Understanding delirium
What delirium is, how common it is, what causes it and how doctors diagnose and treat it.
For patients, families and carers
Publishing October 2026
Delirium
(Acute Confusion)
A Family Guide to Sudden Changes in Thinking and Memory
A plain-English guide to what delirium is, why it happens, what care may involve and what families can do.
Includes advice for people living with dementia.
About the book
Clear explanations for what families see and what happens next
When a relative or friend becomes confused, behaves unusually or seems to be seeing things that are not there, families often receive a great deal of information in a short time. This guide explains delirium in a form that can be read at the bedside, at home or later during recovery.
It covers delirium in hospital, intensive care, care homes and at home. It also looks at hallucinations, false beliefs, medicines, safety, recovery and the difficult overlap between delirium and dementia.
Why a book?
More detail, in a form you can keep beside you
Delirium Support provides free information for families who need help now. The book goes further. It is designed for people who want a fuller explanation in a form they can hold, annotate, lend to someone else and return to away from a screen.
The free website and the book have different jobs. Both aim to make delirium easier to understand.
What the guide covers
A practical route through delirium
The experience
What delirium may feel like for the person, and what families often see and experience.
Care in hospital
What happens on the ward, medicines, raising concerns, persistent delirium and going home.
Different settings
Delirium at home, after surgery, in intensive care, in care homes and near the end of life.
Delirium and dementia
How they differ, how they interact and what delirium may mean for future memory problems.
What families can do
Plain actions, useful questions, sources of help, a glossary and a quick action guide.
Free illustrated preview
Chapters 1 and 2 are being prepared now
The revised chapters are in their final editorial and illustration stage. A professionally typeset PDF will be available here shortly, together with occasional email updates about the book and its publication in October 2026.
Expected in early August 2026
- Chapter 1: Understanding delirium
- Chapter 2: How common is delirium?
The email form will appear here after the final files, confirmation email and download route have been tested.
The authors
Clinical knowledge and lived experience
Publication
Publishing in October 2026
The confirmed publication date and retailer links will be added here when the production files are ready.
Published by Delirium Support Press.