Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffReceiving a diagnosis of dementia can be devastating to you and your loved ones. Many things need to be considered to ensure that you and those around you are as prepared as possible for dealing with a condition that's unpredictable and continually changing.
Take care of yourself emotionally
As your disease progresses you may experience a wide range of feelings. Some things you can do to help yourself cope are:
- Write in a journal about your feelings and experiences.
- Join a local support group.
- Get some counseling.
- Talk to a member of your church or another person who can help you with your spiritual needs.
- Maintain contact and share your feelings with friends and family.
- Participate in an online community of people who are having similar experiences.
Helping someone with dementia
You can help a person cope with the disease by being there to listen, reassuring the person that life can still be enjoyed, providing unconditional love, and doing your best to help the person retain dignity and self-respect.
Caregiver support
Providing care for a person with dementia is physically and emotionally demanding. Often, the primary caregiver is a spouse or other family member. Feelings of anger and guilt, frustration and discouragement, worry and grief, and social isolation are common. If you're a caregiver for someone with dementia, you can help yourself by:
- Asking friends or other family members for help when you need it
- Taking care of your health
- Learning as much about the disease as you can
- Asking questions of doctors, social workers and others involved in the care of your loved one
- Joining a support group
- Chertkow H. Diagnosis and treatment of dementia: Introduction. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2008;178:316.
- Feldman HH, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of dementia: 2. Dementia. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2008;178:825.
- Dementia: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dementias/detail_dementia.htm#1318919213. Accessed Jan. 3, 2009.
- National Institute on Aging. Frontotemporal dementia: Growing interest in a rare dementia. http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Publications/FTDreprint.htm. Accessed Jan. 11, 2009.
- Ersek M, et al. Tube feeding decisions for people with advanced dementia. The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging. http://www.healthinaging.org/public_education/pef/tube_feeding.php. Accessed Jan. 24, 2009.
- Dementia Guidelines for Early Detection, Diagnosis and Management of Dementia. New York, N.Y.: The American Geriatrics Society. http://www.americangeriatrics.org/products/positionpapers/aan_dementiaPF.shtml. Accessed Jan. 24, 2009.
- Farlow M. Moderate to severe Alzheimer disease — definition and clinical relevance. Neurology. 2005;65(suppl):S1.
- Hsiung G-YR, et al. Genetics and dementia: Risk factors, diagnosis, and management. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2007;3:418.
- Patterson C, et al. General risk factors for dementia: A systematic evidence review. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2007;3:341.
- Fuhrer R, et al. Exploring sex differences in the relationship between depressive symptoms and dementia incidence: Prospective results from the PAQUID study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society. 2003;51:1055.
- Wang H-X, et al. Late-life engagement in social and leisure activities is associated with a decreased risk of dementia: A longitudinal study from the Kungsholmen project. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2002:155:1081.
- Barberger-Gateau P. Diet and risk of dementia or cognitive decline. Alzheimers & Dementia. 2008;4(suppl):T181.
- Xu W-L, et al. Mid- and late-life diabetes in relation to the risk of dementia: A population-based twin study. Alzheimers & Dementia. 2008;4(suppl):T119.
- Biessels GJ, et al. Risk of dementia in diabetes mellitus: A systemic review. The Lancet Neurology. 2006;5:64.
- Kramer A, et al. Inflammation and Alzheimer's disease: Possible role of periodontal disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2008;4;242.
- Tyas SL, et al. Risk factors for Alzheimer's disease: A population-based, longitudinal study in Manitoba, Canada. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2001;30:590.
- Hogan DB, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of dementia: 4. Approach to management of mild to moderate dementia. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2008;179:787.
- Hogan DB, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of dementia: 5. Nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapy for mild to moderate dementia. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2008;179:1019.
- Dementia. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_dementia.asp. Accessed Feb. 8, 2009.
- Steps to diagnosis. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_steps_to_diagnosis.asp#physexam. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Haan MN, et al. Homocysteine, B vitamins, and the incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment: Results from the Sacramento area Latino study on aging. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2007;85:511. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/85/2/511. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
- Alternative treatments. Alzheimer's Association. http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_alternative_treatments.asp#Coenzyme_Q10. Accessed Feb. 9, 2009.
