04/08/2026
Lots of people enjoy humour, including people living with dementia, their family, friends and carers.
Everyone’s experience is different, but some people find sharing the lighthearted, even funny, moments of living with a diagnosis can be a way to connect with others, reduce stress, and make difficult experiences feel a little less heavy.
However some jokes can be hurtful, cruel and unnecessary.
Generally, if a person with dementia is the target of the joke, or isn’t let in on the joke, this can be harmful and upsetting.
The types of jokes we want to challenge are the tasteless, misinformed comments made about dementia, or about people living with the condition.
These only heighten the stigma associated with dementia and can have a negative impact on those affected who may read or hear them.
If you experience ignorant comments or unkind jokes, you may feel like you want to correct or educate the person making them.
Here are our tips on how to challenge hurtful dementia 'jokes’:
If you don’t find it funny, don’t laugh at it. It’s tempting to go along with everybody else in a group and laugh along, but if someone makes a joke that you find cruel and unfunny, not laughing is the simplest way to show that you didn’t like it.
Explain that it's not funny for everybody. Ask the person to think about whether they would tell that joke in front of a person with dementia, or their family members or friends.
See the person, not the dementia. Remind the person telling the joke that dementia is not the defining aspect of a person, their personality, or their life.
Remind them that unkind jokes add to the stigma. Ignorant comments and jokes spread wrong information and increase the stigma around dementia. By telling the joke, they are making it harder to break the stigma for people affected by dementia.
Encourage them to learn more about dementia. They can find accurate, reliable information on our website, and real, personal stories from our blog. They could also become one of our Dementia Friends.
