Tracey Maxfield
15 July 2018
Dementia Aware: what you need to know about the emotional responses to a diagnosis of dementia At the first World Health Organization Ministerial Conference on ‘Global Action Against Dementia’ (2015), Margaret Chan (Director General, WHO), opened with this statement: “I can think of no other disease so deeply dreaded by
Substance abuse and mental health problems often seem to go together. Which begs the question, which comes first, the chicken (mental illness) or the egg (substance use)? What we have seen, is that some mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder may contribute to substance use and addiction. Similarly,
Mental health problems and drug use seem to go together…Kids with ADHD, ODD and Conduct Disorder are more likely to use drugs, sniff glue or gasoline. Teens and young adults with poorly managed or misdiagnosed PTSD, Depression, Bulimia, Schizophrenia have an increased risk of abusing alcohol, pain meds, marijuana…. Alert:
PET scan of the brain for depression A PET scan can compare brain activity during periods of depression (left) with normal brain activity (right). An increase of blue and green colors, along with decreased white and yellow areas, shows decreased brain activity due to depression. Picture of PET Scan used
Dementia Aware: what you need to know about communicating with a person with dementia Communication is an inherent mutual activity and we cannot be truly in relationship with others if we are not communicating with them. When communicating with people with dementia, caregivers need the flexibility to be able to
