Identity in Memory: Ascertaining Consciousness beyond Dementia

Identity formation comes in various definitions within psychology, neurobiology and spiritual worlds, but universally, it may be agreed that identity is a part of having a sense of self-awareness about who we are as individuals. As humans’ feel, think, sense and experience life in their surroundings, memory deposits formulate. Some argue that it is our memories that define who we are, but what happens when memory is disrupted with a dementia, such as, Alzheimer’s disease (AD)? As persons living with AD or a related dementia experience memory loss, too often, care providers tend to wane in recognizing the person as they treat the disease. Oftentimes, physicians, family, friends and society at large are inclined to talk around the person with the diagnosis as if they were not in the room, speaking directly to their counterpart. Even some with an early diagnosis of AD may take on the disease as their identity, as a 58 year old an accountant with Early Onset AD questioned, “Without my memories, who am I?”