A Prisoner of the Mind

Imagine someone who is going through an episode of panic attacks and incoherently shouting out on the top of their voices of things that do not make sense. These panic attacks are accompanied by intense bouts of paranoia making them think that people around them are out to kill them, even close family members. This is the usual manifestation of dementia associated with the degenerative condition caused by Alzheimer disease which affects people that belong to the age groups between 60 to 80 years of age. Despite research and intensive medical research to help slow down the advancement of this mentally debilitating disease, there is no definite clear path of clinical treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is quite similar to the symptoms manifested with ALS (amyothropic lateral sclerosis) in which the brain neurons start to disconnect from the locomotor connections that simulate muscular functions associated with movement, auditory sensors and mental faculties. Alzheimer's has been the key proponent in memory loss among old people in which 1 out of 10 is likely to show signs of classic senile dementia when they get to a certain age (60 to 80). Bouts of manic depression can be seen when a patient starts to hyper ventilate, complaining most of the time that they can not breathe even though the room is well ventilated. This quickly progresses to incoherent shouting stating that they are being held prisoner against their will.

Violence is a common occurrence as most patients will not let themselves be touched even though they can not longer manage to keep their balance. Most patients going through this episode prefer to take off their clothes completely without any reason at all, stating that they feel more comfortable that way. Decency should not be expected as most patients tend to exhibit child-like behavior that explains their often irrational answers to simple questions. Self denial can be considered as one of the most common psychological behavior that people affected with Alzheimer's often show. Interestingly though, there was a clinical study that positively confirms that there is a clear line that associates the onset of Alzheimer with people that have developed Diabetes. Study shows that 80% of people that were afflicted with diabetes during their senior years showed signs of Alzheimer's that rapidly progressed because of blood toxicity caused by the imbalance of their blood sugar levels that affected the neural connections of the brain. Another cause which greatly is being debated by researchers is the psychological fortitude of the patient's across demographical representations with consideration of race, social developmental factors and nutrition.

In third world countries, there are is large segment of elderly people that are affected with Alzheimer's disease because they lack nutritional value in their diet, particularly in the Philippines where the quality of life dips greatly below the poverty line. Most of the elderly people here are fed with instant noodles that contain harsh chemical flavorings and preservatives. Social beliefs are also a major influence along with educational understanding as there is a clear pattern that suggest that mental aptitude has a lot to do with a person's ability to discern the rationality of their emotions coupled with achieving their mental stability. Most sociologist have suggested that happiness, in all of its meaning is nothing more than a human condition, same as pain and both ambiguous just as well. As clearly seen with people with Alzheimer's, most subjects affected with this disease often cry out to satisfy their wants and needs. Religious beliefs, particularly the belief in salvation in all of its aspects are often shouted out incoherently which clearly states that there is a time that people affected with Alzheimer often come to terms in questioning the validity of what they have longed stood up for which has been an influence to their upbringing. There are studies that clearly indicate that countries that have a high diversity of religious beliefs show a high rate of elderly people that are affected with Alzheimer's disease.

Psychologist state that giving your mind too much to think about tends to wear down the neural connections that affect mental fortitude and rational thinking. Especially now that the way of life runs at a much faster pace than it was 100 years ago. Also, the quality of life that we live now has a great impact on how our bodies react to the various chemicals that it ingests from various food products that are formulated with synthetic flavorings and preservatives. Most people with Alzheimer's disease require to be kept in solitude and can pose as a danger to others and themselves if kept along with others that have a similar condition. There is no sense in talking to people with this disease to show them the rational perspective of reality as they have no more grasp of the actual reality that is happening to them. All they are waiting for is their time and Alzheimer is not giving them a chance to live their remaining time in this life with dignity. Most people that are inflicted with this mental disease often defecate within their room, even urinating on their tea cups. To say the least, they even tend to wake up in the middle of the dead of night and move about, turning everything inside their room into one big chaotic mess. Alzheimer's disease is the end of human dignity in which a person looses all rational mental faculties. Just goes to show how interesting the human body is and all of its splendor, after all, God created man in his own image didn't he? Then again, this may be a clear explanation in why this whole world is so messed up.