Someone may also lose interest in things they previously cared deeply about.
These changes can be particularly noticeable to close family members because they represent a departure from the person's established personality.
Again, there are many possible explanations.
Depression, medication changes, sleep deprivation, pain, major stress, hormonal changes, and other medical or psychological conditions can influence mood and behavior.
The important factor is whether the change is persistent, unexplained, and occurring together with other cognitive symptoms.
A sudden personality change should not automatically be labeled dementia. Instead, it is a reason to look for the underlying cause.
10. Difficulty With Visual or Spatial Information
Some cognitive disorders can affect a person's ability to interpret visual information or judge distances and spatial relationships.
A person may have unexpected difficulty reading, recognizing objects, navigating familiar environments, judging steps or curbs, or understanding how objects relate to one another.
Problems with spatial awareness can also become noticeable while driving.
For example, someone who previously drove confidently may begin having unusual difficulty parking, judging distances, navigating familiar routes, or interpreting road situations.
Vision itself should always be considered as a possible explanation. Cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other eye conditions can affect visual abilities without being related to dementia.
That is why new visual-spatial difficulties deserve appropriate medical and eye evaluation rather than an assumption about their cause.