Support from Others Facing MCI

I have dementia. The doctor haven’t given me the news about which one, but he said it appears that I have FTD.

For myself, I have joined Dementia Alliance Assoc. DAA. I have made friends with others with dementia via ZOOM meetings. The meetings are run by other dementia patients and they give us a way to encourage each other by comparing experiences, and solutions to common problems. The best thing is I can do it from home, and I can enter and leave a meeting whenever.
I live alone and don’t have a caretaker, so this is wonderful!

Thank you for sharing! It can be difficult to find support resources for those with the diagnosis of dementia. I'm glad you found a place you feel supported!

We both agreed the HABIT program was excellent, Melanie, and would consider it imperative for anybody with MCI and caregivers. I would actually suggest that Mayo put together a similar program for more advanced stages of dementia, too. I would love to have some nuts-and-bolts techniques for mentally dealing with my partner's anger and frustration which, by default, is usually directed at me! I do understand that it is the disease causing it, but it is really wearing to be constantly blamed and barked at when we aren't able to communicate or when he is angry and irritable throughout the day.

The people I met at HABIT were great, and the participants at various stages of MCI, but they're weren't any concrete suggestions on how to defuse the anger or deal with the seemingly constant anger and negativity directed at the only person always around.
Thanks for any suggestions!

@theglobalnomad1, there are few discussions about defusing or helping to manage anger in the Caregivers: Dementia support group. You may wish to join one of these:
- Anger. Guilt. Anger….cycle https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anger-guilt-anger-cycle/
- Blaming and anger: How do you deal with it? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/blaming-and-anger/

See others https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/caregivers-dementia/

I was diagnosed with MCI two years ago. They weren’t sure if I’d develop dementia or what kind, but ruled out Alzheimer’s. I can still drive locally, on small rural roads I know well, mostly just to the grocery store and library. I find cooking and socializing to be very stressful, though I seem to do fine talking to store clerks & strangers. I guess what’s stressful about friends is that I might not remember things about them that I should know, including their names & names of their family members. I have a cat (which my doc says counts), I read a LOT, and I text & email family & friends.

My husband is my main support. I socialize with him. He drives me to specialists, which are an hour away via highways. He often makes breakfast, and he does the dinner dishes a lot. He also pays the bills. And he brings home take-out dinners when he does errands. And he has always done all that needs to be done with fixing & maintaining things.
I vacuum, make simple dinners, make beds, do wash.
We both do yardwork and enjoy long walks in the woods and camping. He still does his favorite activities: motorcycling, whitewater boating, and cross-country skiing.

I use memory crutches, like pill dispensers, and I have a way to signal to myself when I washed my hair the night before, as I wash it every other night. I’ve simplified the menu for Thanksgiving & Christmas & asked my daughter to take over part of it and to take over some other dinners when she’s home about 4-5 times a year.