Living My Truth - One Day at a Time

Doctors are afraid to use the word dementia. They're afraid to use the word neurodegenerative disease. They're more comfortable saying mild cognitive impairment because mild cognitive impairment may get better. Dementia is dementia, and in most types of dementia, there is very little chance of improvement. There are ways to slow it down, and timelines may differ from what doctors tell people. The end result is that I'm living with dementia, and doctors are uncomfortable giving that diagnosis. But, like many, I was first diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment.  At the time, I was working on my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and failing exams. I could come up with advanced statistical solutions but couldn’t explain the basics of how I got there. The dean of my school suggested I see a psychotherapist, thinking it was just the typical stress of my first couple of years in the doctoral program. I knew something was wrong, but no one heard me when I said it. No one listene...