Did you forget where you put your car keys? Don’t worry, it happens to me too. Was the event on Friday or Saturday? I keep forgetting as well. It happens to everyone, but usually it is nothing to worry about. My friend’s grandmother is at risk of developing dementia. I asked her what the things were that she fears to forget. Her answers made it clear that dementia is a topic everyone should care about, because imagine… …forgetting how to read Of course, normal aging can already lead to visual problems making it harder to read, but people with dementia can develop specific difficulties. Depending on the type of dementia, they could suffer from changes of the visual field, increased sensitivity to for example colour contrasts or double vision. These are unfortunately only examples from a long list.
…forgetting your favourite meal
Almost everyone knows this: “I’ll cook you your favourite meal when you get home.” I associate my mum’s homemade tomato-soup with home. Not only because it tastes like heaven, but because it is something I’ve known and loved since I was little. I can’t imagine forgetting that, can you? Dementia patients in an advanced stage might even forget to eat or how to swallow. …losing social awareness No one can always react appropriately, but we at least most of the time know what the right thing to do or say would be. People who live with dementia might forget how to be empathetic and how to behave in certain circumstances. …forgetting how to speak Difficulties with language occur in all forms of dementia. It starts with not knowing how to find the right words and can lead to completely losing the ability to communicate. …losing your body functions
The lewy body disease is the second most common dementia related disease after Alzheimer’s. It can start out with moving disorders, but although the symptoms in general are treatable, it can in many cases lead to people being incapable of caring for themselves.
…not recognising your family
When people who suffer Alzheimer’s don’t recognise their loved ones, great understanding and patience is required from family members in particular. “I cannot imagine that happening to me. What do I have left if I don’t remember the people who mean everything to me?” She still laughed at the end and said: “I might also forget how to drive a car, but I was never that good at it anyway.”
These are only a few things that we take for granted. People who live with dementia fear to loose these memories every day. We need to fight dementia and help affected people to live with it. MindMate is trying to take one next step. Actively train your brain and body with our App and get useful information about dementia from our website! The MindMate App will launch soon!