The ‘Great Gatsby’ actress was appointed the UK’s first global Dementia Friends Ambassador last month, by the Alzheimer’s Society and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and has now written about how her life has been affected by the illness.
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Carey Mulligan
Mike Marsland via Getty Images
Describing her grandmother, who she affectionately calls Nans, she says: “My earliest memories of Nans showing symptoms of dementia come from when I was about 16 years old.
“I remember her losing her way home on a short walk to the village, a walk she had taken hundreds of times before. I remember sitting down to a meal with her and watching her stare at her knife and fork having completely forgotten how to use them.
“Today Nans rarely communicates verbally and most of the time her eyes are closed. Sometimes it feels like she’s not there anymore and that we just can’t reach her - and those are always the hardest visits.”
She does go on to say that her grandmother’s illness does not define who she is, continuing: “She is very much still there and there is so much more to Nans than the dementia. For every visit that ends in tears of sadness, there are visits where we weep with joy.”
Click here to read Carrie’s full blog on HuffPost UK.
Carey Mulligan is Alzheimer’s Society’s Global Dementia Friends Ambassador and is tackling dementia stigma on an international scale. Find out more about becoming a Dementia Friend at www.dementiafriends.org
Early Symptoms of Dementia
No Initiative (01 of10)
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At times everyone can become tired of housework, business activities, or social obligations. However a person with dementia may become very passive, sitting in front of the television for hours, sleeping more than usual, or appear to lose interest in hobbies. (credit:John Rensten via Getty Images)
Changes in Personality (02 of10)
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A person with dementia may seem different from his or her usual self in ways that are difficult to pinpoint. A person may become suspicious, irritable, depressed, apathetic or anxious and agitated especially in situations where memory problems are causing difficulties. (credit:fStop Images - Carl Smith via Getty Images)
Mood Changes(03 of10)
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Everyone can become sad or moody from time to time. A person with dementia may become unusually emotional and experience rapid mood swings for no apparent reason. Alternatively a person with dementia may show less emotion than was usual previously. (credit:Mike Chick via Getty Images)
Misplace Things (04 of10)
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Anyone can temporarily misplace his or her wallet or keys. A person with dementia may put things in unusual places such as an iron in the fridge or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl. (credit:Oli Kellett via Getty Images)
Problems With Keeping Track of Things (05 of10)
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A person with dementia may find it difficult to follow a conversation or keep up with paying their bills. (credit:Chris Red via Getty Images)
Increasingly poor Judgement(06 of10)
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People with dementia may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers of clothes on a warm day or very few on a cold day. (credit:Jessica Peterson via Getty Images)
Distortion of Time and Place (07 of10)
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We sometimes forget the day of the week or where we are going but people with dementia can become lost in familiar places such as the road they live in, forget where they are or how they got there, and not know how to get back home. A person with dementia may also confuse night and day. (credit:Jupiterimages via Getty Images)
Problems With Language(08 of10)
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Occasionally everyone has trouble finding the right word but a person with dementia often forgets simple words or substitutes unusual words, making speech or writing hard to understand. (credit:Jupiterimages via Getty Images)
Difficulty Performing Familiar Tasks(09 of10)
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People with dementia often find it hard to complete everyday tasks that are so familiar we usually do not think about how to do them. A person with dementia may not know in what order to put clothes on or the steps for preparing a meal. (credit:Anthony Harvie via Getty Images)
Memory Loss(10 of10)
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Declining memory, especially short-term memory, is the most common early symptom of dementia. People with ordinary forgetfulness can still remember other facts associated with the thing they have forgotten. For example, they may briefly forget their next-door neighbour's name but they still know the person they are talking to is their next-door neighbour. A person with dementia will not only forget their neighbour's name but also the context. (credit:Compassionate Eye Foundation via Getty Images)