Dementia is a progressive and chronic cognitive decline that impacts memory, thinking, reasoning, coordination, daily functioning, and quality of life.
Tips & Links
Dementia is a term for a set of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain; the most common include Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal degeneration.
Learn More
- Learn about the signs and symptoms of dementia from the Alzheimer Society.
- Early symptoms may include mood and sleep changes, irritability, memory loss, unsteadiness which may lead to falls, and difficulty eating.
- Learn about the types of dementia, including Alzheimer Disease from Healthlink BC.
Things to Do
- Know that there are are medications that can slow the process.
- Consider trying approaches that can help manage symptoms and maintain a good quality of life for as long as possible.
- Consider a cognitive assessment to help in planning and decision-making.
- Support people who have confusion by providing a calm environment, use simple language, provide clear visual cues, maintain a regular routine, and address their concerns with empathy and reassurance.
- Learn simple communication ideas to support people with confusion or early stages of dementia from HealthlinkBC.
Plan Ahead
- Plan ahead – a diagnosis of dementia may prompt you to talk about and write down your wishes while you have the ability to do so.
- Some topics to consider include:
- Where you want to live (aging in place or residential care).
- Who you want making your decisions for you (substitute decision-maker).
- Who can assist you with or assume responsibility for your finances (power of attorney).
- What you want done (advance directive, Do Not Resuscitate or No CPR order, Medical Assistance in Dying, organ donation, will, end-of-life celebrations).
Mywell Health was created to help you learn about and organize your decision documents in one place. You can store both digital and print copies in a file under My End of Life Decisions.