How Religion Helped Me After My Dementia Diagnosis

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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 memory and life started to feel a bit different, I took it as God’s will and it is not in my control so instead, I thank god for everything else and continue with my everyday life. I have the mindset of “sabr” meaning “patience” so, I am thankful to Allah the Almighty because he has given me life so why should we worry about what happens? Whatever happens, happens. It is all written.

I follow this quote “be in the world as if you are a stranger or a traveller. When you survive the evening, do not expect to be alive until the morning and when you arrive in the morning, do not expect to be here until the evening”. Religion is what helped me the most when dealing with dementia after being diagnosed.

My wife is a retired GP and two of my daughters are medically qualified doctors. Their advice and support helped me a lot to carry on as a normal person and continue my normal activities.

I would like to thank the DASH group because attending the group and having discussions on different topics helped me understand dementia more and how to take appropriate actions.

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