Forget What You “Know” About Dementia: It’s a Gift

People have, especially in Westernized societies, developed a tendency to want to treat and rid themselves of any form of discomfort. Instead of inquiring into the discomfort to see what it may be telling us, we attempt to assign a diagnosis, attack and conquer simply the discomfort or dis-ease itself. We tend to ignore the innate healing mechanisms of our bodies, minds, and nature. For instance, a fever is a body’s natural response to a stimuli, but our medical mindset is to immediately medicate the fever instead of allow it to (when it’s safe) run it’s course and provide the healing it was meant to provide. When we need to purge, we resist and fight it, instead of going through the process of vomiting or whatever shape that could take.

Dementia is much the same way. We focus on the losses we perceive with it, the discomfort and dis-ease, and rarely respect the positive aspects of this process. We completely ignore the utility of the thing. Trying to remember everything is A LOT, and it reminds me of an absent-minded professor, able to recall the important and useful things when needed.?

Recent research using fMRI and machine learning has identified changes to the Default Mode Network (DMN) that are said to be able to predict with up to 80% accuracy the development of dementia up to 9 years prior to the point at which someone experiences or displays noticeable symptoms. (1)

Studies on meditation and psychedelics show the SAME TYPES OF CHANGES to the DMN. (2,3) Prevailing thought, and research, is that both of these methods have positive effects on a person not just with regards to dementia, but total mind, body, and spiritual wellness. This begs the question, then, is dementia inherently bad?

I think not. Regardless of the discomforts of the dis-ease, which are at times felt more by those around the person than by the person actually experiencing dementia, there are inherent gifts. One of the biggest gifts is the gift of presence. When one is able to forget the distractions of our external phenomenological reality, one is much more free to be present in the moment and to experience this reality as it is, not as our brains are predicting the next most likely state to be.?

Dementia also serves as a transitional and preparatory state. It prepares us, and those around us, for the next phase of someone’s journey. Much like a cancer diagnosis can give us time to accept the changes to come, and fill us with a sense of aliveness once we truly accept our mortality and thus live the remainder of our lives more fully, dementia can give us time to forget the things that really aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things. On a neuroscientific/biologic level, it prepares our brains to accept the different brain states that come along with this process.?

To that point, anyone who has any interest, obligation, or desire to work with those with dementia, I recommend educating yourself, preferably through experiential learning, about all the different “altered states” (which are actually somewhat the norm) that can occur throughout the lifespan. A great way to do this is to find dementia simulation courses to attend. I’ve done this several times and found it to be an invaluable resource to call upon. Also exploring breathwork, meditation, dream work such as lucid dreaming or astral projection principles, studying Out of Body and Near Death Experiences, and yes, psychedelic experiences, can give you a much better understanding not only of what is going on, but also how to navigate these liminal spaces for yourselves and assist others through these states.???

Perhaps dementia wasn’t always necessary for the Human race, but perhaps BECAUSE of that human Race, it has developed in our species to prepare us and to point to a root cause. Dementia allows the beginning of the separation from the physical being. If allowed, it can really put things in perspective. Perhaps if, as a society, we weren’t so separated from the spiritual or larger aspects of ourselves, it wouldn’t be needed any more. Maybe we could invite it in and see what it has to teach us? If we learned our lesson, could the tool become obsolete?

Or, could we employ some of these other methods that result in similar biological processes to essentially do the work of dementia for us in a more intentional and controlled manner? Could we develop meditation practices or explore what the other “altered states” have to teach us so that we can bypass the more unwanted aspects of dementia while still gleening the benefits? Maybe it’s not so much THAT we forget, but WHAT we forget. What doesn’t MATTER.?

Dementia isn’t necessarily a normal part of healthy aging for humans, but most octopuses, if they live long enough, will reach senescence in old age. Octopuses wait until the end of their lives to mate, and after mating, the males immediately begin to act senile and soon die, and the females do the same while brooding the eggs- they don’t eat, they stay and care for the eggs, and slowly transfer their energy and life essence to their offspring. Perhaps this mechanism of octopus senility makes it easier for them to accept the natural progression and flow of life, and allow for the creative destruction of their own to make way for the new.?

(1) ?Berman, R. June 11, 2024. “New test may predict dementia up to 9 years before diagnosis with 80% accuracy.” Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/new-test-may-predict-dementia-up-to-9-years-before-diagnosis-80-accuracy

(2) ?Garrison, K., et al. September 1, 2016. “Meditation leads to reduced default mode network activity beyond an active task.” National Library of Medicine. ?https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4529365/#:~:text=Reduced%20DMN%20activity%20during%20meditation%20appears%20to%20be%20consistent%20across,et%20al.%2C%202011 ).

(3) ?Gattuso, J., et al. October 22, 2022. “Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review.” National Library of Medicine. ?https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032309/#:~:text=Across%20psychedelics%20there%20is%20consistent,modulation%20is%20a%20central%20axiom .