Dementia Action/Awareness Week
Dementia Awareness Week
Dementia is not a disease but it is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but not the only one. In the UK, there are about 800,000 people with dementia and half of them do not know they have it.
The symptoms of dementia are progressive and on an unknown time scale (which can be hard for people with dementia to accept). It could take months or many years before the symptoms become advanced. Symptoms of Dementia include:
- Memory loss: problems with short term memory is often the first sign of dementia, however, the misconception around memory loss being a sign of normal ageing is the biggest barrier to people seeking a dementia diagnosis.
- Communication Problems: linked to memory loss, communication problems often arise when a person is unable to recall a particular word or phrase in conversation.
- Changes In Mood: dementia symptoms can have a profound effect on a person's life; this can give rise to mixed emotions (sadness, anxiety, anger).
On a positive note, many people with dementia can live full lives with little or no assistance. Living in the present, doing the fun things now which were planned for later in life, is a strategy which helps some people cope with this condition.
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By raising awareness about this condition, it is hoped that more people will be diagnosed earlier, giving more time for them to come to terms with future symptoms.
