A Short Break From Our Regularly Scheduled Program

I wanted to get my second blog post out but I can't stop thinking about my mother. Hence, the break. My mother was the kindest and most caring person I have ever known. And, yes, sadly, it is past tense. The end was far different than the beginning. My warm, nurturing, caring mother was partially taken too soon by early onset dementia. In my late teenage years, this meant that I cared for my mother in a not-so-different capacity than she spent caring for me in my younger years. I drove her to work, brought her with my to run errands, helped her with cooking, cleaning, and organizing. We were lucky, in a way. Her dementia was slow progressing although still disruptive.

Recently, I've been thinking about ADHD vs dementia. They both cause real, physical changes to the brain. With my ADHD, I have too many thoughts in my head and, sometimes, lack the capacity to voice things the way I want. With my mother's dementia, she had fewer things clouding her mind. She often talked about the past and her life growing up. Gone were the money worries, health concerns, or the constant internal nagging of projects not done.

So this is the question that has been on my brain: Is dementia, in a way, the opposite of ADHD? Is there any connection?

What do you think, or know, about the subject? Please share.