Dementia: Some sufferers labelled as ‘witches’

*Soraya Billings’ 87-year-old mom has been living with her since she turned 80 and no longer felt safe living in the government-assisted old age home on Durban’s South Beach.

“Admittedly, the accommodation was less than ideal. But it was all we could afford on her state pension and my husband and my occasional financial assistance. She said she missed my dad and that the place wasn’t safe,” said Billings.

She decided to move her mom in with her husband and two toddlers when her mom called late one night and was screaming there was someone in her apartment.

“Our home was crowded but we were happy to have mom with us and the kids loved having their ‘Nanna’ with them until she started scaring them.”

Billings says it has taken a long time to acknowledge and even verbalise that her mother has dementia. “I would usually just tell the kids that Nanna was forgetful and a little confused but, in the last year or so, she has also become anxious, panicky and frantic when we leave her alone for a short while.”

An estimated 62% of people with dementia live in developing countries, and according to South Africa’s 2011 census, there are approximately 2.2 million people across the country living with some form of dementia.

Lindiwe Nhlapo, a counselling psychologist based in Pretoria, says there is no cure for the neurodegenerative disease – meaning the sufferer deteriorates in their overall functioning over a period of time.

“Sadly, there are misconceptions surrounding dementia. These tend to be traditional and culture-specific views about the disease. Some people believe that dementia is a normal aging process and that there is no need to worry about it.”

However, Nhlapo points out that while others believe that people with moderate to severe dementia symptoms are not medically ill and are instead are labelled as witches.

“They will then be bullied, ostracised, abused and in some cases even killed by mobs who believe that they are protecting the community from the witch.”

She says there are a few available studies to prove that these misconceptions and superstitions are prevalent in certain racial or cultural groups. These superstitions, adds Nhlapo, are common in low socio-economic groups with low level of education, a majority of them being Black and rural South Africans.

The good news, though, is that even in the absence of a cure, most symptoms can be medically managed.

“Psycho-education for the family members of the patient also helps reduce the misconceptions about the disease and equip them with evidence-based approaches to dealing with the disease.

“There are also a few specialised care facilities that focus on taking care of patients diagnosed with the disease and this eases the burden from the families that are already stressed by other life challenges.

Billings, although at first trying her best to care for her mom, says with a bit of online research they found a frail care home within their budget that could give her mom the attention she needed.

“It is never easy seeing one’s parent, especially my mom who was an effervescent primary school English teacher, deteriorate that way. While we want to care for our parents the way they cared for us, there are exceptional circumstances where you need to entrust into the care of trained professionals.”

*Not her real name

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