Women’s Independent Press

Q. My 80-year-old mother who lives alone sometimes gets herself so worked up over things that suddenly she can’t remember anything and then becomes nearly incapacitated. Is this common?

A study earlier this year from Rush University Medical Center found that people who are easily distressed and have more negative emotions are more likely to develop memory problems than more easygoing people.

In commenting about the study, author Robert S. Wilson, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, said: “People differ in how they tend to experience and deal with negative emotions and psychological distress, and the way people respond tends to stay the same throughout their adult lives. In previous studies, Wilson and his colleagues showed that people who are easily distressed are also more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than more easygoing people.

The most recent study found that those who often experience negative emotions such as depression and anxiety were 40 percent more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who were least prone to negative emotions. “These findings suggest that, over a lifetime, chronic experience of stress affects the area of the brain that governs stress response. Unfortunately, that part of the brain also regulates memory.”

Seniors who are cooped up at home for long periods of time can become emotionally distraught over the smallest things and become forgetful as a result. Outside activities and companionship may make a difference for those seniors who are easily distressed and experiencing negative emotions.
For fifteen years, the Home Instead Senior Care® franchise network has been devoted to providing seniors with the highest quality care in their own homes, and to arming families with the information they need to make the best decisions about caring for aging loved ones. If you, or any organization of which you are a part, is interested in learning more, please contact our office. We would be happy to speak to your group free of charge about this subject, our services, and even employment opportunities.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Champagne, Human Resource Coordinator
Home Instead Senior Care
1102 S Braddock Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
Phone: (412) 731-0733
Rebecca.Champagne@homeinstead.com