Alzheimer's Care Like Walking Backwards with a Blindfold On

My father once told me, "you make your own bed and you sleep in it." This referred to the decisions you make in life, the problems you face in life, and how you deal with the resultant circumstances.

Ever tried to walk a long distance backward without looking over your shoulder? I doubt it. 

Go ahead, start walking around you home backwards. No looking over your shoulder, eyes straight ahead, no peeking. 

How do you feel? Nervous, anxious, disconcerted? 

Now put a blindfold on, go outside, and try walking backwards, How far can you go? 

How long do you think you will last before you say, I can't do it? 

Continue reading Alzheimer's Care Like Walking Backwards with a Blindfold On

About the Alzheimer's Reading Room

The goal of the Alzheimer's Reading Room is to Educate and Empower Alzheimer's caregivers their families, and the entire Alzheimer's community.

In the Alzheimer's Reading Room (ARR), we offer "real life" solutions to problems that Alzheimer's caregivers face each day.

The website contains a knowledge base of more than 3,800 articles. These articles can be found via a keyword search using the search box on the right hand side of every webpage. We add new information to the knowledge base every day.


Read More about the Alzheimer's Reading Room

My Last Really Bad Day

There are times that I want to pull out my hair, times I want to run, times that I feel selfish, and times that I hate myself for feeling all those things.

Continue Reading via alzheimersreadingroom.com

Why Do Alzheimer's Caregivers Torture Themselves?

For several years, I tortured myself psychologically and emotionally. To this day I look back and ask myself, Why?

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Saint Genesius

Alzheimer's is a sinister disease. It robs the patient of the ability to remember, to think, concentrate, and frequently affects mood and behavior in a negative way.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) eventually robs the patient of the ability to do things we take for granted -- like buttoning a button.

Alzheimer's often robs patients of the ability to say "yes", so instead they say what comes easiest -- No.

These new and often bizarre changes brought on by Alzheimer's can feel like torture to an Alzheimer's caregiver. This explains in part why a large fraction of caregivers, up to 40 percent, suffer from depression.

The other day I answered a question by saying, "its the job of Alzheimer's to torture you".

Later on as I thought about those words, I was surprised that I used the word "torture". Surprised until I remembered that I once thought, "Alzheimer's is trying to kill me".

Alzheimer's kills the brain of the person living with Alzheimer's. It will also try and kill the spirit of the Alzheimer's caregiver.

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