Alzheimer's Disease: Not Usually Violent

By Jody Smith HERWriter

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In most cases, a person with Alzheimer's disease is not likely to be violent. Still there are no guarantees. The person with Alzheimer's disease may undergo some dramatic personality changes and along with that they are experiencing new frustration in their lives.

They can't trust their minds any longer, the cognitive abilities just aren't there like they used to be. A verbal explosion or agitated pacing may be expressions of these new frustrations, and it matters not at all that maybe they've never done such a thing before. This is a different and daunting world for the person with Alzheimer's disease, and for the people surrounding them.

"So I think understanding that, we shouldn’t expect that a person would ever be violent, but that we can learn and anticipate what behaviors a person like that present with and how can we extinguish them before they happen," says Registered Nurse Jan Dougherty, director of family and community services at Banner Alzheimer's Institute.

Video
https://www.empowher.com/alzheimer039s-disease/content/violent-alzheimers-patient-when-will-start-nurse-dougherty-video

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.