The Dementia Handbook Quotes

“Offering care means being a companion, not a superior. It doesn’t matter whether the person we are caring for is experiencing cancer, the flu, dementia, or grief.

If you are a doctor or surgeon, your expertise and knowledge comes from a superior position. But when our role is to be providers of care, we should be there as equals.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“Even though people experiencing dementia become unable to recount what has just happened, they still go through the experience—even without recall.
The psychological present lasts about three seconds. We experience the present even when we have dementia. The emotional pain caused by callous treatment or unkind talk occurs during that period.
The moods and actions of people with dementia are expressions of what they have experienced, whether they can still use language and recall, or not.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“Having dementia means being aware of feelings and moods without having the tools to alter them.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“There is nothing scarier than realizing that you can no longer trust your brain to correctly interpret the world around you or supply you with accurate information.”
― Judy Cornishsh , The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“The failure of rational thought and good decision making does not negate the desire to exercise autonomy. People with dementia still need to feel in control of themselves and their lives.”
― Judy Cornish , The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“Remember that moods last longer for people who have dementia than for those of us with healthy brains.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“Without memory and rational thought, people who have dementia constantly experience scary and frustrating feelings they are unable to escape from.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“Even though people experiencing dementia become unable to recount what has just happened, they still go through the experience—even without recall.

The psychological present lasts about three seconds. We experience the present even when we have dementia. The emotional pain caused by callous treatment or unkind talk occurs during that period.

The moods and actions of people with dementia are expressions of what they have experienced, whether they can still use language and recall, or not.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home