80 Quotes That Will Resonate With Anyone Who Has Ever Loved Someone With Alzheimer's

Kaitlin Vogel
·11 min read

The number of people living with Alzheimer's doubles every five years beyond age 65, and this number is expected triple to 14 million people by 2060. These statistics aren't exactly fun—but knowing them can not only help you prepare, but realize you're not alone.

If you've had a parent or grandparent that has been impacted by this disease—or if you yourself are experiencing it—then you know how debilitating and painful it can be. In those challenging and uncertain moments, it’s helpful to have strength and support from a community of people who understand what you’re going through. Because really, you are not alone.

Here, you will find our collection of enlightening and inspiring Alzheimer's quotes and sayings gathered from a wide range of sources. And hopefully, they'll resonate with you.

Alzheimer's Quotes

1. “Dementia care—it's not rocket science, it's heart science." - Gail Weatherill, RN

2. “We believe communicating effectively with someone with Alzheimer’s is not just about using language, it is connecting through their senses such as touch, visual cues and sound” - Peter Ross, CEO & co-founder of Senior Helpers

3. "Release in your mind who your loved one used to be and accept who they are today." - J. Rusnak, PhD

4. “Please remember the real me when I cannot remember you.” - Julie White

5. "Even If I can't cure, I can still care." - Sally P. Karioth RN, PhD

6. "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Socrates

7. “You may share the same memories from your youth with us time and time again, but the sheer joy you show in telling those stories with such a big smile goes beyond making up the loss of new stories." - Renee Fry

8. “Forgetting past memories doesn’t mean that you were not a part of it. You build those memories and your loved ones know it well.” - Caroline Lee

9. “You have to be patient with Alzheimer's. Once you understand that it’s a medical condition, you become a little more compassionate. You get less frustrated.” - Kim Campbell

10. “I am seeking, I am not lost. I am forgetful, I am not gone.” - Koenig Coste

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11. Our value lies in what we are and what we have been, not in our ability to recite the recent past.” - Homer

12. “Alzheimer's caregivers are heroes.” - Leeza Gibbons

13. “There is a fountain of youth: It's in your mind, your talents, the creativity you brought into your life, and the lives of people you loved" - Sophia Loren

14. “If you want to avoid Alzheimer's disease, sleep eight hours a night.” - Deepak Chopra

15. “Affirmations are our mental vitamins, providing the supplementary positive thoughts we need to balance the barrage of negative events and thoughts we experience daily.” - Tia Walker

16. “No matter who you are, what you've accomplished, what your financial situation is—when you're dealing with a parent with Alzheimer's, you yourself feel helpless. The parent can't work, can't live alone, and is totally dependent, like a toddler. As the disease unfolds, you don't know what to expect.” - Maria Shriver

17. “You get the health benefits of coffee up through about the first twenty-four ounces. It’s the biggest source of antioxidants for Americans, and we think it prevents Alzheimer's and Parkinsons as well.” - Dr. Mehmet Oz

18. “Alzheimer’s creates a kind of friction that the family needs to be strong for. You have to hold onto things and know what is true in life.” - Candy Crowley

19. “She is not sailing into the dark: the voyage is over, and under the dark escort of Alzheimer's she has arrived somewhere. So have I.” - John Bayley

20. “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be their world.” - Josephine Billings

21. “Even slight elevations in blood sugar have been shown to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.” - David Perlmutter

22. “My mum was a wonderful mother. She died, aged 80, of Alzheimer's disease which was dreadful to watch. I remember she said to me, ‘Believe in yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.’ I’m sure a lot of my success is due to her words of advice. - Bonnie Tyler

23. “You only know yourself because of your memories.” - Andrea Gillies

24. “I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done.” - Ronald Reagan

25. “People’s genes can say a great deal about their health. There are genes that reveal an increased likelihood of getting heart disease, cancer or Alzheimer's.” - Adam Cohen

26. “Alzheimer's is literally killing us, and the only way to fight this 'crime' is through a groundswell of people who continue to raise their voices and funds to ensure it gets the attention it deserves.” - Tess Gerritsen

27. “I like it when people remember that I'm a person, not just a person with Alzheimer's.” - Sally Hepworth

28. “If you learn to listen for clues as to how I feel instead of what I say, you will be able to understand me much better.” - Mara Botonis

29. "People do not realize that Alzheimer's is not old age. It is a progressive and fatal disease and staggering amounts of people develop Alzheimer's every day.” - Melina Kanakaredes

30. "Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end." - Madame de Staël

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31. “Although your loved one may not remember you or might do things that frustrate you, this is the time when he or she needs you the most.”- Angie Nunez Merryman

32. “You don’t just wake up one day with dementia or Alzheimer’s; these conditions are developmental. Even when a problem triggers the need to collect data, it’s reviewed by a specialist and filed away. There’s no central repository allowing information to be shared across a multitude of researchers worldwide.” - Tan Le

33. “We don't remember days, we remember moments.” - Cesare Pavese

34. “Why feel ashamed of having a complex brain disease? People are afraid to talk about it.” - Wendy Mitchell

35. “While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings in my life.” - Sandra Day O’Connor

36. “There is no substitute for the love of an Alzheimer's caregiver.” - Bob DeMarco

37. “To love a person is to learn the song in their heart and sing it to them when they have forgotten.” - Arne Garborg

38. “There is a moral task of caregiving, and that involves just being there, being with that person and being committed. When there is nothing that can be done, we have to be able to say, ‘look, I’m with you in this experience. Right through to the end of it.” – Dr. Arthur Kleinman

39. “The capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.” - Pablo Casals

40. “The disease might hide the person underneath, but there’s still a person in there who needs your love and attention.” - Jamie Calandriello

41. “It’s not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.” - Mother Teresa

42. “The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else.” - Carson McCullers

43. “Though those with Alzheimer's might forget us, we as a society must remember them.” - Scott Kirshenbaum

44. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” - Lao Tzu

45. “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” - John Bunyan

46. “Alzheimer's makes us realize that we are not alone – that kindness and compassion are everywhere and all around us.” - Rosalys Peel

47. “Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” - Betty Friedan

48. “Those with dementia are still people and they still have stories and they still have character and they are all individuals and they are all unique. And they just need to be interacted with on a human level.” - Carey Mulligan

49. “They may not be able to remember who we are, but they feel us just the same.” - Amanda Dillon

50. “You can’t explain what it’s like to mourn someone who is still alive unless you’ve experienced it firsthand.” - Jessica Seay-Soto

51. “Dementia does not rob someone of their dignity. It’s our reaction to them that does.” - Teepa Snow

52. “Even though helpful medication exists, there’s still no cure and we have to keep fighting to find one.” - Sally Noelle

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53. “People with Alzheimer’s can’t change the way it makes them act any more than a cancer patient can keep the cancer cells from spreading.” - Brandyn Shoemaker

54. “Caring for our seniors is perhaps the greatest responsibility we have. Those who walked before us have given so much and made possible the life we all enjoy.” - John Hoeven

55. “Be helpful. When you see someone without a smile, give them yours.” - Zig Ziglar

56. "Caregiving is a constant learning experience.” - Vivian Frazier

57. “In the end, you tried and you cared and sometimes that is enough.” - Anthea Yang

58. “People with Alzheimer's deserve to be seen, so that we can find a cure." - Julianne Moore

59. “Let them vent. Rest assured this, too, shall pass, because in the middle stages the person doesn't think anything is wrong with them. It gets easier for them because they don't remember that they don't remember.” - Jolene Brackey

60. “There’s just so much scientifically that we don’t know, and we can know.” - Miles D. White

61. “As far as protecting yourself against Alzheimer’s disease, well, it turns out that fish oil has the effect of reducing your risk for Alzheimer’s disease. You should also keep your blood pressure down, because chronic high blood pressure is the biggest single risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.” - Gregory Petsko

63. “People think it’s an old-age person’s disease. It’s like cancer was 25 years ago: You didn’t mention the C word. Cancer activists have done an excellent job of destigmatizing it, putting it out there, and making it a disorder that needs attention. Alzheimer’s is still behind the eight ball on that score.” - Dr. Ronald Petersen

64. “We have to start teaching ourselves to not be afraid.” - William Faulkner

65. “Never give up hope. If you do, you’ll be dead already.” - Peggi Spears

66. “Care is a state in which something does matter; it is the source of human tenderness.” - Rollo May

67. “At best we will be able to halt the disease. Prevention will be much more important.” - Michel Goedert

68. “The measure of life isn’t its duration, but its donation.” - Peter Marshall

69. “The first two rules of becoming a caregiver: One, it will be difficult. Two, it will be worth it.” - Laura Finney

70. “Hope: a one syllable word that will keep you going when all of the other more impressive words have failed to sustain you.” - Joni Aldrich

71. "I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

72. “Doctors diagnose, nurses heal and caregivers make sense of it all.” - Brett H. Lewis

73. “One person caring for another represents life’s greatest value.” - Jim Rohn

74. “The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.” - Andy Rooney

75. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” - Aesop

76. “Love is the strongest thing in the world, you know. Nothing can touch it. Nothing comes close. If we love each other, we’re safe from it all. Love is the biggest thing there is.” - David Guterson

77. “Hope is being able to see there is light despite all of the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu

78. “As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” - Audrey Hepburn

79. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” - Theodore Roosevelt

80. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Next, read the 10 best foods to reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.

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