be:
- Mood swings
- Normal Personality traits change
- Unable to use initiative
There is no possible cure for alzheimers but the best way to treat the needs of a person suffering from alzheimers is for constant reasurment that everything will be fine, more often than not alzheimer sufferers do not worry or panic because they quite often do not realise, but they can quite easily become very distressed in a short space of time. In terms of physical needs, if problem becomes very severe they may need a waling aid, but other than that physical needs may include helping them to bath and clean them selves, their teeth, skin, hair. Making sure they eat well-sometimes the appetite of alzheimer sufferers diminishes, and so can quite often go for days with not eating. However as a carer or a faily member we need to accommodate for their need and make, help or encourage them to eat when best for them. If they are at anytime in pain we can seek medical advice, which will often result in pain killers. Obviously other major physical problems are dealt with by their G.P. Emotionally alzheimer patients can often be in quite a lot of distress. It is important that a carer values the opinons of the patient and accepts their veiws always. It is also important to focus on a persons strengths, let them know they are doing well and keep an open ear to what they have to say. Ask them about how they are feeling right now rather than things that will require memory. Encourage activities the person enjoys. These will all help a persons emotional state to be a positive one. Oddly enough a person suffering from alzheimers will often become very sensitive to other peoples emotions due to the loss of reasoning. The way we can help to ressolve this is to learn to become adapt to when their mood starts to change and use initiative due to previous similar situations to continue or to end the emotional stress/worry. As a family member it is often quite embarrasing to take a person suffering from the illness out to the public, and can often make the person distressed because other people may laugh or comment on the ‘strange’ speech of the person. However it is still important for them to socialise so what is suggested is that they are put in social situations with people who are trusted (either another family member or a friend) who know about the condition and so can act towards the person as ‘normal’ as possible.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder; it is not known that there have been any genetic link however there have been studies to show that genes lead to pre disposal of the disorder. Autistic people will share three main areas of difficulty; however every autistic person will carry unique qualities and experience a different level of autism as others. People with autism are often diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the word ‘spectrum’ refers to the different levels. Some autistic people can lead relatively normal lives whereas some will need a lifetime of constant care. It is quite often not accepted by the community because they do not ‘look’ disabled. The ‘Triad of impairments’ (symptoms) of autism are;
- Social communication is a very foreign experience for autistic people, body language seems ineffective and worthless, they often take things literally; therefore do not understand humour, sarcasm, common phrases and sayings. They may have difficulties with realising what people mean by using facial expressions and tone of voice.
- Autistic people will often find other ways of communication, with their hands or pictures/symbols. They often understand what other people say to them, but have very limited vocabulary themselves.
- On the other hand some can speak well themselves but cannot participate in normal/general conversations. They may either talk for length about themselves and their own interests or will repeat the phrase of the other person.
- One of the key difficulties with autism is that they generally cannot comprehend emotional worries/thoughts of others around them and find it challenging to express their own-this will often make understanding how they are feeling very difficult for the carer/parent.
- Obvious skills in communication that we all pick up naturally during socialisation are generally not apparent in an autistic person. Their behaviour may seem odd or rude to others, such as starting an inappropriate conversation or interrupting other people.
- They will often prefer their own company, so are often seen as ‘loners’.
- They may seem insensitive because they cannot grasp emotional thoughts of others, and similarly not being able to seek comfort from others themselves.
- They often want to make friends but due to the inability to understand obvious communication skills, it becomes extremely difficult for others to understand them.
- Social imagination allows us to predict certain behaviour, to understand abstract ideas and to imagine other circumstances outside our normal routine. This is why Autism often makes people enable to allow change in their life. Therefore they will find it difficult to;
- Predict the future
- Understand danger
- During playtime they will often stick to the same game
- Cope in new or different situations
- However autistic people are often extremely imaginative and very creative, often more so than others.
There are many other characteristics involved in Autism. Routines are an extremely important aspect of life for autistic people; it is this that helps them to know where they are and what they are doing, if some small change occurs they can often become very angry, distressed, confused and worried.
Sensory sensitivity is common is autism. This is when a person does not like/feel comfortable with a certain touch, taste, sound or smell. They are often very hyposensitive so for example they may become distressed for certain background noises that are not noticeable by others.
Autistic people will often have a special interest that they find there most enjoyment from. Whether it be painting or making cars, this is what will keep them interested, so may things in life will be related to their interest even if they are completely irrelevant it will help them to absorb the information.
Finally autistic people will often experience some kind of special need; carer’s and supporters are extremely helpful (especially at school or college) helping them with wording or spelling, many say it makes a huge difference.
The cause of Autism is not yet known, however there have been some indications as to what causes it, and research has shown that many different factors add to the brain development in a child. There have been strong links to DNA but not one chromosome has been found to be responsible for the disease yet. The causes will come about from prenatal, postnatal and peri-natal environments. Pre-natal environments will include things that occur up until 3 months into pregnancy. Teratogens are known are environmental aspects that cause birth defects and some of these include the thalidomide drug (which was given a long time ago to prevent morning sickness), valproic acid and rubella disease in the mother. Other chemicals/drugs such as alcohol have been suspected to increase the risk of autism. Obviously these will affect the child more in early stages of preganancy rather than later stages as the baby continues to develop. Pesticides are another toxic substance towards a growing foetus which as been linked to the development of austism. Although folic acid is mainly responsible for spinal defects it has been suggested that this could be a cause. Other pre natal factors include stress to the baby or possibly ultrasound waves.
Secondly the peri-natal environmental factors can point a finger towards autism. Peri-natal is around the time of birth (5 months before and 1 month after). Factors that can creep in at this stage can be hypozia, low birth weight and a long birthing period.
Finally the post-natal environment is thing’s that occur after birth. These can include gastrointestinal or immune system abnormalities, allergies, and exposure of children to drugs, vaccines, infection, certain foods, or heavy metals.
Like Alzheimers there is no cure for austism. However there are ways in which you can help and encourage a child or an adult to make their lives more comfortable. Often the emotions of an autistic person are more positive than that of a ‘normal’ person, they are often so interested in a specific ‘thing’ in their life that everything will surround that. However if say a situation is out of the ordinary or does not involve something familiar to them, they can often become very distressed. Autistic people are very unable to cope with change and so may even become aggressive if a big change occurs. For example a small change such as moving the sofa to under the window rather than against a wall can cause a big tantrum, (especially in younger autistic children). Their need at that point is to be calmed down and reassured that everything will be fine, often with very young children it will be a good idea to distract them with the things they do like. Physically autistic people look ‘normal’. However they are often very insensitive to pain, they can bruise, cut or curn themselves badly and have little or no reaction to the pain. Which can often mean the problem is dismissed, however it is important to keep an eye on the person-especially as a young child, to help prevent unknown about injuries from occurring. However that is quite often the only physical problem that an autistic person will suffer from. Autistic people often come across as socially inept, however they will love to be with people but just find it difficult in communicating with them. So often families will find ways and means of their own in communicating with their relative/child. Finally intellectually autistic people do need quite a lot of help and nowadays there are many organizations that support and encourage autistic people to attend state schools, as there are many class room assistants who will work on a one to one basis during class time to help the child/person understand what is being said.
Eating disorders-Anorexia/bulimia
These diseases are not just ‘slimming diseases’, they are ways of destroying the bodies eating patterns as a way to gain control of their lives.
The signs and symptoms of both anorexia and bulimia is often very hard to describe, both will often look extremely pale and their skin often in poor condition. The stereotype suggests all eating disorder will make the person look abnormally skinny to the point of being able to see every rib on their chest. However bulimics generally look a normal weight, and so their condition can go unnoticed for several of years.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia will generally start appearing in teens, either due to physical/emotional abuse or through difficulty with low self esteem and self worth. The causes of anorexia are different in all cases. It is often thought that society’s ways of portraying ‘normal’ people as stick thin and so stunningly beautiful is the cause to why people develop anorexia. However this will and does add to the person’s distress but does not ultimately trigger it. Often a person will develop anorexia due to a sudden family tragedy or negative event. Quite often people with anorexia are striving to be in control of themselves, it may be at a time when they feel powerless and overwhelmed with an emotion. To be able to control what they eat can help someone to feel in control of their life. It is suggested and researched that anorexia can run in the family, a person can certainly have a pre-disposition to anorexia especially if their natural build is very slight. Brain chemistry also seems to play a significant role. Emotional trauma experienced very early in life affects the brain, which in turn can trigger psychological problems later on.
Anorexics will develop an extreme emotional worry of becoming fat or feeling/thinking they are fat. Food becomes the central aspect in their life and their desire to be thin will dominate all other emotions. The obsession to loose weight will make the person extreme diet to the point of starvation, use laxatives to enable vomiting, binge eating is less likely in anorexics and constant physical exercise. However before the weight loss is apparent, other signs will start to become noticeable such as
- failure to notice or be satisfied with the result of exercise
- avoiding food high in carbohydrates
- low mood
- menstrual cycle becomes irregular or ceases
- lack of interest in sex
A dangerously low body weight can cause other medical related illnesses. These will include poor circulation; their bones will become brittle due to the little nutrients and vitamins they are receiving. They may become infertile, experience spells of dizziness and fainting often and will often become very dehydrated. Like Bulimia this can also lead to low body temperature, slowed heart beat and a decrease in blood pressure. There are many physical problems that may occur from anorexia. The body needs nutrients, vitamins, fats, sugars, carbohydrates and proteins to keep our body growing and working properly. Although a person will stop growing taller when they reach adulthood their skin cells will keep reproducing and shedding off dead cells. This will only happen however if the correct amount of food supplements is entering the body. Anorexics often bruise easily; have very thin hair, brittle fingernails, dry skin, chapped lips, creaking joints/bones and many more. However this is only the physical side of anorexia which many people live with for many years, but the psychological side is much more long term. They will suffer from distorted body image, obsessive compulsive disorder, obsessive thoughts about and perfectionism. Emotional affects are also fairly irreversible such as extremely low self esteem, intense fear due to weight gain, clinical depression and extreme mood swings. Although the weight loss of an anorexic will not become apparent until sometime, their emotional side will affect everyone living around them, and although the symptoms will become worse, family and friends will notice an extreme difference in attitude and self confidence from the very beginning. This will affect their social needs considerably; friendships may be lost due to the inability to interact with that person become of their low confidence. Relationships with family may also become very tiring and painful for everyone. In extreme cases of anorexia, their behaviour will become extremely erratic and unpredictable. Suicidal attempts are common in anorexics, bodily abuse is the key aspect, and they will exercise to the extreme will fasting themselves.
Bulimia
Like anorexia, bulimia derives from the burning desire to be thin. Bulimics will often go through stages from binge eating to obsessive purposeful purging after meals via laxatives and diuretics OR excessive fasting and constant exercise. This can cause extreme affects on the health of that person. For example bulimia can lead to an irregular heart rate, kidney damage etc. Due to the inadequate nutrition the person is receiving other health issues can occur such as low blood pressure, slowed heart rate and a fall in body temperature.
The mortality rate for anorexics is thought to be the highest out of any other psychiatric disorder. Less than half the amount of anorexics fully recovers and 20% remain chronically ill.
The main aim for treatment in anorexia is to encourage weight gain. For extreme anorexia this will include hospitalisation and possibly involuntary hospitalisation under the mental health legislation. However the majority will be treated as outpatients so will be in and out of health services visiting many different health practitioners for different aspects of the illness i.e. psychiatrists. Family therapy deems very affective in adolescents. However adult anorexia is harder to accomplish by reasoning and advising. So drugs are often used. However recent studies show that many drugs are not very effective. On the other hand there has been research to suggest that a 14mg tablet per day of Zinc can help with daily routine to regain weight. This works by increasing the effectiveness of neurotransmitter in parts of the brain that control hunger. Finally there are many support groups and volunteers willing to help beat anorexia.
There are many different types of mental illness, some are more socially accepted than others and some are harder to recognise than others. All mental illnesses will affect the body and mind in different ways however they will all dramatically affect the person’s physical, social, intellectual and emotional needs.