Dementia Where does the word Dementia conme from?

Out of mind De - mentia The root of dementia literally means “out of mind”. There is a challenge to health and social care systems and society to ensure we are not aiming for this to be “out of mind, out of sight”. Today is aimed at having a real focus on those who live with and die with a diagnosis of dementia. We want to think about current support approaches and the potential benefits of connecting these with a palliative care approach.

Like other people, when I was given my diagnosis I was told, ‘There’s nothing we can do, I’m afraid.’ I can still remember the feelings of loss and fear and hopelessness in the days and weeks that followed, all I could think of was that word ‘afraid’. Palliative care is an area of care that speaks into the space beyond “there is nothing more we can do”. It is an approach that describes a positive way forward from a place of difficulty related to health. It is not the only model to do this and there is room for synergy between approaches. Today is also partly about that. Wendy Mitchell

Immediately I would have had hope. What if I had been told in a different way: ‘Yes, the diagnosis is dementia. I’ll put you in touch with people who can help you to adapt, people who also have a diagnosis so you can share tips and tricks.’ Immediately I would have had hope. This speaks to self-care, family support, peer support, neighbourhood support – something we might call “Community”. The care systems need to balance correctly within these and add to these assets… Wendy Mitchell

‘If your boss were to tell you day after day that you were stupid, it would bring you down and you’d start to believe it.’, I say. ‘That’s how we feel when you continually tell us we’re “suffering” from dementia. A diagnosis of dementia is bad enough but that's where negative language can stop and positive language can begin.” Language - a theme in the book. We hope to discuss and think today in language that reveals intent to be part of positive answers to difficult things. I’m very grateful to all our speakers today and I hope everyone is able to contribute throughout the day. Wendy Mitchell

as if we could all learn something from the harsh lessons it teaches ‘How do you live your life?’ She asks. ‘I live for the moment. I don’t plan anymore. I just enjoy each day as it comes.’ And as Julianne nods, for a moment I have that strange feeling again, as if Alzheimer’s is a gift, as if we could all learn something from the harsh lessons it teaches Wendy Mitchell has a diagnosis of early onset dementia. She has written a blog about her life experience and a book: “Somebody I used to know”. This qoute highlights that although the lessons she has learned are harsh they have value for all of us. Wendy Mitchell