“Denial Is Not Just a River in Egypt”
We’ve all heard that before, right? It applies to any age, race, religion, and social class, especially as it applies to health issues like memory loss. The word dementia comes from the Latin for “without mind or reason” as defined by the NIH (National Institutes of Health). There are eight forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s being 60-80% of them: vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, normal pressure hydrocephalus, Huntington’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease (prevention.com). In general, dementia means that our brains aren’t doing what they are supposed to, and of course, age is one contributing factor.
As a church family we are concerned about everyone at any age. We encourage members and visitors alike to bring concerns to ministry members or leaders. But often, there is a lot of discomfort and even shame about problems that arise that aren’t physically obvious. Mental health conditions are still treated as shameful and mentioned in whispers. Because of this, often the affected person begins denying that anything is different, but they and their close ones notice changes in mood and memory. It is highlighted when the person gets irritated or angry because they know something is happening, but they are too afraid to confront it or they are denying that it is serious. At this point, it becomes a true problem because deniability is key to the person’s self-image and self-esteem. Even if it were a mental health issue, the physical diagnosis of dementia of any kind is not shameful. What is shameful is how we continue to treat dementia and its resulting behavioral changes as things that cannot be openly addressed. African-Americans, especially, have documented historical and contemporary reasons to distrust medical communities: the Tuskegee Study, prenatal/infant mortality, health disparities. One contributing stress factor in dementia is racism.
Racism significantly drives racial disparities in dementia and Alzheimer’s
disease. Marginalized populations, particularly Black and Hispanic adults,
face a higher burden of cognitive decline due to a combination of chronic
toxic stress, socioeconomic inequalities, and systemic barriers in healthcare.
Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org)
Given all that we now know about dementia and how it affects the African American population, it might be time for us to acknowledge that the problem is not just the disease but how we view it. There are so many new treatments and drugs emerging everyday (despite the political/civil climate of the country) that our denial and resistance to getting help is more debilitating than the disease itself.
As for those who try to get their loved ones help with growing frustration, Mathew said in 10:14 that Jesus told the disciples “And if any one [sic] will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town” (Mathew 10:14, RSV). This referred not only to those who rejected the disciples’ teachings but also for them to not hold onto the feelings of rejection. Don’t hold onto those feelings of frustration; keep loving them; keep praying that they will drop the “river of denial.” We will pray with you for the opening when Jesus talks to them through their fear, confusion into acceptance in prayerful submission. That’s when the healing really begins.
Submitted by Min. Dr. Lani Wilson