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As we age we are susceptible to growing illness and eventually death. Perhaps the most feared illness is descending into Alzheimers's disease. By the age of 85 it is estimated that half of all Americans would have evidence of this condition. Fears have elevated as news of the disorder spreads. The death of Ronald Reagan with Alzheimer's Disease emphasized our vulnerability and helped bring the disorder into greater public view.
Cliff, a spry 67 year-old man, was referred to me to help him overcome a belief that he was developing a rapid and early onset of Alzheimer's disease. He initial noticed his condition about six months ago and it had progressed to its existing more "advanced" stage. He had develop into depressed as he perceived that his memory was quickly declining in spite of psychological tests and a neurological clinical evaluation that stated he was normal for his age. He had turn out to be obsessed with the fear of his descent into the Alzheimer abyss, as he put it. "My memory is so poor, I know that it is the beginning of Alzheimer's, no matter what everyone has told me to the contrary."
He was afraid that losing his memory would cause him to lose control of his life. He worried about his declining memory's impact on his day's activities, the impact on his loved ones, especially his wife and his fear of getting a shortened life span. He gave me quite a few examples of factors he forgets to do, how he continued to misplace objects and forget appointments. "No matter what tricks I use I always forget exactly where I put my keys."
I performed a couple of clinical tests that clarified that his memory was fully intact, which I quickly told Cliff. Such tests are easy to carry out as illustrated:
• I asked Cliff to elaborate on something I had told him ten minutes earlier to decide if he remembered the subject and our prior discussion.
• I asked him to see if my memory was intact by seeing if I could repeat five to seven digits that he would give me. I deliberately created 1 mistake to see if he caught it. It would instantly be apparent if he knew my error considering that he would have had to also recall the numbers.
• I reversed the procedure and asked him to repeat a different series of numbers that I gave him.
• I gave him a series of nouns and told him to remember them because I would ask him to recall them later.
Advanced testing:
If anxiety interfered with the testing and if further reassurance was required that he was not becoming senile, I performed an extra test to show him the intactness of his memory.
I gave Cliff a list of typically identified numbers, such as Social Security, license plate, telephone number, driver's license, telephone number of finest friend, business enterprise telephone, and so on and asked him to pick one so I could check his memory of the numbers backwards. That tested each his recall of the list and also his choice of a memorized number that he need to know perfectly. Whatever he picked out I knew his memory had to be pretty intact, otherwise he would not have remembered the list.
Also, repeating a nicely-known number backwards is generally not tricky, but it does call for an intact memory. I again reassured him that my objective appraisal indicated that his memory was typical.
If the testing indicated a actual possibility of mental decline there would have been a want of further testing of brain function, either performed by a neurologist or geriatric specialist.
You can use these tests to evaluate your own fears of losing your memory. Though Alzheimer's disease becomes pretty prevalent when we reach our eighties a large number of folks live into their nineties and beyond with intact brain functions. Your objective is to live as effectively as attainable based on your actual mental state.
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