Dementia

Dementia is a degenerative brain disorder found across Fillimet. Typically chronic, the signs of dementia include changes in personality as well as in the cognitive abilities of the individual. While more frequently seen in the elderly population it can also be caused by excess exposure to electrical magic fields.

Causes

If an individual lives long enough, sooner or later parts start breaking down. Sometimes that part is the brain, resulting in dementia. The chances of experiencing dementia increase in those living a mentally stressful lifestyle or those who spend a large amount of time exposed to Electromancy fields due to the Third Law of Magic. Odds are decreased for individuals who attend to their mental health, both through relieving mental stress and through mental exercises to keep the brain muscles and neural connections active. Age and family history are also large factors. Dementia is not contagious.

Symptoms

Cognitive

Those with dementia frequently experience confusion and disorientation, accompanied by memory loss. Their abilities to problem solve are reduced, especially when more complicated reasoning is required. Their abilities to communicate also suffer, frequently resulting in those with dementia stringing seemingly unrelated words together, or speaking in long rambling sentences where the ending is not related to the beginning.

Psychological

Those with dementia also experience changes in their personality. While typically those with dementia will seem more mellow and subdued than during their younger years it can also cause anxiety, paranoia, and agitation. Hallucinations are not uncommon.

Prognosis

Dementia is typically chronic, especially in the elderly, although dementia alone is not fatal. Some curable diseases also have mental symptoms similar to that of dementia and so it is important to confirm the mental issues are caused by the slow decay of brain tissues and neural networks and not due to brain trauma or infectious disease.

Prevention

Mental exercises and a healthy lifestyle can delay the onset of dementia in those more dispositioned towards experiencing the disease. This includes caring for mental health and resolving stressful situations. Amulets and other charms enchanted to improve mental facilities can also delay the onset of the effects of dementia. Unfortunately there are no known ways to avoid dementia all together.

Cultural Reception

In most parts of Fillimet dementia is viewed as a disease of the elderly, or the cost of probing too deeply into the magic of electrical fields. Those with dementia are cared for in various ways but typically their care still falls under the responsibility of their family and descendants.
For the Rol'nara, however, dementia is viewed as a gift from the Goddesses of the Three Songs, a reward for a life well lived. They believe that as the individual with dimension loses themselves they grow closer to the Goddesses themselves. Those with dementia are therefore relocated to the House of Flowers are cared for by the community. The House of Flowers is also a religious pilgrimage site and a popular destination for those seeking guidance, in addition to family members visiting relatives.

Type

Neurological

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Uncommon