When the mind disassembles

My Story, Mar '16

Dementia is the focus of Pallav Bonerjee’s next in a series of personal narratives on psychology, people and destiny

Many of you will have encountered this nebulous term called ‘dementia’. Unfortunately, it is becoming a rather familiar term these days. Dementia is a collection of symptoms essentially as a result of a chronic degenerative disease of the brain. These symptoms can include disturbances in memory (short-term memory), orientation and comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language, thinking and judgement. There is currently a great deal of academic and clinical interest (both national and international) in trying to find a cure for this disorder, which mostly affects the elderly (typically, post 65 years of age).

Graphic credit: Pallav Bonerjee, Prosenjit Pal

The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which was first discovered in 1906. Since then we have had over a 100 years to identify a cure and we haven’t been able to reach there yet. Just to give you a picture of the magnitude of its impact, currently around 35 lakh people in India have Alzheimer’s dementia. It is estimated that this number will double in the next 15 years. According to the February 2016 issue of TIME Magazine, “Globally, nearly 50 million people are living with dementia, most of which is caused by Alzheimer’s and in the absence of effective drugs and other interventions, this number is expected to double every 20 years”. Now, that is not a pretty picture.

Senior living: Coming of age

My Story, May '15
Pallav Bonerjee on his tryst with psychology, people and destiny – the fifth in a series of personal narratives

Around June last year, I got an opportunity to acquaint myself with a new concept that seems to be catching up quickly with many elderly in India today. It concerns and seems to address many pressing issues that the elderly face on a daily basis. This concept is known as ‘senior living’ and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the traditional old age homes.

Caring for the caregiver

My Story, Apr '14
Shikha Aleya, a founder member of Caregivers Link, writes about informal caregivers and care giving, arguably the most intimate aspect of health care and probably the least appreciated

The room fills up fast though many people participating in the meeting walk slowly, carefully, with the help of mobility aids and the encouragement of family and friends. Some walk alone. There are smiles of recognition and greeting amongst those who have been here before. There is questioning and apprehension on some faces. There is sadness in many, just barely below the surface and that sadness will suddenly hijack the owner, embarrassing and scaring them in an outpouring of tears, a burst of hyper-ventilation. Then smiling faces, concerned, understanding faces, will emerge like many suns from behind the one cloud, to hold, to help, to cajole the hijacked one back into coping. Sometimes this works, to some degree, and sometimes it doesn't.