Dementia from the inside

In this video we find out what it might feel like to live with dementia. Viewers will experience a little of what it is like to find yourself in a world that seems familiar and yet doesn’t always make sense. The incidents pictured in this video and memories recounted are based upon true experiences gathered from people living with dementia 

Messages for practice

People with dementia:

1. May interpret things that happen differently to those around them
2. May have unanticipated periods of lucidity and periods of confusion alike
3. May sometimes not recognise people or places they know well
4. May become frustrated with themselves or those who struggle to understand them
5. May not be able to articulate or communicate their anxieties, fears or frustrations
6. Live with unpredictability, such as the passage of time

Who will find this useful?

Care staff, social workers, care managers, managers, registered managers, carers, community nurses, nursing staff, occupational therapists, people with dementia, people who use services, employers, trainers, families, friends and neighbours.

• Further reading Open

  Alzheimer’s Disease International (2010) World Alzheimer report 2010: The global economic impact of dementia, London: ADI.

  Alzheimer’s Research UK (2015) ‘Facts and stats’, online information.

  Alzheimer Scotland, ‘Number of people with dementia in Scotland in 2015’  online information.

  Alzheimer’s Society, ‘Statistics’, online information.

  Alzheimer’s Society (2015) Dementia 2015 London: Alzheimer’s Society.

  Alzheimer’s Society factsheets: ‘What is Alzheimer’s disease?’, ‘What is vascular dementia?’, ‘What is fronto-temporal dementia?’, and ‘What is dementia with Lewy bodies?’

  Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (2011 ‘)Improving dementia services in Northern Ireland: a regional strategy’. Belfast: DHSSPS, Northern Ireland Assembly.

  Department of Health (2012) Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia: Delivering major improvements in dementia care and research by 2015, London: Department of Health.

  Scottish Government (2010) Scotland’s National Dementia Strategy, Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

  Scottish Government (2013) Scotland’s National Dementia Strategy 2013–2016, Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

  SCIE: Dementia awareness e-learning course.

  SCIE Social Care TV: ‘The causes of dementia’

  Welsh Assembly Government and Alzheimer’s Society (2011) National dementia vision for Wales, Cardiff: Welsh Assembly Government.

• Useful links Open

  Age UK
  The website for Age UK, England's largest organisation working with and for older people, has specific pages on dementia, which cover topics such as ‘What is dementia?’, ‘Could you be at risk?’, ‘Diagnosis and treatment’, and ‘Help and support’.

  Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK)
  The UK’s largest research charity for dementia. Its website provides information About dementia for the general public and professionals, for example on causes, symptoms, different types of dementia and the treatments available. The site includes the section, Dementia explained, which is aimed at children and young people.

  Alzheimer’s Society
  The Alzheimer’s Society is the leading care and research charity campaigning for people with dementia and those who care for them. In addition to its network of local branches, the Society also runs an information helpline, produces a wide range of publications (including over 80 free factsheets on all aspects of dementia), and hosts a range of web-based forums.

  Dementia UK
  As well as producing web-based information and factsheets, the charity Dementia UK runs a telephone and email helpline for anyone affected by dementia, including professionals, known as Admiral Nursing Direct. The helpline is staffed by specialist mental health nurses, known as Admiral Nurses, who work to support the families and carers of people with dementia. The service offers information, practical advice
  and emotional support.

  NHS Choices
  NHS Choices describes itself as the ‘online front door to the NHS’. It is the UK’s biggest health website and includes an A-Z of health conditions, including a substantial Dementia Guide section, which covers About dementia, Symptoms of dementia, Living well with dementia, Help and support for people with dementia, and also includes an option to search for dementia services in your locality.