Dementia Assisting Self Help Group Blog!

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 ...

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...

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...