A man was who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at just 41 has explained when he first realised that his symptoms weren't just stress.
Fraser, a father from Australia, was diagnosed with the progressive disease 20 or 30 years earlier than most and he has been sharing his experience with the brain disorder with his popular videos on YouTube.
The heartbreaking disease, which causes memory loss, confusion, and changes in behaviour, is the leading cause of dementia in older people.
While Alzheimer's is generally more common in older people, there are rare examples of it impacting those below the age of 50 and Fraser is keen to share his experience to ensure that people can be diagnosed early and realise if something might be wrong.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Aussie dad said: "I sort of put everything down to being stressed initially and then I moved from suburbia down to the countryside. Lifestyle and everything got a lot better. After a while i noticed that my stress and anxiety had gone, the issues that I was experiencing with my memory were still present. It possibly felt like they had gotten a little worse. It was at that point I really started feeling like there was something going on here that wasn't stress."
Fraser goes on to explain that he asked his children for examples of when they first noticed his memory issues.
He adds: "I asked my kids, just casually, they said 'everyone has memory issues, they forget stuff in everyday life, we just noticed that you were doing them more frequently'."
Alzheimer's symptoms can often begin with with difficulty recalling recent events and learning new information, while Fraser has also previously opened up about the issues he was having with sleep before his diagnosis.
Fraser was only diagnosed in the last year or so but had noticed worrying symptoms much earlier, such as completely forgetting that he had watched a film with his partner, or worrying when his daughter was at the cinema and wasn't answering her phone.
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According to the NHS, around one in every 13 people with Alzheimer's disease are under the age of 65.
If you've been affected by dementia or Alzheimer's and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact the Alzheimer’s Society via 0333 150 3456 or visit their website for more information.
Topics: Mental Health, YouTube, Health
James Moorhouse