For many people, aging can be a scary concept, especially as they reach the later stages of their lives. A particularly significant fear can be developing dementia, especially as this represents a major loss of control over one’s own life and self.
People will approach potential signs of dementia in very different ways and for some people, this can include denying the symptoms and even actively hiding them.
This practice makes it extremely important that caregivers recognize the dangers of hiding dementia and learn to recognize the signs even when a senior is actively hiding them.
Ways that Seniors Hide Dementia Symptoms
1. Avoiding Some Activities
If a senior is struggling with a particular activity one of the simplest ways to hide that struggle is to stop doing that activity.
This can mean that a senior will stop doing an activity that they previously loved. In many cases, they may also be unable to offer you a good reason about why they stopped the activity.
2. Denying or Playing Down Symptoms
Seniors who hide dementia symptoms will often try to pass symptoms off as something much less significant. This could include making claims like ‘this is normal at my age’ or ‘I’m just tired, that’s all’.
This can also mean that seniors will keep any issues that they experience a secret.
3. Getting the Support of Others
Seniors will often cover for one another in the case of dementia symptoms. This could include completing tasks for one another and making sure that others don’t notice any memory lapses that the senior has. In some cases, the person helping may be doing so for similar reasons as the senior.
4. Being More Independent
One way to hide the symptoms of dementia is for a senior to take on more responsibility and independence. In many situations, this can mean that caregivers and family members are less likely to be around when the senior does experience any symptoms of dementia.
Likewise, there is on one who can contradict their account of a given event meaning that them forgetting something is not as noticeable.
5. Refusing to Try New Things
If a senior is struggling with symptoms of dementia, it can make them afraid to try anything new because they do not want their issues to become obvious to others.
Additionally, they may find it stressful or embarrassing if they are unable to learn in the same way that they used to.
Why Hide Dementia Symptoms?
There are many potential reasons why people choose to hide dementia symptoms and it’s likely that the exact reason varies considerably from one person to another.
However, one possible reason is that people may be afraid that the condition will change how people think of them and act towards them. That fear isn’t unreasonable. After all, we do tend to treat dementia patients differently and this can potentially result in their freedom being restricted in some ways.
In some cases, seniors may also be afraid that having dementia will mean that they have to live in some form of assisted living. Many seniors do not want to leave their homes or lose their independence, so this fear can be a key reason for hiding dementia symptoms.
Another reason is that hiding dementia symptoms is a way of avoiding them.
If a person can pretend that they are not experiencing the symptoms, then they can don’t have to acknowledge the implications of dementia in their own lives.
Some of this may come back to the fact that dementia is such a scary concept for so many people. For many people, not addressing a scary topic can be a way of coping with that fear – even though it is not a good long-term solution.
It’s also worth noting that there is a condition known as anosognosia. This is a condition where people suffer from some form of impairment but do not even know that they are ill. Some estimates suggest that 70% or 80% of Alzheimer’s patients suffer from this condition to some degree.
This means that in many cases, an elderly parent may not even be fully aware that they are experiencing dementia symptoms. Instead, the process of hiding these symptoms may be simply the senior’s way to try and cope with and rationalize the changes that are occurring.
Dangers of Hiding Dementia Symptoms
The most obvious danger of hiding symptoms of dementia is that people don’t get the treatment that they need. While we do not have an overall cure for dementia, there are some treatments that can slow down the rate of disease progression. Likewise, there are some conditions that can even be cured.
Additionally, people may hide symptoms they associate with dementia – even though the symptoms might actually be caused by something else.
For example, there are other conditions that share some of the symptoms of dementia. By hiding their symptoms, seniors run the risk of not getting medical help for a condition that is actually treatable.
To make matters worse, the process of hiding dementia symptoms can create significant problems for caregivers.
In particular, it can be difficult for a caregiver to ensure that the senior gets the medical support and treatment that they need if that senior misleads their doctor about symptoms and events.
While there is no easy answer to cases where this happens, it is critical that caregivers are aware of the practice and the dangers of hiding dementia symptoms.
It may also be useful for the caregiver to talk to the senior’s doctor about the issues. Doing so may play a key role in helping to make sure that the senior gets the medical support that they need.
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