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How Religion Helped Me After My Dementia Diagnosis

In 2022, my wife felt that I was forgetful. When we went abroad, she noticed I was a little confused. I then went for a brain scan in March 2023. My assessment was carried out by the Bromley Memory Service, and I was diagnosed with a mild form of mixed Alzheimer's and Vascular dementia. Since then, I have had a different perspective on life. I believe that everyday is a new day and I have strong faith in my religion and believe that everything that happens, Allah has desired for it to happen.  I am a Muslim and my religion is Islam. Islam is the religion to the will of God. Muslims believe there is one God known as Allah. There are 5 pillars of Islam: 1. Shahada (declaration of faith) 2. Salah (prayer) 3. Zakat (giving charity) 4. Swam (fasting) 5. Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). Our prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Quran are interlinked, and we follow the divine revelation of the word of the Quran. Which is the word of God. Even though I had lost concentration, had poor me...

My Painting of the Bridgeways Building and the Dementia impact.

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  When starting my painting, I was confident that I could paint as good as I painted before Dementia. I soon found out I was wrong! My first painting effort of Bridgeways was just not good enough and I decided to start again. My second painting effort, like number one above, was not good enough and I was beginning to think that my Dementia was the reason but I was determined to get it right. My third painting effort was again not good enough which helped me confirm that the Dementia factor was the reason.    After considerable determination, the fourth attempt I accepted to be good enough and as a result I was relieved to think I could still paint to a reasonable standard.  - David

I can still learn new skills with dementia.

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  Before I was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia I worked full time. I used to do some basic knitting, and a very limited amount of crochet. I had been looking for a knitting/ crochet group to join, the only ones I could find were on weekdays, which I couldn’t attend due to working commitments.  When I was diagnosed, I had to stop working which was a massive change to my life. I knew I needed to keep my brain as active as possible, so I decided to join a knit and natter group.    This group really helped me as the ladies in the group are very friendly and great company. This gave me a place where I can go to socialise, they all know I have dementia and are really supportive. They have taught me to crochet and believe I can still learn new skills. The granny square blanket I made has given me a sense of achievement and is proof I can still be useful.   Cathy

Older People's Mental Health Conference reflection

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The Oxleas Older People’s Mental Health conference was an event showcasing work and projects that are improving the mental health and well-being of people later in life. Reinhard Guss was a speaker at this event, his talk was about involvement and co-production with people living with dementia. His work with the DASH group has been an important part of this; therefore, David, a member of the DASH group talked about this alongside Reinhard and the psychology placement students.  Here is what he had to say about the experience: When I walked in it was a shock to see so many people, I expected to see a group like the sessions we had in our DASH groups. If I walked into that a few years ago it wouldn’t have been as much of a shock as I did a lot of public speaking in my career. However, in the condition I’m in now with my dementia, I was taken aback. I wish I would have had a bit more of heads up that there was going to be so many people but at the end I was delighted to have had such ...

The story of my life as a dental student and how I progressed to helping people living with dementia.

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In 1976, I enrolled as a dental student at University College London and thoroughly enjoyed working there with fellow students and staff. I worked as a student dentist at UCL and then exclusively in 5 NHS practices in South East London and 1 Dental Hospital increasing my experience. I greatly enjoyed my experience in dentistry and now look forward to helping patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. My wife and I travelled to Sydney for Christmas 2021, to stay with my son, his wife and our two young grandchildren. I found separation from them, especially my son, at the end of our stay, particularly difficult and subsequently challenging to manage day-to-day life. My friends and family became aware of this too.   It was a tough January 2022, coping with jetlag and ongoing anxiety. My local GP was very helpful and sympathetic. He was due to retire and referred me to a psychiatrist, with whom I had an hour’s session, discussing my background and running some tests.   I was re...

What I would like to tell people with a new dementia diagnosis

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First thing, accept the diagnosis and try hard not to deny it.   Get into the daily habit of making reminder notes in a small notebook.   Note down things you’ve done in your life that made you happy in your notebook . Be sure not to worry about repeating happy things you have done in your life. Hopefully you will be comforted by those memories.   Don't be too concerned when you see fellow group members that are at later stages of dementia. Try hard to accept it with tolerance and have empathy for others.   Attend group meetings, as many times as possible. It really does help.   Acknowledge that not all words of guidance will apply to you, such are the number of variations.     Use the phrase "forget me not" more often. (Upbeat and sounds good) I recommend listening to the song “I forgot to remember to forget you ” . You could also find a song of your own to relate to your experiences.   At the point of dementia diagnosis deliverance...

Living with Dementia: A leaflet

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This leaflet was created by the DASH group, as a part of a Community Engagement Project. It contains advice on how to manage experiences of dementia, told by individuals with lived experience of dementia. Please feel free to use and share this leaflet.