Analyzing Alzheimer's Disease and its Impact on Social Life

This essay examines the detrimental effects of Alzheimer's disease on an individual's social life, highlighting the challenges of memory loss, hallucinations, and mental confusion. Drawing upon examples from Shirley Russak's "The Music Makers," the essay illustrates how the disease can lead to social withdrawal and isolation. It explores how the neurodegenerative condition impairs cognitive functions, affecting a person's ability to engage in social interactions, maintain relationships, and perform daily tasks. The essay also discusses the importance of personal initiative and clinical interventions in managing the disease. The essay also includes an annotated bibliography with sources that provide scientific background to the cause, symptoms, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The essay emphasizes the need for patients to get accustomed to their current mental state to survive.

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Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition that impairs behavior. The
condition is irreversible and most common among the elderly. As a neurodegenerative disease,
the affected individuals gradually exhibit memory impairment symptoms until they are unable to
perform their daily tasks completely. Today, Alzheimer’s has increasingly become an
impediment to people’s social life. Affected people no longer have the reasoning capabilities to
maintain their previous social engagements. Notably, Alzheimer’s disease impairs people’s
social life by exposing them to memory loss hallucinations and mental confusion. Despite the
challenges posed by this condition, Russak provides hope through her book, “The Music
Makers.” The disorder is portrayed in the mental struggles that David undergoes in life. The
character is repeatedly made to remember the tragic events that he experienced in the holocaust.
However, the author uses David’s experience to illustrate the effect of Alzheimer’s disorder on
people’s social life and how the disease can be overcome. The book vividly highlights the
importance of a personal initiative to overcome the insurmountable challenges posed by
Alzheimer’s disorder.
At the outset, Alzheimer’s is the underlining cause of dementia among the elderly. The
disorder is majorly caused by the progressive increase in neurofibrillary tangles and plaques in
the brain, which consequently results in the degeneration of nerve cells (Ulep, Gloriane, Saraon

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and McLea 129). Once the brain cells degenerate, the affected patient may exhibit symptoms
such as forgetfulness, mental confusion, memory loss, and poor judgment. Since the
aforementioned symptoms are central to people’s interaction in society, it is worth stating that
Alzheimer’s has detrimental effects on social life.
To begin with, Alzheimer’s impairs people’s social life through hallucinations. This
concept is portrayed in the book, where David gradually loses his touch with current events. The
tragic images of the holocaust repeatedly torment the character until he loses his focus. In the
process, David no longer has the cognitive capability to enjoy the social engagements in his
environment. He gradually becomes a prisoner of his past experiences. The author describes the
character as a person tormented by horrible images of the war (Russak). In his hallucinations,
David envisions himself in the middle of the holocaust, where innocent people are being
butchered under his watch (Russak). However, the author makes use of David’s tragic
experience to enlighten the society of how Alzheimer’s symptoms make people lose their touch
with the environment. As corroborated by Koch, Alzheimer’s makes people forget conversations,
repeat statements, and even get lost in their familiar locations. The book has managed to
illustrate how the concepts mentioned above are made possible through hallucinations. Notably,
David forgets his social surroundings because tragic images of the holocaust preoccupy his mind.
Furthermore, Alzheimer’s disorder impedes people’s social life by exposing them to
memory loss. Occasionally, people who have Alzheimer’s exhibit irreversible memory lapses,
which progressively worsen unless early clinical interventions are made. The condition is
majorly instigated by increased growth of intracellular neurofibrillary and plaques, which
contribute to neuronal death (Ulep, Gloriane, Saraon and McLea 129). As brain cells gradually
degenerate, so is the loss of memory. As a result, the patient may start repeating verbal

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statements, forgetting conversations, and even friends. However, the effects of memory loss are
not consistent for all patients. In some cases, patients tend to forget recent life occurrences only
to remember them in the future. As illustrated in the book, David is portrayed only to remember
concepts that happened in the past. On the outset, David started to experience Alzheimer's
symptoms in his old age, which suggests that all along, he has been in touch with his present
memories in the social environment. As time goes by, David is gradually preoccupied with tragic
memories, which finally become his new way of life (Russak). He is no longer capable of
satisfying his current social engagements since horrifying holocaust shadows fully preoccupy his
mind. The author makes use of David’s experience to illustrate the social challenges that people
with Alzheimer undergo in daily life. David’s experience vividly highlights the major threat
posed by Alzheimer’s disorders in today’s social life.
Moreover, Alzheimer’s disease is a threat to people’s social life since it enhances mental
confusion among affected individuals. As stated by Ulep, Gloriane, Saraon and McLea, plaques
interfere with the brain’s muscarinic acetylcholine signaling functions, which, as a result, affect
the patient’s reasoning capabilities (130). Mostly, people with Alzheimer’s find it difficult to
multitask, make decisions, or even keep track of their finances. In extreme cases, patients may
find it difficult to make decisions on basic life situations like dressing, operating cell phones, and
identifying people’s names (Koch). Consequently, they become dependent in their environment
letting close friends and relatives make decisions on their behalf. This predicament makes people
with Alzheimer’s disorder isolate themselves from their previous social engagements in the
society. However, Russak provides hope for people living with Alzheimer’s condition. Even
though David’s story is fictional, it provides vital insights into the management of the disorder.
For instance, David gradually becomes accustomed to his thoughts and continues to survive in

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the environment. Despite the horrific nature of the memories, David finally realizes that he can
successfully live his life by accepting the current mental state. The author uses the character’s
ultimate transformation to emphasize the importance of a personal initiative in the fight against
Alzheimer’s disease. Notably, the loss of decision-making skills deprives people of the ability to
take personal initiatives in fostering active social engagements in the society, hence, the need to
incorporate clinical interventions in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disorder.
Lastly, Alzheimer’s disorder leads to catastrophic changes in behavior and personality.
Mood swings, depression, and irritability are some of the behavioral concepts that are associated
with Alzheimer's disorder. Mostly, happiness, and the ability to understand each other are the
cornerstones of vibrant social environments. However, any negative changes in behavior disrupt
the equilibrium balance in the social space. Depression, in particular, encourages social
withdrawal in society (MacGill). Based on this analogy, Alzheimer's is a major threat to people’s
current social life. As portrayed in the Book, David finds himself irritated by the repeated
subjection to the tragic memories of the past. He hates his current mental state since it does not
provide him the peace needed to relate to his environment. He is repeatedly tormented by the
memories of the holocaust, where he envisions himself in the scene of the massacre (Russak).
The author makes use of David’s predicament to illustrate how Alzheimer's impacts people’s
behavior and, consequently, social life.
Social life is a central concept in the holistic co-existence of people in society. People
need active social engagements to surmount some of their life challenges. However, the holistic
co-existence of people in society is currently being threatened by Alzheimer’s disorder. The
memory loss, hallucination, and mental confusion posed by the disorder contributes to social
withdrawal in society. As a result, people living with the disease become overdependent on their

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peers for survival. Despite the effects posed by Alzheimer's disease in people’s social life,
Russak provides a ray of hope. The author emphasizes the need for people living with
Alzheimer's disorder to get accustomed to their current mental state for survival. The book
illustrates that people living with Alzheimer's disease can only see the brighter side of life by
accepting their current health situation. The author’s message is highlighted through David, A
character who becomes accustomed to his current thoughts for survival. Given the irreversible
nature of Alzheimer's condition, it is also crucial for patients to consider clinical interventions for
a holistic recovery.

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Annotated Bibliography
Russak, Shirley. The Music Makers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 10 Oct.
2014.
The book describes the life experiences of five characters living in New York. Virginia,
who is a divorcee, is worried about the life demands posed by her growing daughter.
Joshua, on the other hand, is tormented by the loss of his wife. All the experiences of
characters in the book linger around the underlining theme of memories and dreams.
David, a holocaust survivor, is tormented by memories of war. The same aspect is echoed
in the character of Christine, an artist who struggles with his secret. Despite the
horrifying experiences of the characters, each of them manages to overcome the
insurmountable challenges by finding harmony in their predicament. This primary source
was selected since it provides the first-hand experience of a character tormented by
Alzheimer’s disorder.
Ulep, Maileen Gloriane, Simrit Kaur Saraon, and Samantha McLea. "Alzheimer's disease." The
Journal for Nurse Practitioners 14.3 (2018): 129-135. Retrieved from
https://www.npjournal.org/article/S1555-4155(17)30819-X/fulltext
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative condition that impairs people’s behavior and
cognition. The condition notably affects families since patients gradually lose their
decision-making capabilities hence relying on their relatives for survival. The condition is
characterized by memory loss, majorly caused by the degeneration of nerve cells.
However, Alzheimer’s disease can be managed through proper diagnosis and the
adoption of modifying therapies. This source was selected since it provides basic
scientific background to the cause, symptoms, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

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MacGill, Markus. “What to Know about Alzheimer’s diseases.” MedicalNewsToday, Healthline
Media, 13 Feb 2018, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/159442
Alzheimer’s is a common form of dementia caused by the death of brain cells. At first,
Alzheimer's symptoms are mild but becomes severe as the brain cells degenerate over
time. The symptoms of the disorder include impaired speaking capabilities, mental
confusion, and drastic change in behavior. However, the treatment of this order requires a
proper diagnosis protocol for the selection of appropriate therapy. The webpage was
chosen since it postulates a vital range of Alzheimer’s symptoms, which are crucial in
enriching the suggested topic.
Koch, Kristin. “25 signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease.” Health, Meredith Corporation,
29 Aug. 2018. https://www.health.com/condition/alzheimers/25-signs-and-symptoms-of-
alzheimers-disease?
Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease characterized by a range of symptoms. Even
though most signs of the disease can be confused with normal symptoms of aging, the
article provides a range of signs that facilitate for easy diagnosis of the illness. The author
describes memory loss, mood swings, impaired judgment, and mental confusion as some
of the symptoms that are associated with Alzheimer’s disorder. The article is crucial in
the research since it highlights clinical underpinnings that differentiate Alzheimer’s
symptoms from other medical conditions.