When a family member has dementia It’s true to say that a diagnosis of dementia isn’t just given to the person with dementia, but to their wider family, friends, neighbours and social networks. If the person who is diagnosed with dementia is still working, that also means sharing that diagnosis with their manager and work colleagues. Don’t expect too much of yourself. Try to recognise which jobs have to be done by you and which can be done by someone else, allowing you to be wife/son/husband/ daughter – which is your most valuable role.
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The way in which you, as one of the people around someone with dementia, experience that person’s dementia, is always going to be different to the experiences of the diagnosed person. Depending on individual outlooks, a person diagnosed with dementia may learn to live with their symptoms and adapt to their changed life. Other people living with dementia may go into denial, or even shut off from the world around them. As the symptoms of dementia progress, it can be common for a person with dementia to not be aware of this, or not fully absorb the effect that their symptoms are having on themselves or those around them.
CHANGES TO RELATIONSHIPS Alongside the different emotions being felt by the person with dementia, and those closest to them, you may find that family dynamics change. www.carechoices.co.uk/dementia
