Personal Perspective of the Mosaic of Living with Dementia

Authors

  • Christine Bryden Charles Sturt University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.34568

Keywords:

Dementia, personal perspective, spirituality, ministry, chaplains

Abstract

This article is based on a keynote presentation given to the national Spiritual Care Australia Conference in 2017, which had the theme “Engaging a Mosaic of Care”. As a person diagnosed with dementia, it gives a viewpoint from within the confusing mosaic of living with dementia, in which a sense of spirituality at the core of our being can prompt a search for ultimate meaning in life, through relationships with God and with others. This article is a Christian theological reflection, from the unique perspective of the lived experience. Spirituality does not need cognition or language, and the person can be ministered to with sensitivity. Each person with dementia is a unique individual with hopes, dreams and emotions, even if these cannot be expressed, and has been on a journey from diagnosis towards an increasingly confusing mosaic of sights, sounds and feelings. Chaplains can be our faithful companions on this journey of decline and despair.

Author Biography

  • Christine Bryden, Charles Sturt University

    Christine Bryden is Adjunct Research Fellow, Centre for Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University, Barton, Australia. She has dementia and is an author and dementia advocate.

References

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Published

2019-01-19

How to Cite

Bryden, C. (2019). Personal Perspective of the Mosaic of Living with Dementia. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 6(2), 186-199. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.34568

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