People who have dementia are not special. We are normal individuals whose brain is degenerating at a greater pace and in some cases earlier, than most other people. I make the point about normality, as I think too greater emphasis is often placed on the differences between people with the disease and those without it. It is far easier and for some, a great defence mechanism, to emphasise the differences, rather than acknowledge similarities with someone or something one doesn't fully understand or feel comfortable with.
It would be helpful, for all concerned, if greater emphasis was placed on the similarities between patients, carers and health professionals, rather than the differences. This is not to deny that the dementia sufferer presents for others a number of specific issues / difficulties. Similarly, dementing individuals also have to cope, in a different way, with aspects that these issues present for them. In many respects therefore, this is the same for everyone else. In society, everyone has to adapt and make allowance for others in their personal and professional lives. To progress, in situations, the most successful outcome is achieved when differences, although acknowledged, are not the focus, the emphasis being on the areas of shared interest and mutual benefit.
Not withstanding the above, my observations, are, possibly, prompted by the slight frustration of having to accept the difficulty, that one's response to certain situations, is not what one would "normally" have had a few years ago. In spite of this, the good aspects of each day usually far outweigh the less desirable.
JSAFGA
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