5 Common Symptoms Of Dementia
Decline of memory and cognitive functions is known as dementia. Although dementia usually occurs in the elderly, studies suggest that the aging process itself is not linked to cognitive impairment. This condition is primarily triggered by certain underlying health disorders.
The symptoms of dementia vary from person to person. The symptoms are determined by the area of the brain affected by the disorder.
Top Common Symptoms Of Dementia
Short-Term Memory Loss
In the early stage of dementia, a person loses the short-term memory. Memory that lasts for a few minutes is known as short-term memory. The brain is constantly using short-term memories to remember experiences.
Some of these short-term memories are transferred into the long-term memory store. A person experiencing short-term memory loss has trouble recollecting recent incidents.
The short-term memory is especially important during a conversation when you keep track of what you and others are saying. When a person suffers from short-term memory loss, he/she forgets the topic of the conversation and repeats sentences or questions.
Difficulty in Recollecting Words
Often while speaking or writing, a person at the early stage of dementia may have trouble in recollecting a word. He/she may try to explain the word with the help of synonyms or may try to define the word. In most cases, vascular dementia develops with verbal difficulties. Language problems can even be the early sign of Alzheimer’s disease.
Forgetfulness
Forgetfulness is a common sign of dementia. At the early stage of this mental condition, a person may frequently forget names. In the later stage of dementia, a person cannot recognize faces or match names with faces. He/she may forget where he/she has kept his/her belongings, losing things frequently.
Locating a misplaced object involves a complex neurological pathway, where a person has to remember past events. However, when a person suffers from dementia, retrieving past memory is quite difficult. Difficulty to remember events that occurred in the recent past will make them forget appointments. This feature of dementia tends to worsen overtime.
Difficulty in Doing Daily Tasks
The daily activities of a person provides important clue about the mental health. A person with dementia may have difficulty in performing his/her everyday activities. He/she will stop performing the regular household chores, and will have trouble in doing familiar tasks.
When the cognitive and the sensory functions of the brain are impaired, a person cannot do complex tasks such as driving. Managing finance involves complex mental process, which is impaired in people with dementia. They cannot manage their finance, forgetting to pay bills or paying bills twice, keeping money in the open, giving money to strangers or hiding money.
Changes in Personality and Behavior
Change in personality of a person is a common sign of dementia. In the moderate or severe stage of the illness, a person can become aggressive. Cognitive impairment can also make a person excessively anxious. Overwhelmed by a sense of insecurity, a person with dementia can worry excessively.
Aggression, changes in appetite, disorientation to place and time, obsessive behavior, repetitive behavior, inappropriate language use, low mood, poor sleep, hallucination and sleeping difficulties are common behavioral changes that develop in the advanced stage of dementia.
