6. Flattening of Emotions: The Unseen Impact
While semantic dementia is characterized by language and semantic cognition impairments, it also affects emotional processing, leading to a flattening of emotions. This symptom doesn’t involve the inability to feel emotions, but rather it’s a reduced outward expression of emotions. It’s like the vibrant palette of emotions has faded to monotone.
In the early stages, you might notice the person reacting less to emotionally charged situations or exhibiting less enthusiasm or excitement about things they previously enjoyed. They might seem more indifferent or stoic, which can be misconstrued as a change in personality or mood swings.
As the disease advances, the emotional flattening becomes more evident. The person may show less empathy towards others or respond inadequately to sad or happy news. This lack of emotional response can be confusing and hurtful to family and friends, who may interpret it as the person not caring.
This flattening of emotions can disrupt social relationships and affect the person’s quality of life. They may struggle to form and maintain emotional connections with others, leading to isolation and potential depression. Importantly, this symptom highlights that semantic dementia impacts more than just language and memory – it also touches the very heart of our emotional lives. (6)
