I'm just wondering cuz several of my clients who have Alzheimer's/dementia have lost their spouses and/or children not long before they started showing symptoms and had to be placed in a home. Some people I have seen who already had it declined rapidly after losing a loved one.

The connection between depression and memory loss is frequently a form of pseudodementia rather than a true dementia. Pseudodementia is reversible, which is what distinguishes it from dementia. your best bet is a trip to see a neurologist for an appropriate diagnosis, as lots of primary care doctors aren't too well-versed in the differential diagnosis of dementia and its related disorders.

naturally people try to erase traumatic events they have endured, so i am leaning toward yea, its a form of self protection in deperssion.
right?

I don't think so. One's mental state can have an effect on physical health in general, though.

Dementia has physical causes like decreased blood supply to the brain. Alzheimer's is caused by a specific brain tissue changes that may have a hereditary component. Diseases that affect the nervous system or head injury can also cause dementia.

Depression/anxiety also goes along with dementia for many people.

My mother got dementia and died in 2001; she had no history of mental illness/depression before that. My father is still around and he's fairly healthy for an 80 year old.

I think what you're saying is a coincidence; most elderly people have had someone in their families die. The age and physical health of the person has more to do with it.

I think it's just a coincidence because everyone I've know with it had lots of family, yet their memory faded……

i personally thing it has to do with metals collecting in their system….. ever heard of the mad hatters disease….. in the late 1800's men in England used mercury to shine their fur hats and alot of them went insane because your system doesn't handle metal well…….. just a thought

That's a really good question. Studies have never shown depression to be a cause of Alzheimer's, but it has been shown that depression can aggravate the symptoms. in fact, there have been studies that show that depression may cause forgetfulness and dementia similar to Alzheimer's. To my knowledge, there is still no test which can detect while a patient is still alive if they have Alzheimer's or not. It's possible though that there can be a cause and effect. Depression caused memory loss and dementia, which depresses the person more, which caused memory loss and dementia. I'm sorry, but it's a paradox and I strongly dislike paradoxes.

yes dementia can be a result from neglected depression that was never taken care of when it was first starting.

makes sense doesn't it when people get depressed their whole lives basically flip upside down or whatever and some people just can't deal with that change so it pretty much tears away at their minds and they stop sleeping and get really paranoid about everything hence a predemential state of mind emerges