Name: Leading a better life with dementia: cultivating a positive and emotional well-being
Uploaded: 2023-07-04T06:10:45.279Z
Duration: 383.77

William Yates Edited.mp4

William Yates Edited.vtt

Subtitles

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My name is, um, bill

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or William Yates.

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Um, I live on the Northern

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beaches in Sydney,

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uh, new South Wales.

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At the age of 59, I was d

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diagnosed with younger onset

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Alzheimer's disease, and that

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was way back in August, 2019.

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As a result of my diagnosis,

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I've been retired for the last

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four years, and I spend a lot

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of my time just probably being

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an advocate where, I like

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to talk about my experiences

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and I like to help people

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who are also living with

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dementia lead a better life.

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When I initially received

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my diagnosis, I have no

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doubt in saying that I did

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not, did not go well for me.

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I think it was shell,

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I was shell shocked.

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I could, just

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didn't expect it.

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And as a result that, I

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virtually fell in the heap.

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And I have no problems

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in those quite a

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few months later.

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It took me a long time to

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come to grips with it, and I

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think when I think back in my

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time is that from the moment,

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well, when I actually decided

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to accept the limitations

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associated with this diagnosis

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is when I was actually start

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to move forward by meaning

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that I started to think

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about what I could actually

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do to live a better life.

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And once I understood that

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there was nothing I could

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change in the sense that that

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was my diagnosis, I could

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actually fight this disease

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in such a way that possibly

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I could slow down the, the

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progress of this disease.

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That was my main aim,

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and in doing so, if I

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could do that, then I

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could lead a better life.

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I think probably the most

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important thing is that

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accept your diagnosis.

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And I coined a phrase

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which said, accept what

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you can't change and

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change what you can.

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And by that I mean is that

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once you've reached that

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point in your life, that you

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understand your diagnosis, you

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can then start living a life.

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And I think one of the things

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you have to understand is

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that there's a great little

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phrase which says, just quit.

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Just keep swimming.

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And that simply

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means don't give up.

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Think about the life

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you want to lead.

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Try and create goals

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which will challenge you

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and try and work towards

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achieving those goals.

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And I find that when you start

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to do that, and you'll always

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have that degree of positivity

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in you, not negativity,

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but you're thinking that,

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okay, I've got this disease,

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but I can actually live

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a life that I value.

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And I think that's

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probably probably the

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best advice I would give.

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One of the things that I

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found with my diagnosis

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as it progresses, your

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ability to communicate

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with people changes.

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So much.

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So you probably start

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to get embarrassed.

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You forget to get,

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you forget things, you

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say the wrong things.

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It's hard to hold

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conversations.

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So naturally, the whole

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idea of social isolation

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suddenly becomes an

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agenda item for you.

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So you naturally withdraw

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for yourself, yourself.

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So one of the things you,

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I think you need to be

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able to do is suddenly

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realize, don't withdraw

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yourself from the community.

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Start engaging yourself.

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Started getting out there in

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the community, and it's not so

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much what the community can do

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for you, it's more that what

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you can do for the community.

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And I say that in such a way,

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is that one of the best things

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that I've ever done is that

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I decided to go back to being

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a volunteer surfer saver.

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I withdrew from the

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community, but when I made

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that decision, I worked

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hard to pass all the tests

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to actually allow myself to

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become a surf lifesaver again.

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I suddenly was able to

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be part of a community.

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In terms of peer support,

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I think one of the

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best things that I've,

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I've, I'm an advocate

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for Dementia Australia.

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They run a peer

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to peer support.

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It's done on a

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one-to-one basis.

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And I'm also the vice chair of

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Dementia Aliens International.

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And one of the main things

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that we do is that we

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rerun peer to peer groups.

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And I find that when you.

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Start talking with people

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who are also experiencing

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the same type of diagnosis.

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They're living with

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dementia just like you.

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It's, it's really important.

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It allows you to sort of say

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things, hear things, you get

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a different perspective on it.

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So I value strongly the

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community and peer support

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because I think it's an

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important part of you coming

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to grips with your diagnosis.

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What I ended up doing

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was that I found that

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when I was diagnosed with

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Alzheimer's disease, I

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couldn't really find anything

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which was structured.

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Something which would

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really tell me how I could

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fight this disease and sure

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that, you know, you, you

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hear about, keeping active,

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you hear about earth.

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Eating healthy, sleeping

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patterns, all those

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extremely important,

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socializing with people.

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But from my, my perspective,

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one of the things that really

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worked well for me, and I'll

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be following this process

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now for about three years, is

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that I created all I thought

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about my life and I created

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all what I thought was really

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important, and I put them

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as leaves on my tree, and

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as a result, I have this.

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Put prominently displayed in

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my office and it reminds me

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every day of the things that I

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can do, to fight this disease.

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And it's probably my way

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of reassuring my family and

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reassuring myself that I

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am fighting this disease.

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I'm just not feeling

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sorry for myself anymore.

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I'm actually taking a positive

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step and I think that's

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really important part of, you

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know, redefining who you are.

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Cause your diagnosis will

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take away your dreams,

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your aspirations, all the

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things that you hope that

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the future will bring.

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What you need to do is

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to basically recreate a

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future for you, one that

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gives you a better life.

Expert Insight

In this powerful video, meet William Yates, a resident of Sydney's Northern Beaches in New South Wales. At the age of 59, Bill received a life-altering diagnosis of younger onset Alzheimer's disease in August 2019. 

Since then, he has become a passionate advocate, dedicating his time to sharing his experiences and helping others living with dementia lead better lives.

William's story serves as an inspiration to those facing dementia, offering practical insights and a message of hope. 


Dementia

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William Yeates

 Dementia Advocate

My personal journey with Dementia

Key insights and advices for individuals with Dementia

The importance of community and peer support

 The Living a Better Life Tree

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thumbnail_William Yates.png

xsmall_William Yates.png

William Yates.png

Leading a better life with dementia: cultivating a positive and emotional well-being

Mental Health