The brain, and specifically, a person’s memory, is exceedingly temperamental when it comes to assessments and tests to ascertain the quality and duration of different key cognitive functions and behaviors.
If your parent, an older friend, or your partner is becoming slightly more forgetful, it can often be hard to separate what is normal human behavior from an indication and symptom that there could be a problem.
So, with this in mind, continue reading to learn how to tell if your elderly loved one is experiencing memory loss to a worrying degree.
1. They are Unable to Remember the Date and Time
If your loved one is simply forgetting that it is Tuesday and not Monday, this is more of an age-related change; but if they seem to be losing track of time, as well as being unable to detect obvious changes in the seasons as the year progresses, this may be a sign that they are experiencing a memory-related illness.
2. They Believe Theyare Being Robbed
Another key difference between the vast majority of people and those who have developed a memory-related illness—regardless of age and personal circumstance—is that your loved one constantly misplaces their belongings.
What is more, if they start to accuse yourself, other people who visit them, or indeed people in the local store who they have never even met before, of stealing their belongings, then this could be a sign of dementia or a similar illness.
3. Their Personality Has Changed
Naturally, if your loved one appears to be frustrated or even angry one time when you go to visit them, there may well be a perfectly reasonable explanation, as nobody can claim to be happy and content all of the time.
However, if your elderly parent or older friend seems to have entirely switched to another personality, or even seems to be switching between their recognizable character and a new, strange and different one, this could well be a warning sign.
Should you suspect that your loved one may have developed a memory-related illness (and subsequently if their medical doctor confirms this), one viable option would be to talk with them about moving to assisted living Vandalia, IL, whereby they can live as independently as possible for as long as they possibly can.
4. They Have Started to Withdraw from Social Situations
Tragically, one of the main indicators in a person who has started to show signs of—or indeed has, for some time, been living with—a memory-based illness such as dementia, for example, is that they start to become less and less social as the days and months go by.
It is certainly true to say that for many older people, the obligations and duties they used to adhere to when they were younger become less of a priority, but they should still be enjoying everything in life that they used to when they were younger. Social isolation is a huge problem for elderly people and so, as a loving friend or family member, you should be doing everything you possibly can to combat this.
