People affected by dementia have a higher risk of being socially isolated and loneliness can become a major health concern for them. When a loved one has dementia, it can have a huge impact on their life. However, it is important to know that you’re not alone.

According to the Alzeimers Society it has been reported that carers of people with dementia also experience social isolation and loneliness.

  • Currently three in five family carers say caring for someone with dementia has impacted their own health.
  • 63 per cent of carers say they have had no or not enough support.
  • More than half of all carers who support someone with dementia for 20 hours or more a week said they felt lonely recently.
Dementia and loneliness

Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of progressive conditions that affect the brain. There are over 200 subtypes of dementia, but the five most common are: Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia.

The brain is made up of nerve cells (neurones) that communicate with each other by sending messages. Dementia damages the nerve cells in the brain so messages can’t be sent from and to the brain effectively, which prevents the body from functioning normally.

Regardless of which type of dementia is diagnosed and what part of the brain is affected, each person will experience dementia in their own unique way.

Dementia can affect a person at any age but it is more commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years. A person developing dementia before age 65 is said to have young onset dementia.

There are over 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this is set to rise to over one million by 2021.

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Dementia and loneliness

KTG Social Care are proud to have a team of Dementia Friend champions who will help to support and provide practical advice on caring for a loved one with dementia.  As well as information on the range of services available for people with dementia and their Carers.

We provide packages that can help, either your loved ones providing assistance in their home, enabling them to remain in the familiar surrounding or their own home. Or respite for yourself as a carer, knowing that your loved one is in safe hands.

Call our Domiciliary Team to find out how we can help you tackle loneliness today.

Ph 01772 558528 option 2 or email care@ktgsocialcare.co.uk.