Loneliness is something everyone experiences at some point in life, whether it’s after a move, a breakup, or during major transitions like parenting, caregiving, or retirement. But for people moving through midlife and beyond in LGBTQIA+ communities, loneliness often carries an extra weight. It can feel like a familiar companion, one that has been present since long before the world found the words to name it.

If you’re in your 40s, 50s, or 60s and starting to notice that you’re occasionally forgetting things, misplacing things, sometimes having trouble finding words, or worrying about future memory loss, you’re not alone. Although dementia is not a normal part of ageing, age is still the greatest risk factor for dementia (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2025). But what if an increasingly well-supported protective factor for brain health isn’t found in a prescription pad, but in something much more fundamental: your sense of purpose in life?