Alzheimer’s and dementia awareness knocks at “the door of thought”

Medical mysteries that require massive amounts of money for research are dampening people’s patience, faith, and hope. World Alzheimer’s Day and Dementia Awareness Week knock at the door of thought regarding such mysteries.

How often do we hear these sorts of remarks after being forgetful, “argh, I’m having a senior moment!”? We laugh and sometimes nod in agreement as if to say that we have these moments too. But why do we have to accept forgetfulness as part and parcel of growing older?

It’s such an unfair, indiscriminate sentence, just when folks of riper years are looking forward to enjoying life to the full. No-one wants to lose their happy memories and their independence. And they don’t have to. Protection and prevention require action. Experts say that prevention is the most powerful medicine in the fight against dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Those challenged with the onset of this illness could be tempted to lose hope altogether if they relied on reports that drugs being trialled have not yet been able to change the course of the disease. Some folks are so frightened of being given false hope that they just give up the fight.

"Prevention is very important, more than any drugs we have or plan to develop," said Serge Gauthier, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit at McGill University in Canada.

It’s encouraging to hear of successful drug-free therapies, in light of the findings that drug dependency and side effects can cause great harm.

According to a report on Alzheimer’s Research UK’s website, researchers at a German university have found that, “Drug-free therapy staves off cognitive decline in dementia: ... practice in ‘daily living activities’ such as gardening, cognitive stimulation exercises and a ‘spiritual element’ such as a group song or a discussion about a topic such as happiness.”

The spiritual element associated with healing should not be overlooked. Hope takes on a whole new dimension when we think of ourselves as more than brain and physicality. Or when we look to a higher power to give us optimism.

Some sufferers find spiritual therapies such as meditation and prayer to be highly effective for healing.

Doctors like Larry Dossey MD, for one, has seen results in patients who used prayer as part of their therapy [expanded info link found on my blog www.health4thinkers.com / search the title of this article].

Eric Karran, research director at Alzheimer's Research UK says, "Finding a medicine for a chronic disease is far, far more complicated than, say, putting a man on the Moon.”

Sydney resident Carey Arber is a health blogger, focusing on consciousness and wellbeing, in particular spirituality in health care. She is a practitioner of Christian Science and representative to the media and government in ACT & NSW. Twitter: careyarber Blog: www.health4thinkers.com Photo credit: Flickr. By Magnus A.