The Importance Of Alzheimer's Disease

An estimated 5.3 Americans of all ages have Alzheimer 's disease as of 2015 according to the Alzheimer 's Association. Alzheimer 's is an incurable, progressive disease that destroys memory and other mental functions. Approximately two-thirds of caregivers who take care of residents with Alzheimer 's are women. Guess who was one of those women? Me! Being a former caregiver to those who have Alzheimer 's has taught me a lot just by having the opportunity and experience to work with people who I eventually turned out to love.
At the age of 18, my first job ever was being a caregiver at The Arboretum located in Menomonee Falls. During the two years I worked there I worked with some amazing people. They taught me the true meaning of

Besides learning the true meaning of teamwork from my experience being a caregiver, I also learned how to deal with stress. Being a caregiver can be stressful due to it being very overwhelming emotionally and physically. It can be stressful emotionally because it 's difficult to communicate with those with Alzheimer 's as their ability to function independently deteriorates as time goes on such as speaking. The continuous lifting, bending, and other movements to help them with daily needs such as dressing, bathing, and feeding causes a physical toll on your body. The most stress comes from those who have behavioral problems daily such as, trying to run away, hitting others, refusing help or simply not wanting to do things. It 's required that within 30 days of being hired on you take on specific classes that help you with things like stress. I learned alternative ways to minimize the stress by strategizing differently with each individual because they 're all distinct. Sometimes taking a break helps deal with stress as well as using a few vacation days

Patience is the key to success in life. My experience being a caregiver for Alzheimer 's patients has taught me to be patient. Impatience causes our stress levels to rise. From my experience I 've noticed that I 've faced many challenging obstacles that sometimes I don 't know how I managed to solve the problem. If I 've never had patience before I know I received it from being a caregiver. Working with Alzheimer 's residents they tend to forget things or reminisce from past events they think are now present so you have to cope and sympathize with them so they won 't cry or harm themselves or others. Patience comes with the ability to understand you may be working alone in some circumstances so you have to be able to problem solve effectively and efficiently. Also, you have to remember they can 't physically do things as they used to, which is the reason why you 're there