Understanding and anticipating these themes will help both the caregiver and person with the disease to maintain dignity and independence, while laying the foundation to a mutually supportive relationship as the disease progresses. Too many people believe that people with Alzheimer s Disease are not capable of understanding the disease. However, Snyder has found that some may go through periods of denial because of the difficulty in accepting the disease. I think denial is helpful sometimes. You don t want to carry this all the time.
Denial can be very adaptive.
It is understandable that there is denial in some cases because of the unpleasant stigmas associated with the disease. There may also be denial due to the fear that the person with the disease may become prematurely dependent. Or they may simply forget that they have the disease. Persons with Alzheimer s Disease need understanding if they fluctuate between acceptance and denial. Ambivalence in Disclosing Diagnosis.