1

Writing Assignment Title: The Long Goodbye Reaction Paper

Student name: Wanqiu Liu

Institution name: Diablo Valley College

Course name: Psychology 200- Life Span Development

Professor name: Dana Busche

Date: November 29, 2022

The Long Good Bye is a documentary consists mainly of the stories of three Alzheimer's patients
and their family members. Michael was diagnosed when he was forty-nine years old and has a
wife, Jane, and a son and daughter. Another person diagnosed is Ken, who is much older than
Michael and who lives with his wife Myrle. The last Alzheimer's patient was Brenda, an elderly
woman who lives with her husband. Two daughters found out about their father's condition after
receiving an emergency phone call from their mother. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive
disease that starts with memory loss and can lead to death in the worst case scenario. So we can
know that this disease can take a huge toll on the patient and also on the lives of the patient's
family. In the next paragraphs, we will analyze the situation of these patients and their families,
as well as my personal experience with Alzheimer's patients.

Alzheimer’s disease affects Activities of Daily Life (ADL). Michael used to work in a court of
law, a job that required reading as a daily activity. After being diagnosed with the disease, Mr.
Michael's reading was affected, so he had to quit his job, he couldn't remember many things, and
as we can see in the video, he couldn't even repeat the three words his doctor said while he was
being treated. This is the effect of Alzheimer's disease on his daily life. This effect is more
obvious in Brenda and Ken's daily activities and even affects their ability to take care of
themselves. For example, Ken could not go out alone because he could not remember the way
home. When Tom injured his hand, Brenda was sent to Nursing Home because she was not
capable of taking care of herself. (The long good bye, 2010)

We require variety of skills to maneuver through our daily endeavors. Alzheimer’s disease
causes a tremendous decline in some of these skills. As the disease progresses, it offers a barrier
to instrumental activity of daily living. From the film, ‘The Long Good Bye’, the three patients
 2

are losing touch with the environment. Furthermore, they are forgetting how to handle daily
activities. Instrumental activities of daily activity are skills that enables us live independently.
Brenda and Ken are unable to complete them therefore requires constant monitoring and help
from his family members.

Alzheimer's disease has a direct impact on the patients' nuclear families. It is their spouse who
takes on most of the responsibility of caring for the patient, and Myrle has become Ken's
supporter, being the primary caregiver and helping him with the activities of daily living. Despite
her advanced age, Myrle was willing to help her husband. This describes the endurance aspect of
love. Jane is patient enough with Michael to show her love and affection to her sick husband.
True love is witnessed in hard times. brenda is pampered like a princess by her own husband, but
her mental condition seems to be deteriorating as time goes by. This is not a sufficient reason to
run away. tom sets an appropriate moral example for his daughters by leading by example. The
success of this approach can be seen when his daughters also provide support for their mother.

Mr. Michael's Alzheimer's diagnosis was an unexpected time for family members, as he was
only 49 years old. While his wife took on most of his care, Michael's son Chris shared some of
the responsibility of caring for his father. The change from being in charge to not being in charge
was difficult for Michael to accept, and it brought some stress to Chris.

For Myrle, she doesn't trust anyone to take care of her husband and do almost everything himself.
From cooking to housework to buying daily necessities, Myrle does her best to provide
meticulous care to her husband. Brenda's husband Tom also did a good job, which set a good
example for his daughters, so his daughters would also come to accompany his mother when
they were free.

Ericon's psychosocial developmental stages are important in the film. The stages of generativity
and stagnation occur in the middle of adulthood. A person decides to leave his or her mark on the
world. For example, despite the hard parting, Tom has to accept the fact that his wife Brenda is
drifting away from him, as are his daughters, and that parting with someone he cares about is not
an easy thing to do. This creates a sense of willingness and accomplishment. The film also bears
witness to the relationship between self-integrity and despair. His is usually the last stage of
psychosocial development, which begins at the age of 65 and ends at death. During this stage, a
 3

person places a high value on what has been achieved (Kail et al.) Patients and their families go
through this developmental stage when they recall some of their previous memories.

I have been in a similar situation as the one described in the film. My grandfather exhibited early
symptoms Alzheimer’s disease, but we confused them to aging. The condition moved from
cognitive decline to a point where he forgot the most recent events. Furthermore, he was unable
to count from number one to ten. We hurriedly sought for pharmacological treatment whereby
when the effects were strong he would either be injected or given some pills to swallow.
Unfortunately, we lost him a year later after being diagnosed with the condition. I feel that one of
the major causes of this was the neglecting the non -pharmacological treatment whereby he was
to undergo therapy sessions such us Reminiscence therapy and cognitive simulation therapy.

Reminiscence therapy is a process whereby memory is revoked. It aims to restore memory

through recalling of previous events. A therapist can discuss previous events in the life of the
patient. The process can be facilitated by use of pictures, sounds and videos. If all these are
combined, mental activity is boosted and the patient gradually begins to recall things.
Alzheimer’s disease is often characterized by rapid mood swings which hinders therapy process.
If we review previous pleasant memories, it helps set up the mood and the patient opens up to the
therapist. This smoothens the flow of events and improves the success rate of the treatment
process. Reminiscence therapy tries to minimize dementia through recalling past events.

Psychosocial approach to Alzheimer’s disease is majorly applied in the modern world. Cognitive
simulation therapy is an example of a psychosocial approach(Human Development,2020). It
entails a small group intervention for patients exhibiting symptoms of mild to moderate
Alzheimer’s disease. The entire process has 14 sessions which run across 7 weeks. This implies
that each week the patients carry out two sessions. Group approach is highly effective in this
scenario. This is because of its psychological impact whereby a single Alzheimer’s disease
patient feels motivated to fight the disease as they are not alone. Moreover, the constant
interaction amongst themselves eliminates mood swings which is a rampant characteristic.

The film ‘The Long Good Bye’ plays a vital role in showing the effects of Alzheimer’s disease
to an individual and to the society. The disease sucks everything from the life of those who suffer
from it. Not only does the film show the effects but also it is educative on the support this people
ought to receive from their family members and the community.
 4

Works Cited
Harwood, Chris G., et al. "Advancing the study of parental involvement to optimise the
psychosocial development and experiences of young athletes." Psychology of Sport and
Exercise 42 (2019): 66-73.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029218305326
Kail, Robert V., and John C. Cavanaugh. Human Development: A Life-Span View. Cengage
Learning, 2018.
“The Long Goodbye: Facing Dementia.” Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2010,
digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=114211&xtid=43710. Accessed 27 Nov. 2022.