These are 9 early symptoms of dementia you should know about

5. Finding the right words

Finding the right words is often difficult for people with dementia. This doesn’t mean that they just can’t find the difficult words. Often the names of people or common utensils and products are the things people find hard to remember. For outsiders, it can be surprising that conversations with people with dementia don’t run smoothly. The conversations are often cut short because the person in question doesn’t know how to proceed.

4. Repetition

People who are in the early stages of dementia often repeat themselves. They tell the same stories in the same way again and again or ask the same questions over and over. The repetition doesn’t just occur when talking or socialising, though: it also happens when performing tasks. People will repeat a certain task a few times in a row.

3. Listlessness

Does someone retreat much more and do they undertake a lot less than before? This can be an early sign of dementia. People suddenly seem to be a lot less interested in social activities and the hobbies they loved before. Besides that, people with dementia also have a lot less energy than before, so they are tired and listless and sleep much more than usual.

2. Concentration problems

Concentration problems are a common issue for people with dementia. These problems are often related to problem-solving or organising and planning tasks. Planning ahead or following a previously set plan is often very difficult. People can also experience more problems with numbers.

1. Housework

Household tasks that used to be second nature like cooking or cleaning suddenly become an impossible task. For people with dementia, it becomes hard to figure out in which order they should perform a task or what route to follow.

Read more: These are 4 early signs of Alzheimer’s disease

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Source: Alzheimer Nederland, NHS | Image: Max Pixel

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