Support Group for Those of Us Living With Mild Dementia

I think two things happen when we get older. 1. We have done the same things so many times we no longer think about what we are doing. We do things in auto so we then haven’t lodged them firmly in.
2. Every day is the same with few demarcations to tell us what day it is. This means the days whizz by without us remembering which day of the week it is. I also think a lot of what we fear could be dementia is actually overload and overwhelm. We live anxious unsupported lives and wonder why we can’t function properly. I have retrained traumatised horses and dogs and even a few cats. The first thing I do is give them the life that their species requires then I quietly support them without any expectations. I give their brains a holiday. No demands no critiques no jobs no nothing except routine and support. They soon become brighter and responsive snd happy. Only then can the mammal brain take things in.
Give your brain a holiday. Xx

I think two things happen when we get older. 1. We have done the same things so many times we no longer think about what we are doing. We do things in auto so we then haven’t lodged them firmly in.
2. Every day is the same with few demarcations to tell us what day it is. This means the days whizz by without us remembering which day of the week it is. I also think a lot of what we fear could be dementia is actually overload and overwhelm. We live anxious unsupported lives and wonder why we can’t function properly. I have retrained traumatised horses and dogs and even a few cats. The first thing I do is give them the life that their species requires then I quietly support them without any expectations. I give their brains a holiday. No demands no critiques no jobs no nothing except routine and support. They soon become brighter and responsive snd happy. Only then can the mammal brain take things in.
Give your brain a holiday. Xx

Very reassuring to read...thank you!....I am quite over-loaded at the moment as I have responsibilities that involve myself and other peoples expectations.....In the future maybe I will resist being over involved and just focus on my work...My Ego finds it hard to say no to flattering situations... and then I get all angst out.

That kind of life is what I long for, at 82 and living with long-haul Covid cognitive difficulties. It also sounds a lot like what I've been advised to do by docs in my post-Covid rehab program. It's hard to accept and makes me feel like I'm being lazy, resting so much and taking hourly brain breaks. But this mammal is taking your obsetvation to heart and will keep it in mind when I start feeling compelled to do more and keepbusy.

Yes we have to guard against our egos leading us through a lifetime that revolves around it’s mischief and beliefs and false pride. Otherwise we will one day be in our death bed thinking ‘wow, it’s over and I didn’t live the life that my soul craved and I was in a constant state of overwhelm, darn it, too late now’
Keep checking in with your life. Sit down and ask yourself if you are living the life you want. Reinvent yourself - that’ll surprise the people who lean on you to do stuff they don’t want to do. Make the people around you stand proud fir themselves - you don’t have to prop them up - you’ll be doing them a favour.

There’s a support group called Aging Well

I also am starting to forget words at 72. If my husband says the word I am thinking of, I recognize it as the word i was trying to remember. My Dad died from dementia at 87. My Mom did not have this problem. I am very frightened. I pass the Medicare test every year (clock, 3 words) but still have to say the words over & over in my head. I just feel "spacey" and like I am floating in a cloud. Menopause or Alzheimer's?