Self and identity over time: dementia.

Abstract

Here, the author revisits the discussion on the impact of dementia on experiences of self and identity over time that formed part of the workshop session on Mental Disorder and Selfhood at Kings College London, September 1, 2015. Dementia is described as being synonymous with loss, but this, in the author's view, is due to conscious and unconscious focus on the later stages of the illness that undermine all our abilities to think about and use the intervening years. Those years can deliver remarkable insights into the capacity to navigate fragmented identities. They can also remind us vividly of the importance of a relational, interactive quality to identity and the degree to which aspects of our selves and identities reside and thrive in the minds of others.