Health constitutes both the physical and mental well-being of a person. While physical health refers to the maintenance of the vital organs of the body and biological growth; mental health is the state of realizing the purpose of life, attaining a positive attitude, self-acceptance and so on. In fact, there are more dimensions to mental health than to physical health.

Just as how the physical health is afflicted with mild to serious illnesses, the mental health can also be affected, gradually but more acutely. The symptoms to the onset of a mental illness can be found only by the close associates, as only they can easily sense any abnormality in the victim's behavior.
A number of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder occur worldwide. Among the depressive disorders is Dementia characterized by forgetfulness, confusion, memory loss.
Dementia is generally said to occur only in older persons but researches show that it can affect the younger ages as well. A form of dementia that affects the younger persons is called Presenile Dementia. The symptoms associated with presenile dementia are:
1.Loss of Concentration
2.Loss of Attentive power
3.Decreased mathematical ability
4.Impatience and irritability.
Another form of Dementia that could arise in boxers is Pugilistica dementia. This is caused due to the severe brain damage caused resulting from severe physical assaults by competitors. Symptoms of this include:
1.Slurring speech
2.dragging feet

Dementia might also be caused by Encephalitis- Inflammation of the brain. Aftereffects of Encephalitis might be the occurrence of dementia.

A person seems to lose their skills and aptitudes as well as the faculty of speech. This often gives the impression of a change in personality. Everyday abilities become severely impaired and sometimes the patient can become a danger to him/herself if no care is taken to avoid dangerous situations.

The things that can be done to deal with dementia are:

1.First of all, not creating a feeling of being diseased.
2.Next, providing him his air of independence.
3.Use date-books, planners and organizers around the house.
4.Arrange different exercises that provide good nerve co-ordination.
5.Trained volunteers may help him with the house-hold and other jobs.
6.Patients may loose the drive to do things. They shouldn't be pressurized if they but gradually encouraged towards accomplishing a task.
7.Trying to remove the feeling of insecurity by assuring him/her that their beloved ones will always be there for them.
8.Appreciating even the smallest achievements.
9.Never pin-pointing the weaknesses.
10.Being tolerant towards the person's aggressive reactions.
11.Respecting his/her emotions.
12.Taking him to counseling sessions on optimism and self-confidence.
13.Speaking slowly, clearly, in short sentences.
14.Speak warmly, softly and with a soothing voice.
15.Establish eye contact and try to get the attention of the patient by touching him/her to make sure s/he has noticed you want to communicate.
16.Families may get trained by experts dealing with dementia, or the patient may be able to spend a brief period in a homelike hospice center.
17.Avoid over-the-counter medications as they can possibly trigger hallucinations or delusions. Use drugs only under medical supervision.

These are the simple yet important things that need to be done while taking care of a person suffering from dementia.

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