The difference between Dementia and Forgetfulness

Tin

Registered User
May 18, 2014
4,820
0
UK
Decided to email details to friends who are always asking me "whats the difference?" She explains quite a lot and so easy to understand.
 

Lindy50

Registered User
Dec 11, 2013
5,242
0
Cotswolds
Thanks nellbelles for posting this. I too will share it with family :)

It also got me looking at another of her sessions....such clear explanations, and examples so relevant. Brilliant!

Thanks again.

Lindy xx
 

Saffie

Registered User
Mar 26, 2011
22,513
0
Near Southampton
I think this video does a splendid job of describing the differences where remembering things are concerned but dementia is so much more than memory.
The first thing that came to my attention with my mother was the lack of logic and a little later, personality changes.
This wasn't so pronounced in my husband at first but then he had mainly vascular dementia rather than Altzheimer's so probably progresses along a slightly different path.It did show itself quite early on though.

I confess to finding this video very reassuring on a personal front!
 

nellbelles

Volunteer Host
Nov 6, 2008
9,842
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leicester
I confess to finding this video very reassuring on a personal front!

I agree saffie, dementia is much more than just memory, but for anyone just worried about their own memory i.e. my brother who has been quizzing me about dementia, I told him it was more that memory, but this video has enabled him to realize that it is all the different things he is dealing with in his life, I think the worry was another distraction.

I'm sure many carers who worry about their own memory would be relived to watch and learn.
 

dottyd

Registered User
Jan 22, 2011
1,063
0
n.e.
I was watching Michael Moores Fahrenheit 911 about The Bush administration.

Then I realised I could not remember the name of the current president of the USA ...for half an hour, I kept trying, and trying...nothing . It was like looking at a blank screen in my head.

Today I could not remember how to turn off my phone when in the cinema.

Again scary!

I was feeling so good yesterday. My doctor told me that my blood was extremely healthy after recent tests!

Now I'm just like....what is going on!

I had to google it in the end. Cannot believe that!
 
I would offer a caveat - the example given of dementia-type thinking may not show up until later in dementia and is not typical of all forms of dementia, so whilst it may be true of alzheimer's (which I'm not particularly clued up on), it's not typical of the sorts of dementia that relatives and friends of mine have.

Secondly, the sort of thought processes shown in the dementia example can also be found in some non-dementia conditions, so if anyone finds they have them, don't panic until other conditions have been ruled out. You may need to see a psychiatrist, but it may be something quite amenable to treatment.
 

Countryboy

Registered User
Mar 17, 2005
1,680
0
South West
I obviously have No idea how many of those who actually have a diagnoses of dementia saw this clip because I couldn't make head or tail of her theory , unfortunately memory loss is memory loss yes another word can be forgetfulness once have dementia but it doesn’t get better you just learn to adapt
 
She appeared to me to be arguing that if you become distracted and go an do something else, it's just ordinary memory loss, but if it's something weird you do instead, it's dementia.

However, I'd characterise the different thinking with the glass as being essentially a tendency towards paranoid delusions, and the underlying process still being the same; i.e. in terms of memory, I don't see a difference between something like going to make a pot of tea and, say, noticing the flowers need watering and doing it, and going to make a pot of tea and noticing there's been an intruder and putting the evidence somewhere safe.

It seems to me to be more a problem with things like the ability to reason and connections with reality. Someone with, say, a brief reactive psychosis or a longer disorder with paranoid features might react the same way, and someone with dementia might never do so.

The notion of putting the glass somewhere safe as evidence is, to me, totally logical. Putting it in a cupboard with other glasses might be poor memory or poor reasoning.

So I don't think it's actually a very good example and it could mislead people without clear caveats.

In other words, problems relating to paranoia are different from problems relating to memory and whilst they're more common in some forms of dementia, they're less common in others.
 

Quilty

Registered User
Aug 28, 2014
1,050
0
GLASGOW
I found some good videos on youtube from an american carers group. It explains how the mind and memory works. So many carers are trying to juggle so much that its easy to feel like you are getting dementia too. Add stress and tiredness and its a perfect storm. If you search dementia and then look for "senior helpers national". Long videos but I found them very useful

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t--mkzfHuIE
 
Quilty - that's a great video, thank you.

I wish videos like this were more widely referred to by people giving info to people diagnosed and their carers.

For example, Dad has vascular dementia and I had to work out for myself about the sudden dips. I have friends with Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's and Korsakoff's dementia and if only someone had told me years ago that they're all different so don't expect them to be the same.
 

Quilty

Registered User
Aug 28, 2014
1,050
0
GLASGOW
Teepa Snow videos on you tube are excellent. I wish i had seen these 2 years ago when mum started to get very bad and every day was a gut wrenching battle. She has several long training videos on what dementia is, how to communicate and being a carer. I am still working my way through them. Nhs should screen these to all nurses, carers and health staff.please share and watch. Very knowlegable woman but very human. I wish i could go to one of her training sessions.
 

Countryboy

Registered User
Mar 17, 2005
1,680
0
South West
If you have dementia if when you do have dementia you will definitely know that forgetfulness is very different from memory loss with the memory you wont remember it again after a few minutes , days or if ever , how would you possibly know you forgot it just one of the things we just have to accept when we have dementia
 

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