Anosognosia and Dementia · Realize that the senior, although lacking in awareness in one area, is not necessarily experiencing overall ...January14,2018byTrevorBrown“IdoNOThaveAlzheimer’sdisease!Thereisnothingwrongwithme!”Ifyou’veheardalovedonewithdementiafrustratinglyexpressthisorasimilarsentiment,youmayhaveassumedthepersonwassimplyindenialandunwillingtoacceptadifficultdiagnosis.Thetruthis,however,thatoftenthoseindividualsareexperiencinganosognosiadementia–whichmeanstheyarenotawareoftheirdisease.Itcanbetoughtodeterminethebestwaytorespondtoaseniorwhoisunawareofhisorherowncognitivefunctioningchallenges.ThefollowingtipscanhelpfamilycaregiversbetterrelatetotheirlovedonewithAlzheimer’sdiseaseandanosognosia:Realizethatthesenior,althoughlackinginawarenessinonearea,isnotnecessarilyexperiencingoverallunawarenessofhisorherstateofbeing.Theseniormaybeunawareofthememoryimpairmentbroughtonbydementia,buthavefullawarenessofthephysicallimitationsrelatedtorheumatoidarthritis,forexample.Expectfluctuationsinthesenior’slevelofanosognosia.Whileheorshemayappeartobefullyunawareofaparticularstruggleatthemoment,thelevelofawarenessmayshiftovertime.Fullysupporttheseniortoexpresshisorheremotions,thoughtsandfeelingsatalltimeswithoutjudgment.It’simportantfortheseniortofeelcomfortablesharinganyconcernsopenlyandhonestlywithoutfeelingtheneedtohideorcoverthemup.Anosognosia,andothercharacteristicsofAlzheimer’sdisease,suchassundowning,challengingbehaviors,wandering,andaggression,canbeextremelydifficult,bothfortheseniorbattlingtheseproblemsandhisorherlovedones.It’simportantforfamilymemberstoseekoutastrongnetworkofsupportandtoeducatethemselvesasmuchaspossibleaboutthediseaseandrecommendationsforcoping.It’sequallyimportantforfamilycaregiverstosetasideplentyoftimeforself-care.ContactAllianceHomeHealthCare&HospiceforadditionaladviceoneffectivelymanagingtheeffectsofAlzheimer’sdisease,suchasanosognosiadementia,toallowyourseniorlovedonetoexperiencethehighestpossiblequalityoflifeatalltimes.Wepartnerwithfamilies