Are dementia and Alzheimer’s the same thing?
Dementia and Alzheimer's disease are not the same thing. Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms affecting memory, thinking, language, and behaviour, which can be caused by over 100 different conditions. Alzheimer's disease is the most common of these conditions, accounting for 60–80% of dementia cases. Understanding the difference matters because the type of dementia affects how symptoms present, progress, and are best supported.
Dementia: An umbrella of symptoms
Dementia describes a set of symptoms that some to affect memory, thinking, reasoning, language, and behaviour. It isn’t a single condition, but an umbrella of symptoms caused by over 100 known conditions, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common type of dementia (World Health Organisation, 2025).
For people living with dementia, it represents a “shift in the way a person experiences the world,” which has been described by them as "living with chronic disability" rather than "dying from a fatal disease" (Power, 2014) and “an illness, which is unpredictable and when it comes you’ve just got to cope with it … … because it’s very difficult …” (Pieters-Hawke & Flynn, 2004).
In Australia, dementia is now the leading cause of death, overtaking ischaemic heart disease for the first time in 2024, and the leading cause of death among Australian women since 2016 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2025). There are an estimated 433,000 Australians currently living with dementia, a figure projected to exceed one million by 2065 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2025).
What are the different types of dementia?
What is Alzheimer's disease?
Alzheimer’s disease: Around 60–80% of people who live with dementia, have Alzheimer’s disease; caused by sticky plaques and tangles in the brain, usually starting in the hippocampus, an area of the brain related to memory formation.
What is vascular dementia?
Vascular dementia: Around 20-30% of people living with dementia, have vascular dementia; caused by a patchy step-wise progression of strokes and mini-strokes that disrupt the flow of oxygen to parts of the brain; early symptoms include changes in personality and behaviour, decision-making, planning, organising, and judgement, rather than memory.
What is dementia with Lewy bodies?
Dementia with Lewy bodies: Early signs include visual hallucinations, disrupted sleep, slowed and changes in movement, and falling; caused by increasing Lewy bodies in the brain.
What is frontotemporal dementia?
Frontotemporal dementia: Often occurs in younger cohorts, with early changes in personality and behaviour, speech and comprehension, rather than memory.
What is mixed dementia?
Mixed dementia: Around 50% of people living with dementia have a combination of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and Dementia with Lewy bodies.
It’s also worth remembering that around 10% of people with dementia-like symptoms may be experiencing treatable conditions such as depression, delirium or acute confusion, thyroid issues, vitamin deficiencies, or medication side-effects (Leung et al., 2023).
Can dementia symptoms be caused by treatable conditions?
What about Alzheimer’s disease as a unique condition?
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that usually begins with subtle memory loss and eventually affects language, problem-solving, spatial awareness, and behaviour. In the brain, sticky plaques and tangles disrupt communication between neurons, eventually leading to cell death — changes that start decades before symptoms appear.
Brain changes and plasticity
The brain has remarkable plasticity or an ability to adapt and rewire itself throughout life and despite damage. In dementia, toxic proteins, chronic inflammation, and loss of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) reduce this adaptability. A 2026 multimodal integrative review confirmed that adaptive neuroplasticity emerges from the coordinated interaction of neurotrophic signalling including BDNF, and that behavioural enrichment, physical activity, and cognitive training enhance these biomarkers, creating a bidirectional loop between experience and neural adaptability (Neyra Chauca et al., 2026). Even in the later stages of dementia, the brain keeps working hard to adapt and compensate, for example, gestures and facial expressions replace words, familiar ways of interacting trigger reconnection within families, music triggers memories and emotion. Music is unique in its powerful ability to elicit both memories and emotions, providing an important link to an individual's past and a means of nonverbal communication with carers (Särkämö, 2022). Living with cognitive change isn’t just about decline, it’s about a person’s strengths and adaptive abilities that remain!
Genes and lifestyle
Having a genetic risk factor such as the APOE-ε4 allele doesn't mean you will develop dementia; some people who carry the gene never develop the disease, and around 25–40% of people with Alzheimer's disease do not carry it at all (National Institute on Aging, 2024). This reinforces the value of preventative lifestyle changes for everyone.
A whole-person approach
Dementia is not just about a disease or condition; it’s about people. How we frame, respond to, and support someone living with dementia can influence their trajectory and quality of life.
A biopsychosocial approach respects the dynamic interplay between biology, personal meaning (e.g., What do I think about dementia? What does it say about me, now that I live with dementia?), and the physical and social environment (Bayne & Shune, 2022; Podgorski, et al., 2021).
That’s why we see the whole person and the whole picture, not just decline but strength, retained abilities, and ongoing relationships.
Ready to explore further?
Whether you’re processing a new diagnosis, supporting someone you love, or navigating your own cognitive concerns, Upside Stories offers therapy and tailored programs designed for midlife and beyond. For many, these responsibilities begin earlier, especially if you’re supporting older parents.
Our evidence-based, person-centred approach helps you:
Understand what’s happening through a strengths-based lens
Learn about practical strategies and plan ahead
Explore relationships and communication
Reconnect with what gives your life meaning and purpose
If this article has resonated with you, start with a free 20 minute consultation to explore how online psychological therapy or one of our tailored programs such as Carers' Compass or Healthy Brain, Happy Heartmight support you or someone you love.
References & reading
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Alzheimer’s Association. (2024). 2024 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 20(5), 1–160. https://www.alz.org/media/Documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdfAlzheimer’s Association+3Alzheimer’s Association+3WDIO.com+3
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2025). Causes of death, Australia, 2024. Australian Government. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2025). Dementia in Australia. Australian Government. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/dementia/dementia-in-aus
Bayne, D. F., & Shune, S. E. (2022). A biopsychosocial model of mealtime management in persons with dementia: An asset-based approach to patient-centered care. Geriatrics, 7(5), 112. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics7050112
Clarfield, A. M. (2003). The reversible dementias: Do they reverse? Annals of Internal Medicine, 139(7), 605–612. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-139-7-200310070-00011
Chow, T. (2013). The Memory Clinic: Stories of hope and healing for Alzheimer's patients and their families. Penguin.
Leung, M. W., Au, R., & Yau, E. (2023). The association of thyroid disease with risk of dementia and cognitive impairment: A systematic review. Diagnostics, 14(1), 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14010061
National Institute on Aging. (2024). Alzheimer’s disease fact sheet (NIH Publication No. 24-AG-6423). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://order.nia.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/nia-alzheimers-fact-sheet.pdfNIA Order
Neyra Chauca, J. M., Ornelas Sánchez, M. de J., García Quintana, N., Martín del Campo Márquez, K. L., Carvajal Juarez, B. A., Rojas Mendoza, N., & Aguilar Díaz, M. A. (2026). Neuromarkers of adaptive neuroplasticity and cognitive resilience across aging: A multimodal integrative review. Neurology International, 18(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/neurolint18010010
Pieters-Hawke, S., & Flynn H. (2004). Hazel's journey : a personal experience of Alzheimer's. Pan Macmillan.
Podgorski, C. A., Anderson, S. D., & Parmar, J. (2021). A biopsychosocial-ecological framework for family-framed dementia care. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 744806. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.744806
Power, G. A. (2014). Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being. Health Professions Press.
Reiman, E. M., Quiroz, Y. T., Fleisher, A. S., Chen, K., Velez-Pardo, C., Jimenez-Del-Rio, M., ... & Lopera, F. (2012). Brain imaging and fluid biomarker analysis in young adults at genetic risk for autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease in the presenilin 1 E280A kindred: A case-control study. The Lancet Neurology, 11(12), 1048–1056. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(12)70228-4
Särkämö, T. (2022). Music for the ageing brain: Cognitive, emotional, social, and neural benefits of musical leisure activities in stroke and dementia. The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 3(3), e153–e165. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(21)00237-9
Villemagne, V. L., Burnham, S., Bourgeat, P., Brown, B., Ellis, K. A., Salvado, O., ... & Rowe, C. C. (2013). Amyloid β deposition, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline in sporadic Alzheimer’s disease: A prospective cohort study. The Lancet Neurology, 12(4), 357–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70044-9
World Health Organization. (2025). Dementia. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia
This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed, edited, and approved by Dr Bruce Walmsley, Clinical Psychologist. All content is grounded in peer-reviewed research, cited throughout. The thinking, clinical judgement, and human connection always stays with Bruce.
