Many elderly people to suffer from dementia, but it’s pretty uncommon for young adults to develop dementia. Rare as it is, it does happen occasionally. No matter what age you are, noticing the following symptoms might mean its a good time for a doctor’s checkup.
You have an intense dislike of change
Change can be hard to handle for many people. Struggling to adjust to a large or unexpected change in your life isn’t necessarily a symptom of early-stage dementia. Humans are creatures of habit and routine. When the mind starts to become confused, the natural response is to desire the stability and comfort of routines and familiar places and things. If you notice an unexplained change in your willingness to try new things or suddenly find small insignificant changes stressful, this could be an early sign of developing dementia.
You struggle with decisions
This is another symptom that is only concerning if it is significantly impacting your life. After all, not everyone is naturally gifted at decision making. Some of the first brain areas affected by a form of dementia, known as frontotemporal dementia, are the frontal and temporal lobes. If the frontal lobes are affected, you might experience difficulty controlling impulses or struggle to solve previously easy problems.
You have trouble with short term memory
If the temporal lobes are affected, symptoms might take the form of forgetting familiar things. This will often be people’s faces and names, or words for simple things such as “toothbrush”. This also affects working memory, which is the part of your memory which holds the last several hours of experiences. This means you might forget details very quickly after they happen. You might forget what song you just listened to, or what was discussed in your morning work meeting by mid-afternoon.
Dementia most often affects the elderly, but on rare occasions, early-onset dementia can be seen in people as early as their twenties. If you believe you have these or similar symptoms, contact your doctor immediately and share your concerns with them.
