We Demand Hopefulness- Or We Don't Listen February 13, 2015

The news media is full of tragic stories every day-on some channels all day and night, we hear of death by accident, illness or foul play. But when it comes to writing about Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative, neurological illness that has no cure, we want hopeful, happy stories with positive outcomes.

If I write about my expereinces as a caregiver or about my care receiver's events,if they are not hopeful and positive which by definition the stories cannot be, no one wants to listen.Not no one actually. People with experiences such as mine want to hear they are not alone. They feel comforted  by knowing others have dealt with the problems they are facing or have faced. But it's the general public who don't want to hear about the trials of caregivers and care receivers as we speak out asking for more funding for research and more support of our current loved ones who have Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. They also don't want to hear about planning for their older years or those of their parents.

WHY?

We don't want to hear abut the killings by Boko Haram in Africa either, or about anti-Semitism in France or in the rest of Europe. Yet we respond with admirable anger over the killing of three Muslim students, African-Americans bullied by police or local vigilantes.

BECAUSE we feel we can DO something about these last issues. We can exert some public outrage, protest and have a hope that some change can be accomplished.

So far, the world is unable to stop terror attacks before they happen and we are unable to cure Alzheimer's disease. We feel frustrated, sad and impotent.

We worry we will be next in all of these cases. Some people avoid travel, thinking they will be spared if they stay home. Most of us remain in DENIAL. What we don't pay attention to, what we don't listen to, won't come back and bite us in the rear.