Terrified of dementia

[mattrb81]

Hi, everyone.
I'm new here.
I have had OCD ever since I was a small child.
As an adult it often manifests itself as a morbid dread that I am getting dementia.
I am thirty-nine-years-old. I turn forty in January.
Every time I have trouble remembering anything I fear that it is the first signs of dementia. Like, for example, I went to a friend's birthday barbeque on the weekend. His wife is someone I have known for over twenty years. But when I was walking around looking for the barbeque area they were at (I wasn't sure which one they were going to be at), I ended up walking past the barbeque area they were at. The woman I said I have known for over twenty years was sitting there with sunglasses on and I didn't realise it was her. So even though I saw her, I ended up walking straight past her not realising it was her. It was only when I walked back in the other direction and her husband spotted me and I sat down that I realised it was her. Granted, this isn't a case of not remembering something. Rather, it was a case of not recognising a close friend at first. At the barbeque I ended up clawing at my wrists because I was scared I was in the first signs of dementia.
Also, I listen to podcasts at work to keep me entertained. Last week I got to work and found that I had forgotten to bring my ear buds with me. But when I got home after work I couldn't find them. I asked my girlfriend if I had left them at her place earlier in the week. She subsequently looked and said she found a black pair of ear buds but wasn't sure if they are mine or hers. The fact that I couldn't find my ear buds also made me start to worry that I am developing dementia.
This dementia fear has manifested in me since I was in my twenties.

[carriewriting]

Hi Matt, I've been there and feared that. Sorry this is making you so worried.

The thing that helped me calm down was when my doctor said people with dementia don't worry they have it because they don't know they have it. In the early stages they aren't able to do tasks like mail a letter. Forgetting people comes way down the track.

Last year I was mixing people I knew well up or forgetting their names and other weird stuff and freaking out a lot about dementia.

This year I had to have a brain MRI for an eye problem and see a neurologist. I told him about my health anxiety and fears about dementia. He said it wasn't possible for me to have a cleaner MRI and that I absolutely didn't have it. Also my eye issue was resolved so :)

Anxiety makes us mix things up and forget things and then we worry about doing those things and that makes us do them more.

Are you getting help for your anxiety?

[mattrb81]

I did see a psychologist a couple of years ago for my OCD. I will go through the notes she gave me.
I have also started attending an OCD support group. And I have enquired about getting involved with GROW (which is a support group for people with mental illness).

[mattrb81]

Recently I posted on here about my health anxiety OCD, that I am always terrified of getting dementia.
Well, last night I Googled what the scientific progress is in finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease. I subsequently found out that a medical condition I have had (I won't name it here because I do not want to scare anyone else who might have or might have had it) increases your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.
I have been freaking out.
I am literally in tears right now.:weep:

[nomorepanic]

That doesn't mean you ARE going to get it though does it?

You can't spend your life worrying about something that will most likely never happen.

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

[Captain irrational]

Hi, everyone.
I'm new here.
I have had OCD ever since I was a small child.
As an adult it often manifests itself as a morbid dread that I am getting dementia.
I am thirty-nine-years-old. I turn forty in January.
Every time I have trouble remembering anything I fear that it is the first signs of dementia. Like, for example, I went to a friend's birthday barbeque on the weekend. His wife is someone I have known for over twenty years. But when I was walking around looking for the barbeque area they were at (I wasn't sure which one they were going to be at), I ended up walking past the barbeque area they were at. The woman I said I have known for over twenty years was sitting there with sunglasses on and I didn't realise it was her. So even though I saw her, I ended up walking straight past her not realising it was her. It was only when I walked back in the other direction and her husband spotted me and I sat down that I realised it was her. Granted, this isn't a case of not remembering something. Rather, it was a case of not recognising a close friend at first. At the barbeque I ended up clawing at my wrists because I was scared I was in the first signs of dementia.
Also, I listen to podcasts at work to keep me entertained. Last week I got to work and found that I had forgotten to bring my ear buds with me. But when I got home after work I couldn't find them. I asked my girlfriend if I had left them at her place earlier in the week. She subsequently looked and said she found a black pair of ear buds but wasn't sure if they are mine or hers. The fact that I couldn't find my ear buds also made me start to worry that I am developing dementia.
This dementia fear has manifested in me since I was in my twenties.

The proper medical terminology for this phenomena is called a "brain fart". Totally normal, happens to all of us from time to time, it's nothing to worry about. I've walked into restaurants and pubs to meet friends and walked straight past their table more times than I can count. It's not a sign of dementia. I witnessed dementia from start to finish in my own grandmother (it started when she was well into her late 80s), and even in the earliest stages, it was far more than the occasional memory lapse, there were noticeable changes in her cognitive abilities and personality.