Impact of Life Events on Alzheimer Patients

This assignment delves into the profound impact of significant life events on individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It examines how these events can negatively affect their well-being, potentially leading to feelings of isolation, despair, and even suicidal thoughts. The document also emphasizes the crucial role of family, friends, and welfare organizations in providing comprehensive care and support to Alzheimer's patients during challenging life transitions.

SUPPORTING
SIGNIFICANT LIFE
EVENTS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Impact of significant life events on individuals....................................................................3
1.2 Group responses to significant life events............................................................................4
1.3 Impact for others in health and social care when an individual experiences significant life
events...........................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Effectiveness of organisational policies in supporting individuals and their social networks
.....................................................................................................................................................5
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................5
2.2 Support of social networks to individuals experiencing significant life events....................5
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................5
2.3 Suitability of external sources of support for those affected by significant life events .......5
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
3.1 Analysing possible organisational responses to the need to support individuals
experiencing a significant life events..........................................................................................5
3.2 Personal contributions to support of individuals experiencing significant life events .........6
3.3 Recommendations for improving the support available in organisations.............................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Significant life events are the situations when an individual experience life changing
conditions. These events effects lives of individuals as well as their social network too, these life
events refers to the major changes occur in an individuals life which affects them positively or
negatively, these events can be a disease or any other alteration like shifting to a new place.
Favourable events like having a life changing opportunity at different place or country brings
positive variation in life but unfavourable events like diseases such as Alzheimer brings negative
reforms in the life of patients and their social networks. In this report, impacts of these situations
are analysed and evaluated along with support provided by various social networks and welfare
organisations.
CASE STUDY
Jacqui is an artist who has moved in his own flat and diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,
and after seven years while working in Spain he experienced terrible state of insomnia and
started to lose the sense about surroundings and things which really matter. Situations were out
of control when Jacqui passed out while working. After consulting a neurologist, Jacqui came to
know that he was suffering from Alzheimer and started experiencing symptoms.
TASK1
1.1 Impact of significant life events on individuals
Alzheimer's is a mental disease or disorder which effects an individuals mental health by
entailing depressed mood and interest loss in regular activities.
Alzheimer has different impacts on various patients, but there are few effects or
symptoms faced by every individual including Jacqui experiencing Alzheimer. Most importantly
continuous feeling of aggression, sadness and loneliness are some of those. Other impacts of
Alzheimer on an individual's life are change in sleeping hours, change in appetite, experiencing
rapid hunger, insomnia, fatigue, restlessness, making things up etc., patients experiencing
Alzheimer face mood swings such as guilt, anxiety, hopelessness,empathy etc. and starts
forgetting things which have recently happened in their life and is not having any control on their
life as well. Worst effect of this disease is when a patient starts to build suicidal tendencies or
when a patient feels to end their life as they think they are unwanted by the society (Costanza,
2012).

1.2 Group responses to significant life events
Primary reason of Alzheimer is mental distress involved in an individual's life due to
social surroundings, although Alzheimer is not a disease which spreads through infection
physically so it does effect people around the patient mentally. Alzheimer affected Jacqui and his
surroundings family and friends, being the loved ones of the patient they concerns about the
health of patient, but not to forget the initial reason of this disease is stress in social
surroundings.
If an individual is suffering from Alzheimer then it will affect their relationships severely.
This disease overwhelms a patient by its symptoms that it effects patient's relationships by low
communication. As a patient's partner or family member or member of social group it becomes
upsetting for them to be around that individual and also it becomes difficult to make efforts to
support or communicate with them and if they even try to support them, in turn the patient
experiences mood swings and feel strong guilt that they may be are burden on their loved ones.
The most difficult phase of Alzheimer is when a patient pushes their social circle away from
them just to feel they are not making their lives worst.
1.3 Impact for others in health and social care when an individual experiences significant life
events
Patients suffering from Alzheimer are usually given extensive care and support along
with professional medication, but symptoms and effects of Alzheimer vary from person to
person, so its becomes difficult for them to understand a patient's true condition. The most
effective treatment of major depression is medication along with talk therapy, Doctors or
psychologist treat these type of patients by various therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy,
psychotherapy or electroconvulsive therapy. Usually therapies are more effective to cure
Alzheimer than medication, but few medications that are suggested by psychotherapists are
cognition enhancing medication and others ( Entringer, 2011).
While treating the patients of Alzheimer like Jacqui, a bond and connection is formed
with the patients as this treatment includes medication, motivating patients, preventing further
diseases which can occur in future etc. due to the bond which is developed with the patients,
doctors feel connected to them personally if a patient dies due to brain damage or due their
suicidal tendencies it affects therapists and other staff of the hospital. Being a therapist, they

have to undergo with numerous problems of their patients on regular basis which can even effect
doctor's mental health too.
TASK 2
2.1 Effectiveness of organisational policies in supporting individuals and their social networks
Covered in PPT
2.2 Support of social networks to individuals experiencing significant life events
Covered in PPT
2.3 Suitability of external sources of support for those affected by significant life events
Covered in PPT
TASK 3
3.1 Analysing possible organisational responses to the need to support individuals experiencing a
significant life events
When a patient is suffering from Alzheimer it affects the health of an individual as
common symptoms of this disease are weight loss, loss of appetite etc. Employees working in an
welfare organisation has different perceptions about patients, few of them think that patients are
only in need of medication but few of them are aware of the fact that some patients requires
mental stability more than any medication.
Few of the responses of these organisations are:
 Detailed evaluation about patient's condition and then work accordingly to cure their
diseases.
 Quick evaluation about the patient and guiding the patients and their families about the
cure.
Staff of these organisations usually includes volunteers who are not that skilled and
qualified which results in inefficiency of these welfare societies, but these organisations are
trained to support patients by facilitating them morally. Major objective of these organisations is
to work in such a way that patients can recover fast and restoration techniques are adapted so that
patients can be assisted psychologically.

3.2 Personal contributions to support of individuals experiencing significant life events
According to me supporting a individual experiencing significant life events is a crucial
task to do, my experience in supporting a patient undergoing with issues of Alzheimer was
challenging. When I was working with a non profit organisation which was engaged in welfare
of mental patients, a patient suffering from Alzheimer was allotted to me who was in deep grief
due to he was enable to pay for his children education. While working with that organisation I
experienced that these kind of patients requires someone who can to them and can make them
understand the importance of life, after observing and analysing other volunteers I
communicated with my allotted patient and I tried to convinced him that due to his disease now
his family is facing even more financial issues.
I feel that the Alzheimer sufferers need to know the importance of life and more than
hospital and medication they need someone who can talk to them about their life experiences, but
sometimes few cases can not be tackled with these cures in those cases proper medications
should be provided to them ( Luhmann, 2012).
According to me, in order to support a patient who is fighting from significant life events
should get moral support so that they should be motivated to live more as the main cause of these
diseases is depression. Along with moral support, these patients needs some financial support too
as the treatment of this problems requires ample of money. Moral support and zeal of life can
help a lot in curing significant life events.
3.3 Recommendations for improving the support available in organisations
Every patient requires different treatment in case of curing alzheimer, to support this
organisations should hire professional who have expertise in tackle situations like this. There
should be a proper management and clear line of order in these welfare organisations as the they
do not aim to make profit but to take care of patients. Organisations should follow family centric
approach as they are people who are most connected to them and they can help them in
recovering by providing emotional support.
Organisations should allow more skilled volunteers who can help patients to be cured by
appropriate medications and therapies ( Wrzus, 2013).

CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that significant life events are those which can
effect an individual's life in negative as well as in positive manner, in case of Alzheimer, patients
can feel that they are unwanted by society and builds suicidal tendencies which not only effects
them but also to their families. Sufferers of these diseases requires intensive and continuous care
so that they can recover, apart from family and friends there are few welfare organisations who
are working to support these kind of patients not only by providing physical care but also by
providing mental and financial support.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Costanza, D. P., and et. al., 2012. Generational differences in work-related attitudes: A meta-
analysis. Journal of Business and Psychology, 27(4). pp.375-394.
Entringer, S., and et. al., 2011. Stress exposure in intrauterine life is associated with shorter
telomere length in young adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
108(33). pp.E513-E518.
Fjorback, L. O., and et. al., 2011. Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based
Cognitive Therapy–a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Acta
Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 124(2). pp.102-119.
Li, I., Dey, A. K. and Forlizzi, J., 2011, September. Understanding my data, myself: supporting
self-reflection with ubicomp technologies. In Proceedings of the 13th international
conference on Ubiquitous computing (pp. 405-414). ACM.
Luhmann, M., and et. al., 2012. Subjective well-being and adaptation to life events: a meta-
analysis. Journal of personality and social psychology, 102(3). p.592.
Wrzus, C., and et. al., 2013. Social network changes and life events across the life span: a meta-
analysis. Psychological bulletin, 139(1). p.53.
1