MY DEMENTIA AND I

Since I published my book about how to fight dementia and Alzheimer's I have had a huge amount of interest. There is no doubt that I was not alone in finding it difficult to both obtain consistent factual information about dementia, but also to come to terms with it as well.
Everyone who has just been told that they have dementia will feel as I did;-fearful, shocked and frankly terrified. The real feeling of fear is that one's future will be very bleak with further rapid memory loss and ultimately a vegetative state if the illness turns out to be Alzheimer's.
The reality can be very different. The first step is to turn your thinking away from despair and start counting your blessings. Everyone has blessings, even on the bleakest day and depression can be overcome through positive thinking or even medication.
One can then begin the process of dealing with memory loss and the other symptoms by sticking to a Mediterranean style diet and getting  plenty of mental exercise by reading, crosswords and other mental challenges. Physical exercise can be as simple as walking an hour a day. Needless to say smoking must be avoided and alcohol consumption kept moderate.
It is also helpful in fighting dementia to engage in simple meditation and daily prayer with whatever you perceive your God to be.
My own deterioration has been reduced to a mere trickle and although at age 72 I may not have that many years to go, I don't believe that I will ever reach the bleak final stages of Alzheimer's.
Life is good here as always. I write most mornings and read in the afternoons. The weather has turned bitterly cold which I suppose is due to 'Global Warming'. What a misnomer that can be!
We are all well, although Bobby the parrot doesn't like the cold, so he is well covered at night.
David Barnato.
Paarl. South Africa.
barnatod@blogspot.com