September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a whole month of activities to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds dementia. During this month we encourage the whole world to talk about dementia and go against the stigmatisation and misinformation that surrounds the topic. On this day, 2 out of every 3 people globally believe there is little or no understanding of dementia in their countries.
What is dementia?
Dementia is a collective name for progressive brain syndromes that trigger deterioration over time affecting certain functions such as memory, thinking, recognition and language, planning and personality. 50-60% of cases of dementia are caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
We’ve pulled together some facts and figures to help you understand how immense this global issue is:
• There are over 50 million people around the world living with dementia.
• Every 3 seconds someone in the world is diagnosed with dementia.
• The number of people living with dementia is predicted to triple, rising to 152 million by 2050.
• Almost 80% of the public are worried about developing dementia at some point and 1 in 4 people think that there is nothing we can do to prevent dementia.
• Almost 62% of healthcare providers worldwide think that dementia is part of normal ageing.
Dementia is not a normal part of ageing. Understanding what those affected go through continues to be important to support inclusion, empowerment, and respect. Recognising the symptoms of dementia as a family member or care giver, is vital to encourage more people to seek diagnosis and receive support at an early stage. It’s time to realise the enormity of this disease, and we need to increase awareness and invest in more research and innovation to find solutions. Besides that, we urgently need more resources to help with diagnosis, treatment, and care.
Caring for someone with dementia can be challenging. Don’t forget to take care of your own physical and mental health needs as this will make a big difference to the wellbeing of yourself and the person you are caring for. You can best meet these challenges by using creativity, flexibility, patience, and compassion. It also helps to never take things personally and maintain your sense of humour.
Human Support Group supports those with dementia and Alzheimer and pride ourselves in providing them with the best care tailored to their own needs. Now more than ever, we need colleagues with a caring heart to join our team. If you are looking for a career in health care, consider our training course. Visit our website for more information.
