Coping With Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow to Cope With Your EmotionsHow to Cope With Your Physical HealthCaring for Someone Who Has Alzheimer’sResources and Organizations

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

How to Cope With Your Emotions

How to Cope With Your Physical Health

Caring for Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s

Resources and Organizations

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Alzheimer’s diseaseis a brain condition that causes memory loss and confusion. It also affects your moods and behavior.

While it commonly affects older adults above the age of 60, roughly 10% of all people with Alzheimer’s start to experiencesymptomsin their 30s or 40s, which is referred to as early-onset or young-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive, irreversible condition, which means it gets worse over time and cannot be cured. As it progresses, it can make daily living activities and interacting with others difficult. However,medication and lifestyle changescan help with the symptoms and slow down the disease’s progression.

“It can be difficult to cope with Alzheimer’s at any age, but particularly with early-onset because people understandably don’t expect it to happen so early,” saysRichard Marottoli, MD, MPH, a physician at Yale Medicine, who specializes in treating Alzheimer’s disease.

Being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease can be distressing for you and your loved ones.

Richard Marottoli, MD, MPHThe key is to get help, first with the practical aspects, but also with the emotional aspects.Counselingcan help you cope emotionally.

Richard Marottoli, MD, MPH

The key is to get help, first with the practical aspects, but also with the emotional aspects.Counselingcan help you cope emotionally.

Counseling can help with:

Counseling can also be helpful to your loved ones. “Early-onset Alzheimer’s can be hard on the patient, but particularly hard on the family. Thepartnermay or may not be working, and depending on how early the onset, there may be relatively young children who may have a very difficult time adjusting,” says Marottoli.

Alzheimer’s disease causes your health to deteriorate. These are some strategies that can help you cope physically:

What Are the Early Signs of Dementia?

If you are caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease, here are some strategies that can be helpful:

In order to care for someone with Alzheimer’s, it’s important to take care of your own physical and emotional health, says Marottoli. He recommends being realistic about your own abilities and limitations and asking for help when you need it.

7 Stress-Management Tips for Caregivers

Marottoli lists organizations that can offer resources andsupportfor people with early-onset Alzheimer’s and their loved ones:

Alzheimer’s Association:TheAlzheimer’s Associationis an excellent resource to identify what’s available in your community. They also often have early-onset support groups, both for patients and families, so that you can talk to other people undergoing similar things at a comparable stage in life. The other thing that’s important at any age, but particularly for early-onset, is to get financial and legal help with estate issues and determining how to access things like disability insurance or social security disability. The Alzheimer’s Association may be able to help with this, too.

Local Alzheimer’s disease research centers:Because early-onset individuals often have fewercomorbidillnesses than late-onset individuals, it’s worth contacting a local Alzheimer’s disease research center or academic medical center to find out about clinical trials. There are always new treatments coming out.Bright Focus FoundationandAlzheimer’s Research Associationmay be good places to start your search.

School counseling services:If your children are still in school, their school may have counseling services and resources to help them deal with related issues.

How Can I Find Support Groups Near Me?

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute on Aging.Alzheimer’s disease fact sheet.National Institute on Aging.Common medical problems in Alzheimer’s disease: Information for caregivers.National Institute on Aging.Exercise and physical activity.National Institute on Aging.Tips for living alone with early-stage Alzheimer’s.National Institute on Aging.Managing personality and behavior changes in Alzheimer’s.Additional ReadingAlzheimer’s Association.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute on Aging.Alzheimer’s disease fact sheet.National Institute on Aging.Common medical problems in Alzheimer’s disease: Information for caregivers.National Institute on Aging.Exercise and physical activity.National Institute on Aging.Tips for living alone with early-stage Alzheimer’s.National Institute on Aging.Managing personality and behavior changes in Alzheimer’s.Additional ReadingAlzheimer’s Association.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Institute on Aging.Alzheimer’s disease fact sheet.National Institute on Aging.Common medical problems in Alzheimer’s disease: Information for caregivers.National Institute on Aging.Exercise and physical activity.National Institute on Aging.Tips for living alone with early-stage Alzheimer’s.National Institute on Aging.Managing personality and behavior changes in Alzheimer’s.

National Institute on Aging.Alzheimer’s disease fact sheet.

National Institute on Aging.Common medical problems in Alzheimer’s disease: Information for caregivers.

National Institute on Aging.Exercise and physical activity.

National Institute on Aging.Tips for living alone with early-stage Alzheimer’s.

National Institute on Aging.Managing personality and behavior changes in Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s Association.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s Association.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

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