Ep. 57   Christine Bryden AM, PSM, PhD, MBA, BSc(Hons)

In 1995 at the age of 46, Christine Bryden was told by doctors that she had early onset dementia and that she should get her end of life affairs in order. In other words....nuthin' we can do, best get yourself off to a home while you still can. She refused to do that. There was no one....absolutely no one advocating for dementia sufferers at the time. So she decided to do something about it. 26 years, 5 books, countless speeches, meetings and overseas advocacy trips later, she's still going strong. And making a big difference. She's defying medical evidence.

Her advocacy struck a chord in Japan. Dementia was a huge issue in that country and when she spoke about it - no one had ever seen a dementia patient talking in public. Her first televised interview there drew an audience of 10 million people. It started a chain of events that now has Japan as the gold standard in this area. Australia lags a long way behind. We lack empathy and understanding.

Christine is amazing. She wrote me this note after our interview and I show it not for lack of modesty, but for lack of attention even interviewers have on the subject. Given how big the problem is (over 50 million patients worldwide) the lack of response and respect shown is outrageous. 
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Hi Richard

 Thank you for a well-informed interview this morning.

 In all my 26 years of public advocacy, you were the best prepared!  You had done much research and asked meaningful and succinct questions.

 Thank you, and I hope that together with Kate’s podcast (Kate Swaffer), it adds to resources that can encourage those being diagnosed now and into the future.

 Christine
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Christine has some tips for talking and dealing with people who have alzheimers and/or dementia and also what to do if you've been recently diagnosed. 

Links to her books are below.
https://christinebryden.com/

#Reallyinterestingwomen #RIW #christinebryden #dementiaadvocate #resilience #determination #alzheimers #dementia #overcomingstigma #hiddenillness #nothingaboutuswithoutus
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