I watched Still Alice yesterday, turns out it’s a good movie that was apparently a bad idea for me to see for a coronavirus isolation activity. I know many of you have seen it. Frankly, it scared the crap out of me! I fully get that it was a story well told, a look at Alzheimer’s from a patients perspective. Both of my grandmothers had some form of dementia in old age, one of them I never knew, the other developed it after age 90. This was a story of it hitting much younger. So last night we were watching a show with animals and there was a rhino, I commented about it as a raccoon. My husband said “you mean rhino” and I inwardly flipped out, oh no, there it is! I have it! Today, I called one of our dogs by the name of a former dog, and again, oh no, I’ve got it! How will I tell my family? Maybe they already know and don’t know how to tell me?! Still Alice needs to fade from my thoughts and soon!
(And this should have been under discussions, sorry)
I was quite impressed with Still Alice, although I found some aspects of Alice's journey into the disease much different from that of my mother's. As I read (and watched) I had to keep reminding myself Still Alice is about early-onset Alzheimer's, which Mom doesn't have and progresses differently than the "garden" variety.
Anyway, many of us who've gained knowledge about dementia through watching others go through it inevitably start questioning our own cognition. (Do I have Alzheimer's??? Eeek!) How can we help it when so much of our attention as caregivers is focused on the progression of dementia in our loved one?
After speaking with my doctor about it, I was reassured. There are other non-dementia causes for forgetfulness, word-finding, misnaming people and things, not the least of which are stress, depression, nutritional deficiencies, etc. You may want to consider bringing it up at your next checkup. Your doctor will know whether or not your concerns are dementia related or not, and whether testing is called for. Most doctors can administer a mini-mental exam that takes only a few minutes.
Wishing you greater peace of mind soon!
I am careful about watching some things though, because, you can interpret yourself as being someone with the same condition. I sometimes think that because caregivers of people who have dementia are so engrossed with dementia, we are super sensitive about it. The slightest thing will make me scared that I have it. But, I found that stress and anxiety caused me to have some mental fog and memory loss. After I got out from some of the stress, it went away. Other things like vitamin deficiency, thyroid issue, etc. can cause some of the same symptoms of dementia. Of course, it's smart to check it out, but, I'd wait to confirm, before I got too alarmed.
I call those ‘Hallmark’ movies, ‘victims of the week’ movies. You are so correct in saying that they are so predictable! I can’t watch that mindless junk. Hahaha
Nothing mentally stimulating at all. We can watch something light and funny but it’s still smart! It isn’t insulting to our intelligence or completely boring and predictable.
It's good for understanding more about the disease. Not good for our hypochondriacal tendencies. (Still Alice notwithstanding my mind also goes down that rabbit hole).
Lea is right. It is a good idea to watch light-hearted movies and shows and just relax. I make it a point to do that a lot.
NHWM, you may not want to watch "Still Alice" right now. I think you may need some more time hun.💜
We all have to find things to read and watch that cause us to relax instead of get filled with anxiety. I have friends who all try to send me the latest conspiracy theory ideas from the internet, and all sorts of anxiety provoking things that I WILL NOT subject myself to!!! What's the point?
I used to love to watch and read horror stories before I had PTSD in 2000. After that, I avoid that subject like the plague!!! While Alzheimer's is definitely a good subject to learn about, right now is not a good time to diagnose ourselves with such a disease on top of feeling COVID-19 symptoms on a regular basis!
We need a break, in other words. Allow yourself to take one. It's ok to relax. It's okay not to clean if you don't feel like it. It's okay to do nothing if you feel like it. It's okay to stay in your housecoat all day if you feel like it.
We'll all be okay and come out of this situation stronger, if we play our cards right. Sending you a hug and a prayer for a relaxing and spiritually comforting day today, dear woman.