ABSTRACT
Public opinion reflects the view that dementia is one of the worst things that can happen in life, the loss of one’s mind and the capacity to remember superseding all other health afflictions. Affective memory is retained in dementia far longer than cognitive memory, and high cognitive skills are not necessary for affective tasks. When a diagnosis of dementia feels threatening, the quality of the couple relationship may determine not only whether patients remain at home but even whether they remain alive. If patients do require admission to hospital or a residential home, care will always be at its best if staff and relatives work collaboratively. A continuing sexual life can also be healing to the narcissistic wounds of old age; patients within a sexually active relationship are less likely than others to be admitted to a care home.
