Stay safe and well
Rethinking risk
Risk is part of all of our lives and it is important to recognise risks in order to stay safe and well. However, a dementia diagnosis can make some people have a bigger fear of risks or see things as riskier than before.
On this page we:
- explore what risk means for people with dementia
- explore what risk means for carers of people with dementia
- provide some strategies for dealing with risk for each group
I’ve had some anxiety as I don’t want to take risks and put others in danger. I’ve got to be more cautious which curbs my personality.
A person with dementia telling our researchers how they felt during the COVID-19 pandemic
We need to talk about risk
Risk came out strongly as a topic of interest as we created this toolkit. Carers worry about risk. People with dementia want to still be able to take risks. But is anyone talking about it?
We held a discussion about risk to try and better understand this issue. We have split our discussion into three parts:
- What does it feel like if people don’t allow you to take risks?
- How do other people see your level of risk?
- Do you think about risk and how do you manage it?
Watch the videos below to hear directly from people with dementia.
Click on the image below to watch the video. It is 6 1/2 minutes long.
Click on the image below to watch the video. It is under 3 minutes long.
Click on the image below to watch the video. It is under 7 minutes long.
Risk isn’t just about protecting people from a physical threat. This topic also involves
- having confidence to keep doing things and trying new things
- having choice and control over what happens in your life
- feeling connected to your identity
He is vulnerable, though, so it’s weighing up the risks versus the benefits.
It’s impacted my confidence in seeing other people as I'm having to assess risk. Not seeing friends has been difficult, no walks with them.
Within the scale of risks and so on, it seemed better to risk missing the blood test than going into the hospital.
Three carers speaking to our researchers about the COVID-19 lockdowns
Carers negotiating risk
Look at the above quotations: carers think a lot about risk. However, there are different types of risks. We are used to thinking in terms of physical risk, but what other risks might carers need to be aware of?
In this video, carers share their experiences of risk when supporting a loved one living with dementia:
Click on the image below to watch the video. It is 5 minutes long.
There are a lot of emotions involved in caring for a loved one with dementia and it’s important to recognise what you are responding to – are you worried about something which poses a genuine risk, or is there something else at play?
Jane also introduced the idea of emotional risk as another area of risk to consider. Remember that people living with dementia want and need to live full and interesting lives where they can do things. We all need to balance possible risk with possible reward.
If this is a topic which interests you, you might also like the ‘How to feel positive about caring’ resource in Staying positive. Julia discusses doing your best as a carer and how you can only be “good enough” – and that’s ok!
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Rethinking risk
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