I had always felt that I’d rather get anything in my old age than Alzheimer’s disease. My thoughts on it were all over the place – what if I have no idea who my kids were and what if they never visited me? I wouldn’t even know, right? What if I forgot that I was a lifelong vegetarian and ended up eating meat? Would the activity department make me watch the romantic comedies that I disliked and not know I loved dramas and action instead?
I’d be living in a maze of confusion and profound sadness – irrelevant now to the world that used to stop, look and listen when I had something to say. There would be no point in receiving any visitors at all, really. Not even my husband. I wouldn’t know who they were and in the end, it’d be like they had never come at all. And they would leave, feeling the same way. Why bother with these visits? What would be the point?
Turns out there is a huge point, according to one significant study. The University of Iowa conducted research to understand the effects of family visits, positive interactions and what a good time can do for a person with even the most severe amnesia.
During these tests, the demeanor and behaviors of patients were closely monitored after they had visitors, after watching comedies or sad movies, or had been subjected to ill-treatment by other people. After these events, the patients had no memory of them, yet their mood status was quite profoundly affected. They remained in high spirits long after friend and family visits, after comedies, love stories and being surrounded by positive staff. On the opposite end - sad movies, lack of friend or family contact and unsupportive nursing home staff left them feeling depressed, but with no idea why.
During the movies, the emotions of patients were appropriate. They laughed at comedies and cried at sad films. And of note – the sadness brought on by dark films, ill-treatment and loneliness lingered longer than the emotions derived by happy events. Somehow, sadness was the stronger emotion that remained.
When asked why they felt sad, they could not tell researchers why, nor could they explain their happiness after a day filled with family and an upbeat environment. So interestingly, the patient retained the mood attached to events, rather than the events themselves. Research indicated that although a person (particularly a child) may forget harmful events, they may still be profoundly affected by those actions. While human beings are resilient and can physically recover well from harmful events or abuse, their mental anguish is what takes far longer to heal.
From reading this study, I could not ascertain if the physical recovery was better than the emotional one because we tend to focus on our bodies more than our brains and emotions. It’s something we need to look into.
This news is as good for families and friends of Alzheimer's patients as it is for the patients themselves. Months or even years of wondering if all the visits and loving care is worth it can come to an end. For every son and daughter who watches a parent fade into an amnesic fog, they can know that every laugh, hug, kiss and kind word really does count. The patient may not remember the visit, minutes after it’s over. Nor the kiss or hug. But what they will know is that they feel better, happier and at peace. This peace can also be brought home by the family, and some comfort can be taken in the fact that kindness, even though unremembered, counts in more ways that we thought.
More on this study can be read in the The Telegraph (UK)here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7582095/Alzheimers-Disease-sufferers-still-feel-for-loved-ones-even-if-they-have-forgotten-them.html
and at the University of Iowa’s News Services here: http://news-releases.uiowa.edu/2010/april/041210memoryloss-emotion.html