Symptoms like apathy, depression, anxiety and irritation that often occur with dementia lower people’s quality of life therefore alleviating them is beneficial to both the patient and their care providers, family and friends.
Apathy is thought to occur in dementia patients due to damage to frontal lobe which are involved in planning tasks. It can cause people to withdraw and it can become self fulfilling that because not performing tasks lose ability to perform and this leads to accelerated decline and potentially premature death.o
There is a number of therapies that aim to do this; research into there effectiveness is ongoing.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behaviour therapy is where a therapist works to challenge patient’s negative thoughts, to make them more positive; it is also used to treat depression and anxiety.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is about a person being talked through staying in the moment by focusing on breathing. Being in the moment can make dementia patients feel calmer and happier. If a person is getting anxious because confused it can distract them from that.
Music Therapy
In the same way babies without verbal skills can respond to music, those with dementia can benefit from music therapy.
Music can help calm a dementia patient.
Music can trigger memories and emotions. This can help bond the patient with those around them and help them move for example dance; both bonding and dancing can help reduce social isolation.
Wonderwall 