How to distinguish dementia from depression?

I think you need to ask your mom's doctor about what you're seeing and let him diagnose whether her dementia is contributing to depression or WHAT'S happening with her! My mother has both depression AND dementia...........she started off with depression in 2011 after a bad illness, but she's ALWAYS been depressed and anxious since I was a young child. She just refused treatment for it. In 2011, I INSISTED her doctor medicate her for depression b/c she refused to leave her apartment or eat, and it was driving my poor father crazy, and he'd already been through enough with her. After he died in 2015, she was finally diagnosed with dementia which has worsened over the years. The two D's co-exist nowadays, so she's chronically complaining and coming up with excuses why she 'can't' go out or come to Thanksgiving dinner, etc . That's her depression; the dementia causes her to REPEAT her complaints about 1000 times per hour! See the difference? LOL

Get your mom diagnosed properly instead of playing Google Doctor, like I do. You'll have her diagnosed with Tetanus soon, just like I had my 16 y/o daughter diagnosed with, thanks to Google! Her pediatrician literally burst out laughing when I gave him my formal diagnosis..........and said that disease was eradicated like 100 years ago! :)

Good luck!

No. It is not in ANY way the same, or even similar. Depressed people do not loose their mental capacities in any way whatsoever. Are there symptoms you would like to tell us about, so we can help you more?

Depression can cause dementia-like symptoms, as can stress.

Dementia and depression are not the same but often coexist.

No dementia and depression are not the same. A person can have both, but they are different illnesses. Much like diabetes and epilepsy are different conditions, but any one person could have both.

What symptoms are you seeing?