Dementia is not a living death – I am still very much alive | Letter

The chief executive of the Alzheimer Society has tried to justify its new ad campaign, The long goodbye, saying it “tells the unvarnished truth about the devastation caused by dementia.” It is not a truth that I, as a person with Alzheimer’s disease, recognize. The ad shows a family grieving for their mother, saying she died several times before her actual death because she realized she could no longer cook a family meal or participate in social activities.

This idea that dementia is a ‘living death’ reinforces the most negative stereotypes about my condition and is at odds with this situation accompaniment for journalists, drawn up six years ago by the association itself. I share a dementia diagnosis with Die Hard star Bruce Willis. I prefer to live well, or as best I can. It baffles me that the country’s largest dementia charity seems to want to reinforce the stigma surrounding brain diseases.

I recognize, of course, that having a diagnosis can be painful for an individual – and that family members and carers can find life difficult. That’s why we need to focus on the good news that many people with dementia are actively involved in developing better services and support. The Meeting Centers network in Scotland is one such example. I call on the Alzheimer’s Society to admit that its ad was a mistake and withdraw it.
Willy Gilder
Edinburgh