Dementia: How Do You Cope When Your Loved One Shows Signs of Mental Illness?

Mental illness is the one sickness in which everyone can see who has it except the one who has it. Aging is often accompanied by signs of loss of mental accuity, but when your elderly loved one begins to show signs of disorientation and forgetfulness on a regular basis, it could be signs of dementia. Forgetting which bus to catch to get home, forgetting which block to walk down to get to ones house, forgetting where one put ones clothing in order to get dressed in the morning, all of these could be signs of dementia. There is a point where your loved one can no longer live independently and may need a caregiver. How does a family decide when this is necessary? What if your elderly loved one is resistent to having outside help? What if no family members are able to take the time to be a full time caregiver? How do family members make sure their elderly loved one who shows signs of dementia is treated with dignity despite what may appear regression into a childlike state?