One Day At a Time

One day at a time. Taking things day by day. Take each day as it comes. Each one of these has the same basic proposition: don’t think about tomorrow. As propositions go, it can be a comforting one....

Dementia Life Expectancy: The Lives Behind The Numbers

Dementia Life Expectancy When my mum was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s the first thing I did was dive headfirst into some deep rabbit holes of late-night googling. Initially I searched for...

Dementia Carer Guilt: Why Feeling Guilty Doesn’t Make You a Bad Person

Letting Go of Guilt If I asked every person in our community to name the emotion that follows them around most persistently, I’d be willing to bet that the majority would say the same thing. Guilt...

The Invisible Weight of Caring for Someone With Dementia

Feeling Unseen There’s a particular kind of loneliness that comes with caring for someone with dementia. It’s not the loneliness of being physically alone. You might still be surrounded by people....

How Dementia Changes Family Relationships — And What You Can Do About It

Family Ties When a dementia diagnosis arrives, it doesn’t just change the person it belongs to. It changes everyone around them. It lands in the middle of a family and rearranges everything. The r...

There Are No Expectations When a Friend Has Dementia

  Do you remember your best friend from primary school? What about your other friends from that time, or those you had in your first year in senior school? Or what about who you go see now, with t...

Grieving Someone Who Is Still Alive: The Hidden Grief of Dementia

  Everyday Grief Nobody prepares you for this kind of grief. The grief most of us understand has a beginning and an end. There’s a loss, there’s a funeral, there’s a period of mourning, and then — ...

Connecting With Someone Who Has Dementia: Finding Joy When Memory Fades

  Finding Joy When Memory Fades There’s a quote that I come back to again and again, from a woman called Naomi Feil, who dedicated her life to understanding dementia. Her work is certainly worth a ...

Becoming a Carer for a Parent With Dementia: When Your Role Changes Forever

Changing Roles There’s a moment, and I think most people in our group can pinpoint it, where you realise you’ve stopped being just yourself. You’re not just a son or a daughter or a partner anymore...

What Is Dementia Really Like? The Dark Ages Nobody Talks About

The Dementia Dark Ages I know my mum is hyper aware of what’s happening to her. She’s in a really awkward stage in a dementia diagnosis, that I’m sure most families will go through, where my mum kn...

Mother’s Day When Your Mum Has Dementia: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

What To Say on Mother's Day It’s currently 8.11am on Mother’s Day morning. I’ve got Match of the Day on and I’m on the sofa writing the words you’re reading now. If I’m honest, I’ve been dreading t...

Dementia and Boredom: How a TV Show Changed Everything

  Those that have been keeping up to date with the latest blogs from Dementia Life will know that I moved my office into my parents’ dining room a few weeks ago. It was a decision that meant that I...