Emotional impact of living with dementia

This brutally honest video reminds us that although dementia causes the loss of some abilities, people's feelings remain intact.  The people in this video talk about their emotions: fear, guilt, embarrassment, isolation and powerless.  They give a deeply moving and personal insight into an often overlooked aspect of the condition.  

The video shows how supportive relationships with families, friends and professional carers can play a key role in supporting people with dementia.  

The video is a powerful reminder of the importance of getting to know the person with advancing dementia as an individual and to help support them to maintain their own identity. 

Messages for practice

  1. People living with dementia can still be alert and aware of their condition
  2. It is important to know the person with advancing dementia as an individual and support them to maintain their own identity
  3. Although dementia causes the loss of some abilities, people's feelings remain intact; it is essential to empathise with people's emotions
  4. Caring and supportive relationships help people to cope with the difficult experience of living with advancing dementia.

Who will find this useful?

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

Downloads

All SCIE resources are free to download, however to access the following downloads you will need a free MySCIE account:

Available downloads:

  • Download transcript
  • Download video assets including an mp4 version of the video, and a SRT subtitles file