{"id":6673,"date":"2023-08-15T16:14:17","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T16:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/?page_id=6673"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:35:26","slug":"dealing-with-stigma","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/living-with-dementia\/dealing-with-stigma\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with the stigma of dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When someone lives with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/about-dementia\/what-is-dementia\/\">dementia<\/a>, they may experience stigma or discrimination. This is usually because of people\u2019s negative perceptions of what dementia is, who it affects, and how it affects them. This may lead to the person being treated differently, or sometimes, people taking advantage of them.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"what\"><\/a>What is the stigma around dementia?<\/h2>\n<p>Stigma is a negative or unfair belief based on a stereotype about a person \u2013 such as their age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. Some common stigmas about dementia include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cPeople with dementia cannot work\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cPeople with dementia cannot make their own decisions\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cOnly old people get dementia\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cPeople with dementia cannot live independently\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cPeople with dementia are less capable or intelligent\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sometimes, people with dementia feel stigma towards themselves \u2013 for example, they might think they are \u2018stupid\u2019 or \u2018a burden\u2019 due to their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/specialist-diagnosis-and-support\/\">diagnosis<\/a>. This is called self-stigma.<\/p>\n<p>Both stigma from other people and self-stigma can be hard to deal with and can have a negative impact on a person living with dementia.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"where\"><\/a>Where does stigma about dementia come from?<\/h2>\n<p>Stigma against people with dementia is often the result of a lack of understanding about the condition. Other causes of stigma and discrimination against people with dementia include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>people with dementia being defined by their diagnosis and no longer seen as an individual<\/li>\n<li>incorrect assumptions about what people with dementia are like based on their diagnosis<\/li>\n<li>people assuming that dementia makes a person less capable or intelligent<\/li>\n<li>fear about how a person with dementia might behave<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Common myths about dementia<\/h3>\n<p>Stigma is often caused by incorrect beliefs that people hold about people with dementia. Here are some of the common myths about dementia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Myth:<\/strong> people with dementia do not understand what is going on around them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reality:<\/strong> dementia is different for everyone. You should not assume anything about a person with dementia and their abilities. A person in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/about-dementia\/stages-of-dementia\/early-stage-dementia\/\">early stages of dementia<\/a> can likely still care for themselves and make their own decisions. A person with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/about-dementia\/stages-of-dementia\/late-dementia\/\">advanced dementia<\/a> may not be able to communicate as they used to. But it is still important to treat them with respect and learn how to understand and communicate with them.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/living-with-dementia\/tips-for-communication\/\">Read tips for communicating with a person with dementia<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Myth:<\/strong> people with dementia always experience behaviour changes like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/health-advice\/dealing-with-restlessness\/\">aggression<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reality:<\/strong> not every person with dementia will experience changes in behaviour. Some people living with dementia may experience impacts on their mood, personality and behaviour, but it is different for everyone. These changes are usually due to difficulty with communication and expressing their needs, memory problems and cognition challenges.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Myth:<\/strong> people with dementia can not work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reality:<\/strong> people who are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/young-onset-dementia\/\">diagnosed with dementia<\/a> are often still capable of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/living-with-dementia\/employment-and-young-onset-dementia\/\">working<\/a> for some time. Employers should carry out an occupational health assessment together with the person with dementia, then make adjustments to help the person continue working for as long as they are able.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/living-with-dementia\/employment-and-young-onset-dementia\/\">Read more about employment and young onset dementia<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Myth:<\/strong> if a person is diagnosed with dementia, their life is over.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reality:<\/strong> many people still live full and meaningful lives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/specialist-diagnosis-and-support\/how-to-get-a-diagnosis-of-dementia\/after-a-diagnosis-of-dementia-next-steps-checklist\/\">after being diagnosed<\/a> with dementia. While some things are likely to change, there are many ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/living-with-dementia\/\">live well with dementia<\/a>. There are also various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/living-with-dementia\/living-aids-and-assistive-technology\/\">living aids and assistive technologies<\/a> that can help a person with dementia stay independent.<\/p>\n<h3>Media portrayals<\/h3>\n<p>The media often contributes to stigma about dementia by using unhelpful language such as \u2018dementia sufferer\u2019, \u2018demented\u2019, \u2018burden\u2019 or \u2018death sentence\u2019. Sometimes, people living with dementia are portrayed in stereotypical ways in TV shows. This can reinforce stigma and discrimination in society as a whole.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"minority\"><\/a>Stigma of dementia in minority ethnic communities<\/h2>\n<p>Various research studies suggest that people from minority ethnic communities in the UK are less likely to be diagnosed with dementia, often because they are reluctant or less able to seek medical advice and more likely to wait until a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/about-dementia\/stages-of-dementia\/late-dementia\/\">later stage of dementia<\/a> to reach out for support.<\/p>\n<p>Research suggests that this is partly because of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dementiauk.org\/information-and-support\/living-with-dementia\/dealing-with-stigma\/stigma-in-diverse-communities\/\">cultural stigmas<\/a>, as well as a lack of culturally-appropriate healthcare provision.<\/p>\n<h3>Cultural attitudes to mental health and dementia<\/h3>\n<p>Each community has a unique attitude to dealing with mental health and conditions like dementia, informed by its history and culture. For example, according to the Race Equality Foundation, African Caribbean communities in the UK are more likely to value being resilient and \u2018strong-minded\u2019. Therefore, it can be seen as taboo to seek help for dementia symptoms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When someone lives with dementia, they may experience stigma or discrimination. This is usually because of people\u2019s negative perceptions of what dementia is, who it affects, and how it affects them. This may lead to the person being treated differently, or sometimes, people taking advantage of them. What is the stigma around dementia? Stigma is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":3725,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6673","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dealing with the stigma of dementia - Dementia UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why do stigma and discrimination happen? 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