This Fully Revised and updated edition provides the latest information on causes, preventative measures, treatments, drugs, and diagnosis. Everything related to the care of the affected person is addressed from cost to stress management. But The Loss of Self goes beyond the biological, medical, and social issues to explore the emotional challenges any person dealing with the disease will experience. The book helps families and patients deal with the terrible reality of this chronic, debilitating disease through the personal stories of others. These deeply moving case studies and anecdotes give hope, dignity, and ideas for solving even the most difficult problems such as sexuality, violence, abuse, family conflict, and death. The Loss of Self is the best book available not only for those suffering from the disease, but for family members wanting to understand how to help a relative and to meet their own needs over the long years of caring.