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Have you ever wondered what it was like to have dementia or Alzheimer's disease? Most people don't give it a passing thought unless a loved one suffers from a memory disorder. For those in that situation, caring for someone—often an elderly parent—can be challenging, even overwhelming. It's hard to understand what's happening to them.

"Caregivers for those with dementia or Alzheimer's can become very frustrated. They can experience a spiral of negativity that results in physical and emotional exhaustion, and that level of stress can make it harder to provide that all-important care," says Dr. Daniel Wyman, Chief Medical Officer for PruittHealth.

What's the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, accounting for between 60 and 80 percent of cases. Early on in the disease, people have difficulty remembering conversation and names, or struggle to perform familiar tasks, and it progresses over time to confusion, disorientation, difficulty speaking and walking and overall poor judgment. There is no known cure for Alzheimer's.

Although older people primarily get Alzheimer's, people under 65 can also get it. Why it happens to some people and not others is not fully understood, but genetics seem to play a role, as does having suffered a serious head injury at some point in life.

Dementia takes several other forms besides Alzheimer's, however. It can be caused by stroke, nerve degeneration, fluid in the brain or a genetic defect. However, all forms of dementia have at least some of these symptoms: speech impairment, memory loss, lack of balance and coordination, confusion, sleep disturbances and even hallucinations.

What does dementia feel like?

The frustration and worry experienced by many caregivers who feel they must be constantly on their toes to prevent patients from causing accidents or harming themselves is not only stressful to them, but can create a distance between them and their affected loved ones. Given the fact that dementia is by its nature a confusing and isolating experience, this stress can push the sufferer even further away emotionally at a time when they most need compassion.

To help bridge this gap and teach caregivers what it's like to experience dementia, non-profit organization Second Wind Dreams has created the Virtual Dementia Tour®, a brief foray into the world of dementia. It's 12 life-changing minutes for most who do it.

To simulate impaired coordination, the participants wear heavy gloves that impede fine motor skills, and have corn placed in their shoes to mimic the difficulty dementia sufferers have with walking. A pair of goggles with only a small hole in the middle to see out of imitates macular degeneration, an eye condition in which peripheral vision is blacked out. Flashing colored lights may also be projected on the wall. Finally, participants are fitted with a special headset that creates a high-pitched buzzing noise, making it hard to hear what is being said to them.

At this point, they are told a list of household chores to perform, like folding laundry, matching socks, clearing dishes or finding and putting on a particular garment.

The results are life-changing. Participants may become furious at being unable to complete these simple tasks, confused and unable to remember what they were supposed to do. They may have to guess at what their chores were because they couldn't hear the instructions well; some become disoriented and defeated altogether.

"I had no idea!"

Both family caregivers and healthcare professionals tend to have the same reaction after experiencing the tour: they have much more compassion for those with dementia.

It's a highly emotional experience for family members who can finally empathize with dementia sufferers in their care. Their frustration at not being listened to or having to do even the most basic things for the dementia patient pales when they realize how challenging—even impossible—the simplest of tasks can be for someone with dementia, even though they may be trying their hardest.

For professional caregivers, it's a lesson in how to reduce confusion and create focus with their patients by reducing or eliminating background noise, walking and speaking slower and developing greater patience. While in the past, dementia has been largely treated with medication, understanding the disease from the inside out is helping broaden the approach to a more holistic one.

An experience everyone should have

"Many people who take the Virtual Dementia Tour find their attitudes toward the disease changed forever," says Dr. Wyman. "We hear it again and again—'everybody should experience this.' It does wonders for changing people's attitudes toward those suffering from dementia."

And understanding what dementia is like from the sufferers' point of view can close the distance between family members at a time of life when closeness and compassion are so important.

The Virtual Dementia Tour and its accompanying program are available to families, businesses, caregivers and public servants in 20 countries and in eight different languages.

For more information, visit our "Contact Us" page.