Dementia And Memory Analysis

On average, when an individual loses something of important value, like an arm or a leg, he or she knows exactly what is missing in their lives, however, if one experiences loss of memory, something much greater than memory is at stake (Kiper, 2015, p. 42). Individuals between the ages of 60 until death often experience changes within the brain and social functioning, in particular, memory loss. Memory serves as an important key in an individual’s life, especially since memories are responsible for creating meaning, relationships, and important lessons in life. Unfortunately, as an individual gets older, he or she is at a greater risk for experiencing abnormal memory lapses. In fact, while the brain still contains around 100 billion

Dementia is referred to as a condition in which an individual’s everyday life is so fragmented and/or ripped away from reality that he or she loses the ability to reason and think clearly (Berk, 2014). According to Prince et al., 2013, dementia strikes 13% of adults over the age of 65 in the United States and other Western nations (as cited in Berk, 2014). Additionally, dementia causes an individual to experience persistent memory lapses and can be caused by many different reasons like the development of Alzheimer’s disease, stress, depression, PTSD, etc. With this in mind, Dasha Kipers’ article, “Hope Is the Enemy”, goes in depth about what it is like for an individual who suffers from dementia. Furthermore, the article begins in 2010 when Dasha moved into an apartment with a 98-year-old man named Mr. Schecter, who was a Holocaust survivor dealing with the beginning stages of dementia. As Dasha and Mr. Schecters relationship developed, Dasha began to realize Mr. Schecters behavior: putting laundry detergent in the oven, forgetting which floor he lived on, and Mr. Schecters repetitiveness. Thus, in the end of Dasha’s article, Dasha explains that dementia affects not only the victims, but the caregivers as well by making their lives fragmented, skewed, and redundant (Kiper, 2015). For that reason, dementia is seen as being a condition in which everyone involved in

Therefore, in spite of undergoing investigations to find a way to stop memory disorders from occurring and/or to slow down the progression progress, an individual can use memory assist methods or treatment plans to help. Furthermore, memory assist methods work best when an individual is willing to fight for his or her memory or someone who is willing to halt the decay of memories as long as possible. Therefore, some memory assist methods include placing commonly lost items in a designated spot, writing important details down in a notebook and/or phone, the use of memory aids, concentration/relaxation, and lastly, getting plenty of sleep ("Age-Associated Memory Impairment," 2015). While on the other hand, some treatment methods that an individual could use are prescription medications, clinical trials, and even therapy in hopes of halting the progress of his or her