Essay Sample on Sandra's Story: Living With Alzheimer's and Discrimination

Introduction

The interviewee was a sixty-one-year-old whom we shall refer to as Sandra, although it is not her real name. She has been living with Alzheimer's disease since she was fifty-five years. Sandra has been feeling excluded and even treated differently due to her condition. Her family has also reported receiving the same kind of treatment due to Sandra. In some instances, Sandra said to have heard people murmuring as she was passing that she is crazy and even retarded. Therefore, apart from being excluded, there is also the utilization of negative language to describe her condition. Sandra admitted that the treatment and even use of undesirable language to explain her situation had an adverse effect on her well-being and capability to manage the changes caused by the disease. The relevant theme identified in the interview is stigma among people with Alzheimer's disease and will be explored concerning how it is manifested and its impacts on victims.

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Related Research

Stigmatization of older adults with Alzheimer's disease may place them at risk of facing numerous other forms of stigma that go beyond that linked with chronic and severe mental illness. The stigma of chronic and acute mental illness has been related to fluctuating degrees of moral failure and individual failure. As such, this presents two types of stigma, attribution of moral catastrophe as a basis of the disease and cognitive and behavioral indicators endorsed to mental illness. Moreover, an old individual who is labeled as 'crazy' may be construed as an indication that the family, either in the past or present-day, is unsuccessful in satisfying its familial responsibilities (Riley et al., 2014).

On the other hand, the negative stereotypes attached to Alzheimer's disease have revealed that one can begin to suffer psychologically. Labeling of elderly people with the term that they are "aging poorly" may sanction what has been highlighted by theorists, which is ignoring, excluding, and neglecting the older people. There is the public stigma whereby members of the public have pejorative or negative beliefs causing them to act in an exclusionary, racist, or even belittling manner towards people with Alzheimer's disease. However, it is necessary to note that there have been self-stigma cases among those with Alzheimer's disease. Most of them tend to emotionally or cognitively absorb negative beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, and even stereotypes related to the disease (Riley et al., 2014). Most of the older adults with Alzheimer's disease have been reported to feel ashamed and inferior due to being connected with the disease. The self-stigma has the drive most of them into depression, social withdrawal, avoidant coping, and low self-esteem. They have also experienced a decline in behaviors that might assist them in seeking help and displayed deteriorated psychiatric indicators. Besides, there is the element of the stigma spilling over. Individuals who are close to the person with Alzheimer's disease have also been observed to experience stigma (Riley et al., 2014).

There is a high value of social communication and contribution in group events. Research has shown that older adults tend to experience a decrease in the size of their social networks later in life. They also undergo a decrease in the incidence of their social relations. All these have been associated with high levels of loneliness. Individuals with Alzheimer's disease may benefit from social interaction as it leads to an excellent quality of life, and this includes declines in agitation and other behavioral indicators. Nevertheless, people with Alzheimer's disease may experience difficulty maintaining social contact. It is due to losing friends after being diagnosed with the disease, while for some, living alone contributed to this aspect (Evans, 2018).

Culture has an impact on the way one perceives and further defines the meaning of illness. There are cultural factors that have been observed to affect the clarification of functional decline in old age. Some cultures usually define the moral status of an older individual regarding his or her capability to maintain social connection within a circle of friends and even family. Thus, to them, Alzheimer's disease is due to failure by an individual to make adequate efforts by engaging in different activities that will entail mental and physical exertion within the framework of social gatherings that encourage interaction with other people. As such, this has led to the belief that one may be in a position to either delay or even inhibit the beginning of Alzheimer's disease (Babulal et al., 2019).

Service utilization for older people with Alzheimer's disease is also prevalent. In this case, primarily the functional status of the patient has been observed to be more analytical of interval use and even meal services among the Latinos than Whites and African Americans. Also, African Americans have a particular perception of Alzheimer's disease, and this denotes a considerable impact on the community. It has been observed that there is a high level of stigmatization towards the condition in the community. As such, they rarely talk about it, and little or no efforts are channeled towards preparing the family emotionally and even financially until one reaches the late stages. Furthermore, the community has been observed to attribute the element of forgetfulness to an indicator of old age (Babulal et al., 2019). Therefore, the stigmatization of the disease is due to dissimilarities in beliefs and information.

It is vital to note that among African Americans, there is the belief that Alzheimer's disease may be deeply tied to held convictions that surpass its predictable medicinal ideal. Due to spiritual beliefs, there may be differentially effected insights of dementia among African Americans when compared to Whites. As such, older people with the disease have received little to no medication, and this has led to the deterioration of their condition. It is also a reliable indicator of the way cultural factors highly contribute to the advancement of Alzheimer's disease among African Americans when compared to Whites (Babulal et al., 2019).

Reflection and Connection

The interview has highlighted specific critical issues. One of these includes psychosocial influence elements that have an impact on healthy aging. In most cases, aging is usually portrayed as a decline in physical limitation and even psychological desolation (Whitbourne et al., 2015). The interview has highlighted the issue of depression among older people who are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. They are usually stigmatized due to their condition. As such, depression can have a distressing effect on older people. It has further been observed that the mortality rate for older men and women who are suffering from depression and approaches of seclusion is usually developed than among those who are satisfied with their lives. Depression among the elderly with Alzheimer's disease is further increased by a decline in the frequency of their social contacts leading to loneliness.

Another aspect that has an impact on adult development and aging is health and diseases. Most of these people are not afflicted with health problems that occur regularly, and they include illnesses such as flu and even allergies. Instead, they are more likely to be affected by chronic disorders that are categorized by slow beginning and long in their duration. Chronic disorders usually disclose themselves in middle adulthood. They further include mental illness, and in this Alzheimer's disease is a common one (Whitbourne et al., 2015). Due to the onset of these chronic conditions among older adults, they may be subjected to discrimination in society, especially when individuals fail to comprehend it and its long-term effects properly.

There is also the element of social changes and how it occurs among adults as they develop. Older adults may lose their loved ones, and this leads to loneliness. It may worsen when they have conditions such as Alzheimer's disease since they need people to comprehend them and offer them adequate love and support. On the other hand, it has been observed that age affects relationship satisfaction. As such, older adults may fail to offer their friends the needed form of satisfaction, especially when they are suffering from conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (Whitbourne et al., 2015). They may then end up losing those friends, and this leads to their condition worsening.

Moreover, the component of memory, intelligence, and even attention affect adult development. There are usually some cognitive declines during the aging process, but they may occur later than expected. Adults continue to develop emotional intelligence or even the capability to comprehend and manage emotional responses (Whitbourne et al., 2015). It may then be attributed to the reason older adults with Alzheimer's disease understand when they are not wanted or even being stigmatized, whether physically or emotionally.

The interview has further demonstrated particular views concerning aging and adulthood. One of the aspects gained is that this stage in life is usually accompanied by specific challenges that can be tough to avoid. Also, as one gets to the adulthood stage, it is relevant for them to ensure that they are surrounded by people who can care and love them in case they suffer from certain conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. It is also relevant for older adults to be enlightened about the terms they are likely to suffer from or risks they may face. In this way, it will help in early diagnosis and effective treatment given at the right time to ensure the situation does not worsen. Moreover, one should invest in their adult health care by ensuring that they can hire efficient caregivers who can support them as they face certain conditions once they get older. In this way, they will be comfortable and further assured of proper care and support even when their family and friends seem not to want to associate with them during this crucial time.

References

Babulal, G. M., Quiroz, Y. T., Albensi, B. C., Arenaza-Urquijo, E., Astell, A. J., Babiloni, C., ... & Chetelat, G. (2019). Perspectives on ethnic and racial disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: Update and areas of immediate need. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 15(2), 292-312. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1552526018335568

Evans, S. C. (2018). Ageism and dementia. In Contemporary perspectives on ageism (pp. 263-275). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-73820-8_16

Riley, R. J., Burgener, S., & Buckwalter, K. C. (2014). Anxiety and stigma in dementia: a threat to aging in place. Nursing Clinics, 49(2), 213-231. https://www.nursing.theclinics.com/article/S0029-6465(14)00013-9/pdf

Whitbourne, S., Whitbourne, S., & Konnert, C. (2015). Adult development and aging. John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.