Dementia and the Dance of Time

"When I shifted my attention from what my mom could not remember to the life she has lived-and continues to celebrate through seamless recollections of her life story-I began to see what she now sees: Dementia is more about time travel than it is about memory loss. A Traveller's Story Following her dementia diagnosis several years ago, my mother feared losing her independence and the likelihood of forgetting the people around her."

"One afternoon, while we were playing a board game, she said she dreamed that she was dancing with my father again, "...as if it were really happening!" My father had passed away a few years earlier after living with Lewy body dementia and other complications, so her dream carried with it both a sense of longing and a reflection of their life together. I reassured her that such dreams are precious because they are true reflections of a life lived."

A caregiver shifted focus from what her mother could no longer remember to celebrating the life the mother had lived, discovering that dementia often resembles time travel rather than pure memory loss. After a dementia diagnosis, the mother feared losing independence and loneliness, and she experienced vivid recollections and dreams that felt present. Dreams of dancing with a deceased spouse brought longing and affirmed a life shared. Consistent, compassionate interactions and emotional resonance improved the mother's well-being despite cognitive decline. Emotional connections fostered through love, care, and kindness persisted as central resources. Dementia is not a specific disease but a syndrome caused by various underlying conditions.

Read at Psychology Today