Beginning Symptoms or Signs of Dementia
Dementia is a fear that many senior citizens rightfully live with every day.
The media doesn’t help much, because they constantly show us heart-wrenching scenarios of families torn apart by dementia.
How do you know if what you’re experiencing is just everyday aging, or is a sign of something much worse?
Is it something that may require some specialized senior care?
The basic signs of dementia:
– Memory loss
– Impaired judgment
– Difficulty communicating
– Trouble performing more complex tasks
– Difficulty with abstract thinking, planning, and organizing
– Difficulty with coordination, gait, and motor functions
– Becoming lost or disoriented
– Not remembering the date and/or time of year
– Neglect of personal care and safety
– Personality changes
– Inability to reason
– Inappropriate behavior
– Paranoia
– Agitation
– Hallucinations
Minor disorientation, alterations to your gait, and difficulty with abstract thinking are also signs of many other age-related circumstances.
The question that has to be asked when thinking about dementia is whether or not you believe a majority or at least a meaningful number of these traits are all developing at the same time.
It’s also important to remember that dementia is not a specific disease in a medical sense.
· 60% or more of dementia sufferers have dementia as a side-effect of Alzheimer’s Disease
· Another 20% have vascular dementia as a side-effect of having a stroke
· The remaining 20% have other forms of dementia, many of which are reversible and are brought on by problems involving vitamin deficiency or thyroid malfunction.
Dementia symptoms can vary according to the individual, but for someone to be diagnosed as having a full-blown case of dementia, a minimum of 2 core mental functions must have dramatic impairments:
– Memory
– Language and communication
– Ability to focus and pay attention
– Reasoning and judgment
– Visual perception
If you have every single item on the top list but only suffer from one of the ‘core’ lists, your doctor will assure you that you do not have ‘real’ dementia.
“Many people just sit down and accept the inevitable, and if you accept the inevitable you will get it.”
The mind-body connection is a poorly understood thing.
Clearly, the brain is part of the body, but the exact influence that poor physical health has on mental function is unclear at best.
What is clear is that keeping your body healthy — eating wisely, avoiding health-affecting habits like smoking, getting plenty of sleep, and getting even moderate amounts of exercise — can help keep your mind sharp as well.
