First, let’s take a look at how our brains usually process thoughts and feelings – drawing on memory, knowledge, logic, context, and emotions – and how dementia gradually changes these pathways.
Watch the video before completing the short activity (download a copy of the course workbook here).
Activity 1.1
Now that you understand how dementia can limit which “routes” a person’s thoughts can travel, let’s explore what that means in everyday situations.
The cards below show three scenarios that we’ll use to think about what’s really happening inside the brain’s transport network.
Take a moment with each scenario to imagine the feeling that starts the journey and how it might shape the path that follows. Write down your thoughts in the workbook before turning over each card to reveal some possible answers.
- What emotion might take the lead?
- Put yourself in the shoes of a person living with dementia, whose ticket only reliably works on the Emotion Line. Imagine not being able to use memory, logic, or context to process your feelings or fill in the gaps. How might you respond?
- Now consider how you, as someone who can travel freely on all the lines – memory, logic, knowledge context, and emotion – would respond in in the same situation. Why might your response different from that of a person living with dementia?