A Caregiver’s Personal Story: Getting Into a Dementia Patient’s Head

Thank you.

Thank You. I am totally ashame of myself as a therapist that I did not think of that. My mother thinks that she lives by herslf and has caught the bus tro come over to my house for a visit. She also says that she does not live with me and that she two dogs and must go home at dark to feed them. I often find myself getting upset attempting to bring her back to reality. However, as you said what's real to them is real. Lately, I have being saying that's right and your room is down the hall, let's go to bed. Fortunately, we have one dog that just loves her and follows her every where. So far that has been working. " Validation" is the key.

my mom ic confinced she is getting married, she is not but to her it is real. she has everything planned out, she hears music, people that are not there. she is in the hospital in the behavior mental ward. we do not know what the tests will find, but we will do everything we can to help her. it is hard to know that she is slowly slipping away. we really do not know what to do.

It's extremely sad to have to see this happening to someone you love. Does she have dementia, or is this schizophrenia or another mental health issue? If she is "slowly slipping away," it sounds like she isn't expected to recover. So, in that case, I'd go along with her wedding plans. It sounds like it's the planning she is "into," - not the wedding. You can drag out planning for a long time. If she has Alzheimer's, she may just be stuck back in the time of her life where she was that age and planning her wedding. It's very real to her. You could even get her wedding magazines and such. I guess you'll have to see what the tests show, and go from there. Please check back and update us when you know more.

Take care of yourself, too. I hope you have good support. We know what you are coping with and look forward to hearing from you again. We support each other.

Carol

I have just recently moved my mom into my home, I am afraid she will never be able to live by herself again. We are going to add on to our house to accomodate her. Are there any kind of funds available to assist in anything like this?