Friday 12th April 2024
Living with dementia can presents with numerous of challenges and obstacles, which does impacting on my daily life.
One difficulty or should I say annoyance, is that I am sometimes face with the struggle to answer questions.
Something you would imagine to be simple. Yet answering a questions, can be quite a daunting task, leading to frustration, confusion even agitation.
This is where communication breakdowns and I get frustrated.
The simplest of questions that most people take for granted, such as “How are you feeling today?” or “What did you have for lunch?” can trigger a wave of confusion and uncertainty. Questions make me have to think ever so hard especially when 2 or 3 questions are thrown at me at once!
For goodness sake if you are asking me a question, give me time to answer, don’t throw another question at me, just because you didn’t get an immediate answer…Give my brain time to ignite!
My decline in memory, and cognitive function can make it challenging to process and retrieve information quickly in order to create an immediate response.
Imagine being asked a question and feeling like you are lost in a maze, desperately trying to find the right path to reach the answer.
This is often something i experience.
Sometimes I’m not very good at quick thinking and recall of specific details.
Questions can cause frustration and anxiety, but without the use of questions, that most important communication barrier will break.
Sometimes my inability to provide accurate answers to questions can have an impact leaving me feeling inadequate and embarrassed, just something else dementia interferes with.
1. Patience and understanding, during conversations can help alleviate the pressure and the anxiety.
2. Use simple and clear language, please avoid complex questions.
3. Don’t forget to allow time for me to respond, don’t just throw another question at me because I haven’t automatically answered the first one!
By raising awareness and having a better understanding of these challenges, we hopefully can educate.
There is so much to learn
We need to navigate the maze together, with empathy and understanding to create a less stressful environment and raise awareness of the challenges that questions can bring.
Too Young for Dementia? 
I really like how you expressed this. It offers direct steps for dealing with the issue in a way to make communication easier and more comfortable. Thank you!
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