Are you experiencing normal forgetfulness or exhibiting signs of dementia? Read on to find out.
Many people forget sometimes. Now and then, you experience lapses in memory. As you age, these lapses may become more common as part off the normal aging process.
Let’s take a closer look.
Normal forgetfulness
Normal age-related forgetfulness can happen to anyone as we age. These are normal among older adults and does not usually interfere with their daily life. These are and should not be considered as signs of dementia.
- Forgetting from time to time where you placed certain things you use frequently, such as your eyeglasses, cellphones, wallet, or keys.
- Forgetting the names of friends or acquaintances.
- Mixing up the name of one person with another.
- Forgetting appointments occasionally.
- Occasionally walking into a room and forgetting why you entered or what you need.
- Getting distracted easily.
- Having trouble remembering what you just saw, heard, or read.
- Forgetting about the details of a conversation right after you just finished.
- Always having something “at the tip of your tongue” but not quite getting it.
Dementia
We have written articles about dementia in this blog. Basically, dementia involves a disabling condition. This is what sets it apart from normal forgetfulness brought about by aging.
Dementia is marked by a remarkable and persistent decline in intellectual abilities. This includes not just the memory but also judgment, language, and abstract thinking. This condition impacts your daily life and your ability to do what you want independently.
Symptoms of dementia may include:
- Having a hard time performing what could be simple tasks such as washing up after yourself, dressing right, or keeping appointments.
- Forgetting how to do things that you’ve always done in the past.
- Inability to recall specific instances that brought memory loss-related problems.
- Getting disoriented even in familiar locations or around familiar people.
- Inability to follow even the simplest directions.
- Words became misused, forgotten, garbled or unclear.
- Difficulty making even simple choices.
Exhibiting poor judgment even in social situations.